…as 681 graduate at Masvingo Poly
Clayton Shereni
Masvingo Polytechnic last Thursday, July 12, held its 26th Graduation and Prize Giving Ceremony which saw 681 graduands being conferred with National Certificates, National Diplomas and Higher National Diplomas.
Of the 681 graduands, 358 were male and 323 were females drawn from such departments as Applied Arts, Applied Sciences, Adult and Continuing Education, Commerce and Engineering.
The graduation ceremony was held under the theme, ‘Human Capital Development and Industrialisation Through Collaborative Research and Innovation’.
The event was graced by the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education, Science and Technology Development, Dr Desire Mutize Sibanda.
Speaking at the ceremony Sibanda said female engineering students will get incentives and allowances from the government to help them fund their studies so that there will be equal representation of women and men in every sector of the economy.
“We want 50/50 representation in institutions and our aim is to promote women to go into the engineering sector that was traditionally reserved for men. We will therefore give uniforms, allowances, overseas training and bring international speakers to motivate female engineering students,” said Dr Sibanda.
He said various measures had been put in place to assist students with loans with at list six banks having been identified to process the loans.
“Modalities have already been worked out by the ministry responsible for Higher and Tertiary Education with financial institutions to avail student loans. I am pleased to note that six banks are already participating in the scheme,” said Sibanda.
In his speech, Masvingo Polytechnic principal, Evans Musara encouraged students to further their education after graduating from the institution.
“Once you have graduated, you don’t have to stop there. You must continue learning and furthering your skills,” said Musara.
A number of students were honoured with individual prizes for being exceptional in their areas of speciality.
Kudzai Munodawafa, who scored 13 distinctions, scooped the principal’s best student and most disciplined student prize which came with US$500 dollars in cash and a trophy.
Also in attendance was Great Zimbabwe University (GZU) Vice Chancellor; Professor Rungano Zvobgo, Chairman of the Polytechnic Management Advisory Council; Zvapano Munganasa, acting director for Tertiary Education Programmes in the ministry, S.D. Zivanayi and other academic experts from around Masvingo.education
