Harare, Zimbabwe (News of the South)-Zimbabwe is in serious need for investment in postgraduate training without which it will remain second best among other nations according to Prof Francis Gudyanga who was speaking in Harare on Wednesday.
Speaking during a Research Council of Zimbabwe Stakeholder Engagement in National Science Technology and Innovation System Gudyanga, the Perm Sec in the Ministry of Higher Education, said the absence of investment in education was impinging on the progress which the country was making.
“Unless we invest in postgraduate training we will always remain second best.
“Its commendable that government is pushing ahead for the creation of the Pan African University of Mining as this will allow us to have the depth of training which we are lacking today”, he said.
Prof Gudyanga said the absence of depth in training has resulted in the country not realising any benefits.
The gathered researchers also concurred that the inability of treasury to fund research institutions had resulted in a human resource flight leaving them staffed with mostly first graduate personnel.
Dr Mutamba from the National Institute of Health and Research stated that most of the ongoing research is being funded by foreign donors most of whom require greater control of the programs.
“Outside funders will only fund that which they want. When they do, they also require that their people lead and bring their students to come whilst we end up having challenges even bringing in our own”, she said.
Due to these hinderances there have been little movement in terms of intellectual property filing for years among the country’s intellectuals with outsiders ending up taking ideas originally local.
Government has been making efforts, though disparate and vague in terns of strategy, to upgrade the level of education in the country whilst economic challenges have limited progress.
Recently Higher Education Minister Prof Jonathan Moyo announced that “Cabinet approved a grant of $800m towards the construction of the Robert Gabriel Mugabe University, and a grant of $200m towards the establishment of the University’s Endowment Fund for Research and Innovation.”
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