Story by Farai Gwaze
A major fundraising initiative is underway for the proposed Gazaland University in Chipinge, a heritage-based institution expected to be a centre of excellence for Manicaland province.
The fundraising drive seeks to bring to life a project first conceived in 2002 by the United Church of Christ to increase access to higher and tertiary education in the province.
Mutapa Investment Fund Chief Executive Officer, Dr John Mangudya, who is part of the team leading the initiative, said the project aligns with the national principle of leaving no one and no place behind.
“The Gazaland University that is being built is going to have 10 programmes and one of them is innovative incubation. It is important to support universities because they are the centres of excellence in any country. It means Chipinge and Chimanimani are building a university which will cater for the Chipinge community, Chimanimani district and that is important.”
The Founding Chairperson of the Gazaland University project, Phillimon Mlambo explained that the funds raised so far will complete construction of the administration block and lecture rooms, enabling the university to open.
“The significance of this event is that we are raising the resources necessary to finish the construction of the admin block and the lecture rooms so that we can open the university and start going. This, in many ways, contributes significantly to heritage-based education, because we have the Ndau culture in Chipinge, Chimanimani and Western Mozambique. This culture is unique in itself and that is what we want to leverage by getting the best of it to make Zimbabwe better.”
The establishment of Gazaland University represents a tangible implementation of the Second Republic’s devolution and heritage-based education policies, directly contributing to the attainment of an upper-middle-income society status by 2030.
