President, First Lady honour Prof Kurasha
PRESIDENT Mugabe has paid a moving tribute to late academic and Zimbabwe Open University Vice-Chancellor Professor Primrose Kurasha, describing her as an exceptional intellectual who pioneered distance education.
A tearful First Lady Amai Grace Mugabe added that she was pained by Prof Kurasha’s shocking death, saying she had lost a dear family friend whose contribution to Zimbabwe was immortal. Addressing mourners at Prof Kurasha’s Harare home yesterday, President Mugabe said the late academic had put Zimbabwe on the international map with many countries now emulating ZOU.
The President said, “Totenda basa rakaitwa na Primrose guru guru, harife rakasika, rakatipawo rumbidzo kubva kune dzimwe nyika. Tinozvi tenda izvozvi, tinochema Primrose musodzi ichibuda, waenda tichkuda, waenda basa rako risati rapera. Hongu anga aane muviri mukobvu, asi very dashing, very dynamic.”
President Mugabe spoke of Prof Kurasha’s commitment to make quality distance education a reality in Zimbabwe.
“ZOU yanga yave her child, mwana akarerwa akayamwisa by no other woman but Primrose. It was her idea, vamwe vachinyunyuta kuti vakuti wunzireiko education yemusango iyi asi akashinga. Determination iyoyo vamwe vachizvuva makumbo …, ndivo vavaive navo, permanent secretary ivavo kungomirira kukanganisa basa raiitwa nevamwe.
“She is a woman in education we shall miss, we must not let her ideas die. Primrose must live, live in her own experiences as she has bequeathed them to us and live also in this idea she turned into a monumentally great institution of our country.”
President Mugabe said Prof Kurasha’s death was a loss to Zimbabwe’s developmental initiatives such as the Zimbabwe Agenda for Sustainable Socio-Economic Transformation, which required the input of intellectuals to succeed.
“Experience yavanga vanayo ndoo zvatikuparara nhasi. Tinonamata, Mwari vatedzei? Kumubvuta patiri tiine nyaya dzeku Zim-Asset, hadzibudirire tisina vanodzidzisa…”
President Mugabe said he was shocked to learn of Prof Kurasha’s death as he had last seen her in high spirits at ZOU’s December 2016 graduation ceremony.
Amai Mugabe described Prof Kurasha as full of wisdom, charis- matic, energetic and loyal to her country, profession and the President.
“She was a wise woman who was focused and hard working. She said I have been a high position in the education sector and she did it to the best of her abilities. This couple appreciated and encouraged me the way no one else did.
“I remember they used to come to Zimbabwe house and they told me to further my education. She was also a very generous woman and whenever she visited Mazowe orphanage she would always bring something for the children, not necessarily because she more than enough because giving and helping the needy was part of her life,” she said, fighting tears.
Amai Mugabe added: “Primrose you are immortal, you will be found in immortality because of the work you did for this country.”
Addressing mourners, Chitungwiza Hospital CEO Dr Obadiah Moyo said Prof Kurasha succumbed to a condition called pulmonary embolism, which resulted in clotting in her lungs thus stopping flow of blood to the heart.
He said doctors had fought hard to save her life but her condition deteriorated.
A lecturer since 1987, Prof Kurasha made history when she became the first female university vice-chancellor in Zimbabwe when appointed to the post in 2003 at ZOU’s inception.
She held a PhD, MBA and BBS and had several publications to her name.
Prof Kurasha was the chairperson of Distance Education Association of Southern Africa, executive board member of the African Council for Distance Education, and sat on the SADC-ODL steering committee.