IRAN has provided 1,000 educational scholarships to Zimbabweans with the first batch of students, who will likely be lecturers from technical and industrial colleges, undergoing six-month courses as trainers of trainers, scheduled to begin their studies before the end of the year.
Beneficiaries and fields of study will be informed of the need to close the human resources gap identified by the Government which initiated the 2018 Skills Gap Review.
The offer comes after Vice President Dr. Constantino Chiwenga recently led Zimbabwe’s participation in the Second Iran-Africa International Economic Conference.
Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Higher Education, Higher Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development, Professor Fanuel Tagwira, said the program would target staff from technical colleges and industrial colleges.
“We believe in action. We believe in execution and we have learned a lot since coming here. Obviously there are a number of things that have happened. And through the partnership that we have now with Iran, they have given us 1,000 scholarships for our education.
“We sat down and went to their training center and saw what they offer, and when we return home, we will mobilize so that we can send the first batch of our teachers who are in technical colleges and industrial colleges to come here and acquire skills for six months and then become trainers.
“This is a training of trainers and for each discipline, we will send a batch of 12 people to do a full class so they can teach them in English and they will acquire the skills and after six months they will come back to train others,” Professor Tagwira said.
The program was ready for implementation and the two parties agreed on implementation methods and timetables.
“We have met with their Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation, and as we discussed with them, we already have a memorandum of understanding with them and they are saying let us move. Our first step is to form a steering committee that will be responsible for agreeing on the programs that we want to work on.
The Iranians expressed their desire for Zimbabwe to benefit from expertise in the field of science and technology.
The Iranians wanted to know what technology was needed to move the nation forward and then work together to ensure that the knowledge was available in Zimbabwe.
Iran boasts some of the most advanced technologies in the world and has a vibrant manufacturing sector that has kept its economy afloat despite operating under the weight of illegal economic sanctions for nearly 45 years.
Professor Tagwira said Zimbabwe’s approach was to increase the value of raw materials from sectors such as mining, ensure increased export earnings and accelerate economic development.
That is why the Ministry has initiated a program to equip people with relevant skills needed for the development of the nation. Announce
