Zim graduands: Hawkers or professionals?

DELICATE BALANCE . . .This student at Midlands State Univerity reads books and sells maputi and lollipops at the Hunger Square, an open space where students sit and talk as diversion from gnawing hunger.

University students, who have been exposed to the full wrath of the prevailing harsh economic environment, have been forced to use implement serious fire-fighting measures to keep the wolf at bay.

Parents and guardians’ disposable incomes have been rudely trimmed, consequently shortening “the hand that giveth” Hence students are at the wrong side of the bank account. While maputi, lollipops, roasted ground nuts and other foodstuffs enjoyed copyright at Mbare Musika and other like areas, hawking has become a major source of income for students at Midlands State University in Gweru, and other institutions of higher learning.

So the question is on the caliber of graduates that Universities are churning out. These are graduates who have survived on selling maputi. Can they formulate any meaningful company growth objectives? Can these starved, hand-to-mouth-is-my-business graduates become real corporate players who can be trusted with shareholders’ money? Because most of them are peddlers first and academicians second.

Maybe it was time serious mitigation maneuvers were chore-graphed such that we stem the downturn in our education sector.
By Abel Dzobo (edzaidzobo@yahoo.com