Is Zimbabwe offering practical education?

Zimbabwe is one of the most respected countries not only in the Southern region but in Africa as a whole in term of educating its people. But the big question which everyone would want to ask is whether our education is a catalyst in turning the fortunes of the economic turn-around program.
Though the education system has commendably churned out academics of high caliber. It is the system’s re-oriented towards encouraging initiative and problem solving skills that has been in doubt. The current education system creates a job seeking mentality in individuals as they endeavor to be employed in the formal sector. Most graduates from various higher learning institutions are jobless and lack the drive to start their own business venture as employers. The challenge has been for graduates to use skills acquired from college to start self help projects and business enterprises.
Likewise there is need for the additional of” new impetus on the philosophy of educational sector for self reliance. Graduates should be incited to work hard, intelligently, with discipline and integrity”, says Pious Mnkandla. He added graduates should not be overwhelmed by today’s problems in finding lasting solutions for self-empowerment.
It is through education that individuals acquire suitable skills and knowledge to explore problems. They should not be caught unaware in the pool of mediocrity. All aspects under study have to be thoroughly dealt with both in theory and practice. This is supported by Plato’s philosophy of faith which say’: “ That we shall be better and brave and less helpless if we think that we ought to acquire, than we should have been if we indulged in the idle fancy that we do not know…” When I asked the public to comment on how practical our universities education is, this is was the response:
“Our education is too theoretic and lacks practice. Universities should be furnished with enough resources to equip students with practical skills and knowledge”, said Njabulo Ndlovu.
“It is disheartening to find that graduates are in despair and their hopes are fading thereby failing to prosper”. Education is a tool to unlock our minds and sharpen our thinking capacity and learned ones should pray for beauty of their inwards souls and the outward to be at one”, said Tinovonga Mabika. Mabika added:”Just like Socrates the graduates may be viewed as the wise and wealthy, and may have such in quantities of gold as temperate person as they are”.
It has been suggested that Africans have a syndrome of always looking forward to being employed instead of creating employment for themselves. This has remained true despite assurances from various top officials from several institutions’ of higher learning around Zimbabwe claiming that they have impressed on their students to become job creators and not job seekers in order to make money and advance economically.