News / Education
Gwanda university prepares for first intake
30 May 2012 at 05:07hrs | Views
THE Gwanda State University (GSU) has started recruiting senior staff in preparation for its first intake in September.
In an interview yesterday, the university's designate vice-chancellor, Dr Sikhulumani Bayeza Mangena, said the new institution had started scouting for qualified candidates to run the posts of dean of the Faculty of Life Sciences and the Faculty of Engineering.
"We have started looking for suitable candidates through the National University of Science and Technology (Nust) Council.
"These are the people who would do much of the preliminary work such as designing faculties and identifying suitable lecturers.
"We need senior people who would also draw the curriculum," said Dr Mangena.
"You are aware that for the time being we will also use some of the staff from Nust. When these senior leaders are in place it would be easy to address the recruitment of junior staff.
"Our aim is to ensure that when the academic year begins sometime in September, we start operating."
The Faculty of Life Sciences comprises courses such as animal science, crop science, environmental engineering, ecosystem, veterinary science, irrigation engineering and meteorology.
The Faculty of Engineering would offer programmes that cover mining, surveying, metallurgy, geomatics, electrical and electronic engineering.
Since its inception in 2004 the GSU project has received a lot of support from community members, with some making pledges in the form of cattle.
Gwanda Town Council donated 87 hectares of land towards the building of the university on the eastern side of the Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo Polytechnic.
In December last year Vice President John Nkomo donated a two-tonne tipper truck and 20 tonnes of seed to the new university.
The Government also donated 2,5 hectares of land in Filabusi to be used for farming activities.
Recently World Vision donated about 3 000 textbooks valued at $142 000 to the new university.
GSU has already acquired Mtshabezi Building from the Ministry of Public Works to be used as administration offices while the Gwanda Town Council has offered a place for conducting lectures at the show grounds.
At independence in 1980 Zimbabwe had only one university, the University of Zimbabwe in Harare.
At the moment Matabeleland South, Manicaland and Mashonaland East are the only provinces in the country that do not have State universities.
The only university in Matabeleland South is the Seventh-Day Adventist Church-run Solusi University.
In an interview yesterday, the university's designate vice-chancellor, Dr Sikhulumani Bayeza Mangena, said the new institution had started scouting for qualified candidates to run the posts of dean of the Faculty of Life Sciences and the Faculty of Engineering.
"We have started looking for suitable candidates through the National University of Science and Technology (Nust) Council.
"These are the people who would do much of the preliminary work such as designing faculties and identifying suitable lecturers.
"We need senior people who would also draw the curriculum," said Dr Mangena.
"You are aware that for the time being we will also use some of the staff from Nust. When these senior leaders are in place it would be easy to address the recruitment of junior staff.
"Our aim is to ensure that when the academic year begins sometime in September, we start operating."
The Faculty of Life Sciences comprises courses such as animal science, crop science, environmental engineering, ecosystem, veterinary science, irrigation engineering and meteorology.
The Faculty of Engineering would offer programmes that cover mining, surveying, metallurgy, geomatics, electrical and electronic engineering.
Gwanda Town Council donated 87 hectares of land towards the building of the university on the eastern side of the Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo Polytechnic.
In December last year Vice President John Nkomo donated a two-tonne tipper truck and 20 tonnes of seed to the new university.
The Government also donated 2,5 hectares of land in Filabusi to be used for farming activities.
Recently World Vision donated about 3 000 textbooks valued at $142 000 to the new university.
GSU has already acquired Mtshabezi Building from the Ministry of Public Works to be used as administration offices while the Gwanda Town Council has offered a place for conducting lectures at the show grounds.
At independence in 1980 Zimbabwe had only one university, the University of Zimbabwe in Harare.
At the moment Matabeleland South, Manicaland and Mashonaland East are the only provinces in the country that do not have State universities.
The only university in Matabeleland South is the Seventh-Day Adventist Church-run Solusi University.
Source - TC
