Universities must move beyond producing graduates and become centres of innovation capable of solving Zimbabwe’s industrial challenges if they are to fulfil the vision of the country’s liberation war heroes, Zanu-PF Bulawayo provincial chairperson Jabulani Sibanda has said.
Speaking as guest of honour during Heroes Day commemorations at the National University of Science and Technology (NUST) on Monday, Sibanda urged institutions of higher learning to develop locally made technologies and products rather than relying on imported solutions.
He said the sacrifices made during the liberation struggle were intended to create an independent nation capable of using education to drive technological and economic development.
“Universities are not only there to recognise those who died. That is not enough,” Sibanda said.
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“We must be able to show them that what they died for has produced something. We should be producing the microphone, the machinery and improving the technology that we use.”
Sibanda challenged universities to work more closely with government and industry to develop innovations that address the country’s development needs.
“This is the time that our universities must come together, think together and identify what government needs for the country to reach another stage of industrial and community development,” he said.
Drawing on his experiences during the liberation struggle, Sibanda said technological advances often emerged from the need to solve practical problems and urged universities to foster the same culture of innovation in peacetime.
He proposed that future national commemorations, including Heroes Day and Independence Day, should feature exhibitions showcasing inventions and technologies developed by university students.
“We should be demonstrating what our universities have produced and how those innovations are improving the country,” he said.
Sibanda said the expansion of schools and universities after independence demonstrated government’s commitment to widening access to education that had been deliberately restricted under colonial rule.
“The purpose of universities was never just to produce graduates but to produce people who create solutions and transform society,” he said.
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