Mugabe caps 2 300 graduates at UZ

PRESIDENT Mugabe has said he once feared Government would be forced to shut down the University of Zimbabwe in the wake of the numerous operational challenges it has been facing.

In a message at the end of the university's graduation ceremony yesterday, he described the event as a "feat of genius".

He also commended UZ authorities for ensuring the higher learning institution continued to thrive in spite of the serious problems it faced.

"This year's graduation will surely be remembered as a feat of genius when the challenges of our socio-economic situation are taken into account," he said.

"I personally feared that, at one time, we might be forced to close the university temporarily until the financial capacity improved.  

"The care, the extreme care it must have been in managing the scarce resources that kept it going and going in an effective manner which has seen us managing to produce 2 325 students, a spectacular achievement."

Mugabe capped 2 325 students who graduated from 10 different faculties at the university.

Among the prominent graduates were Zimbabwe Defence Forces (ZDF) Commander General Constantine Chiwenga; Zion Christian Church's Bishop Nehemiah Mutendi, ZDF public relations director Colonel Overson Mugwisi and prominent lawyer Mr Misheck Hogwe.

General Chiwenga attained a Master of Science Degree in International Relations.

Speaking at the event, UZ Vice-Chancellor Professor Levi Nyagura said the university managed to recruit key staff after a lecturer shortage induced by brain drain.

"The university experienced significant brain drain, although more aggressive recruitment is to be done especially in veterinary science, natural science, medicine and engineering," he said.

"We also noted significant changes in conditions of service for all staff." Prof Nyagura said the institution had come up with a strategic plan in response to the country's socio-economic needs.

"Our 2010-2014 Strategic Plan demands that graduates from the University of Zimbabwe be highly knowledgeable, flexible, innovative, and to be agents of meaningful socio-economic transformation.

"These are the qualities we focus on in the development of our students."

He said the UZ intends to become "a leader in research, innovation and development and aims to produce highly qualified graduates of the highest integrity".

He said the university also expects all academic staff to attain doctorates by 2017. He also said the institution had invested in information communication technology.

"We expect to increase our impact on society by more than 10-fold when all the academic staff at the university attain Doctor of Philosophy degrees by the year 2017," he said, adding that ongoing infrastructure development projects would help improve the quality of learning and teaching.

"The construction of a 2 500 000-litre water reservoir was completed in August 2011. This has significantly improved our water situation even though this falls far short of our expectation of a permanent solution to the water crisis. A second water reservoir is under construction."

He also said the UZ had strong international linkages, one of which was the Confucius Institute, a Chinese language and culture centre that is jointly run by Renmin University of China.

In an interview, General Chiwenga, who was among 14 ZDF members who graduated yesterday, said the defence forces were focusing on manpower development.

"This is a happy moment for me and my colleagues in the defence forces. We are aggressively embarking on manpower development and this will help to make us an enlightened defence force."