ED launches TelOne, NUST degree venture
THE performance of most State-owned enterprises in the country can only be boosted through joint ventures and public-private partnerships, Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa, has said.
VP Mnangagwa said Government wanted to “magnify” the huge opportunities that partnerships could unlock for Zimbabwe.
He was speaking in Harare during the launch of TelOne’s Bachelor of Engineering Degree in Telecommunications Engineering programme.
The five-year degree programme, offered in partnership with the National University of Science and Technology, would be conducted at TelOne Centre for Learning (TCFL) in Harare.
“Government continues to encourage synergistic relationships across all sectors as a means of harnessing respective industries’ values for the development of the country,” VP Mnangagwa said.
“It is instances like today that we want to magnify the huge opportunities that partnerships can unlock for Zimbabwe. As NUST and TelOne Centre for Learning launch their degree programme, it is the convergence of academic and industry expertise that I specifically want to applaud.”
VP Mnangagwa said the partnership was in line with the 10-Point Plan enunciated by President Mugabe last year, which emphasised on infrastructural development and joint ventures.
He said TCFL, which is now recognised as a sadc certified centre of excellence, had asserted Zimbabwe’s position in the region as a leader in skills development and training.
“The expertise of this centre has thus seen the country being able to export skills throughout Africa and beyond,” he said.
“The TeOne Centre for Learning has over the years also played host to hundreds of foreign nationals, including technicians being trained in an array of telecommunications subject areas.”
VP Mnangagwa said the degree programme would result in increased efficiency, productivity, value addition and employment creation, as envisaged in Zim-Asset. He said the programme, just like many STEM-based programmes, would also facilitate the implementation and acceleration of the country’s indus- trialisation strategy.
“As Government, we are continuing to find ways to make our education more relevant and practical to ensure that the knowledge so generated is applicable to our livid challenges,” he said.
“I am pleased that this thrust dovetails with the emphasis on the introduction of subjects like Agriculture, Languages, ICTs, Science, Mathematics and Statistics at an earlier stage in schools through the recently introduced Zero Draft Curriculum Framework by the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education as part of the on-going implementation of recommendations of the Nziramasanga Commission. The expectation of Government is that this degree programme will change the social and economic lives of most of our entrepreneurs including small scale farmers and miners.”
VP Mnangagwa said the training of own engineers in telecommunications would allow Zimbabwe to develop related technologies such as software programmes at competitive prices.
This, he said, reduced the import bill related to acquisition of such programmes and associated licensing and support service fees that go with it.
“Furthermore, pursuant to Government’s mission to set up Special Economic Zones as articulated in Zim-Asset and the 10-Point Plan, this programme will provide relevant human capital to support business and industrial activities.”
Information, Communication and Technology and Courier Services Minister Supa Mandiwanzira said the launch of the degree programme was a foundation for the transformation of the centre into a University of excellence in Africa, offering technical expertise in ICT.
“I am excited as Minister when I see the state-owned enterprise thinking outside the box as they unlock more avenues for revenue growth beyond playing the critical role of enhancing ICT skills in the country,” he said.
“I am hopeful that TelOne Centre for Learning through this degree programme and other programmes they are offering will enhance TelOne’s capacity to declare a dividend to Government.”
At inception, the TCFL offered training for TelOne employees only before expanding to include other companies in the telecoms sector as well as related services.