News / Education
Mugabe caps 2 860 UZ graduands
13 Sep 2013 at 19:18hrs | Views
President Robert Mugabe, who is also Chancellor of the University of Zimbabwe, has conferred diplomas, certificates and degrees to 2 860 graduands at the University of Zimbabwe (UZ) during the institution's 2013 graduation ceremony held at the campus on Friday.
The graduands were drawn from all faculties including agriculture, arts, commerce, education, engineering, law, science, social studies and veterinary science and the college of health sciences.
It was a double celebration for students and staff as they celebrated the recent victory by President Mugabe and Zanu PF in the recent elections and their academic achievements.
The joy could be felt when the students suddenly burst into cheering and ululating as soon as they caught a glimpse of the President in the colourful academic procession.
In his address at the occasion, UZ Vice Chancellor Professor Levi Nyagura bemoaned the shortage of students' accommodation at the campus and the deteriorating water supply from the Harare City Council.
He explained that the university is in the process of discussing with external investors for the construction of two hostels on campus to increase the number of beds for students.
The Vice Chancellor highlighted some of the strides that the university has made in availing state-of-the-art equipment and facilities to both students and staff and noted the need for improved government funding to upgrade the teaching and learning standards that will ensure the university is among the best universities in Africa.
Professor Nyagura called for the generous support for post-graduate studies and research and support for professional renewal of academic staff through contact visits and sabbatical leave as one of the university's quality assurance strategies to become internationally competitive.
"By the year 2016, we expect over 90 percent of members of the academic staff to hold a doctorate degree," said Professor Nyagura.
Linked to this ICT development is the digitalisation of the UZ main library which boasts of over 100 000 electronic journals and more than 80 000 electronic books covering all disciplines.
Among the graduands today were newly appointed Minister of Women's Affairs, Gender and Community Development, Oppah Muchinguri.
Other notables who graduated include journalist Chipo Musoko, an official in the Ministry of Media, Information and Broadcasting Services Collins Mungate and Seedco Group Public Relations Manager Marjory Mutemererwa.
The business fraternity, diplomats, and some government ministers attended the graduation ceremony.
The graduands were drawn from all faculties including agriculture, arts, commerce, education, engineering, law, science, social studies and veterinary science and the college of health sciences.
It was a double celebration for students and staff as they celebrated the recent victory by President Mugabe and Zanu PF in the recent elections and their academic achievements.
The joy could be felt when the students suddenly burst into cheering and ululating as soon as they caught a glimpse of the President in the colourful academic procession.
In his address at the occasion, UZ Vice Chancellor Professor Levi Nyagura bemoaned the shortage of students' accommodation at the campus and the deteriorating water supply from the Harare City Council.
He explained that the university is in the process of discussing with external investors for the construction of two hostels on campus to increase the number of beds for students.
The Vice Chancellor highlighted some of the strides that the university has made in availing state-of-the-art equipment and facilities to both students and staff and noted the need for improved government funding to upgrade the teaching and learning standards that will ensure the university is among the best universities in Africa.
Professor Nyagura called for the generous support for post-graduate studies and research and support for professional renewal of academic staff through contact visits and sabbatical leave as one of the university's quality assurance strategies to become internationally competitive.
"By the year 2016, we expect over 90 percent of members of the academic staff to hold a doctorate degree," said Professor Nyagura.
Linked to this ICT development is the digitalisation of the UZ main library which boasts of over 100 000 electronic journals and more than 80 000 electronic books covering all disciplines.
Among the graduands today were newly appointed Minister of Women's Affairs, Gender and Community Development, Oppah Muchinguri.
Other notables who graduated include journalist Chipo Musoko, an official in the Ministry of Media, Information and Broadcasting Services Collins Mungate and Seedco Group Public Relations Manager Marjory Mutemererwa.
The business fraternity, diplomats, and some government ministers attended the graduation ceremony.
Source - zbc
