Itai Muzondo
GWERU: In a move that will boost access to education for disadvantaged rural youth in Zimbabwe, the Forum for African Women Educationalists (FAWE-Zimbabwe) is set to advance educational sponsorships for tertiary education and also provide them with startup business opportunities.
The ‘Second Chance Pathways for Increased Access to Tertiary Education for Marginalised Young Women and Men / FAWE-Mastercard Phase II Program,’ will support the most marginalized young women and men aged 15-25 years the organization says.
“We are working technical and universities. We seek to create a second chance pathway higher tertiary curriculum and bridging curriculum. Our main focus is on STEM and our bias is on girls as we seek to address shortage of STEM skills and deal with poverty through addressing issues of limited access to tertiary education.
“You will see some students getting bridging cases to get to tertiary education. Others will get sponsorship and we already have a number of vocational training institutions and universities we have partnered with,” said FAWE-Zimbabwe Executive Director Lydia Madyirapanze.
5-15% persons with disabilities who have completed secondary education, and seek to transit into tertiary education and later entrepreneurship or employment will also receive support further noted the organisation.
Key stakeholders also welcomed the development.
“We are grateful as this program is inline with the President’s mantra of leaving no one and no place behind,” said a representative from Zimbabwe Council Of Higher Education (ZIMCHE) in his remarks.
“Education is a powerful tool that transforms lives, communities, and nations. It is the cornerstone upon which we build a brighter future, one where every individual has the opportunity to realize their full potential and because of these reasons, we welcome this program,” added a representative from the Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development.
Meanwhile, Fawe-Zimbabwe says their overall approach will be “innovation to create pathways for increasing access to tertiary education, skilling and dignified work for young female and male graduates of secondary education in Africa”.
Running in 10 countries, the seeks to reach 134,400 students drawn from 21 universities and 35 institutions providing Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) including industrial training colleges and teachers’ colleges.
