Zimbabwe no longer regards exodus of professional and skilled people as brain drain but brain circulation

We will continue training Zimbabweans, but one of the most important things that we have done also is what we call the graduate employment programme. This means that graduates form consortiums like innovation clubs where they can put ideas together to start a school, but we fund the construction of those schools using what we call the Integrated Skills Outreach Programme. We have started doing that with colleges in Chiwundura. This year we have started constructing a school called Gangaragwe School. This is a school where our graduates that have graduated at Mkoba Teachers’ College will teach themselves as a consortium because Zimbabwe still has a shortage of about 3 000 to 4 000 schools.

It means that there is still need for many places for teaching. Section 75 (2) of the Constitution says, “any individual can found a school”. It might not be the term called ‘found’, but can actually have a school, and we are using that section to have our graduates start their own schools. We are providing the finances so that we can expand more schools in terms of the private school establishment. We believe that this will reduce the pressure at the available schools by doing this new approach to construction of schools. Our students from polytechnics and so forth are the ones who will build the schools while our trained teachers will teach at those schools. Parents would then not be inconvenienced by queuing for the few places available against a background of high demand. We believe that this will bring dignity to our people. I thank you.

THE HON. SPEAKER: Thank you for your citation Hon. Minister. I cross-checked your citation, it is quite correct.

HON. S. ZIYAMBI: Thank you Mr. Speaker. I just want to know what is Government position with regards to brain drain as a result of those that have been trained yet are not employed?

HON. PROF. MURWIRA: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir.  Zimbabwe will continue training its people. We will train people and we are also changing the philosophy of why we go to school.  We go to school to be trained to be able to do what we were trained for.  We go to school in order to be able to use our knowledge and skills and attitudes to start new enterprises.  We go to school not to be used by the ones who are already established in industry.  We go to school in order to use ourselves to work for ourselves. 

This is a deep philosophy which diverts from the philosophy of going to school to be employed by the colonial master, kuzvishandira, kwete kushandiswa.  It therefore means what we are talking about in terms of brain drain, sometimes people call it brain drain.  Brain drain assumes that the pot which is cooking people has stopped cooking.  We will continue cooking our people in our higher and tertiary education institutions.  Hativapedzi, ticharamba tichi trainer vanhu to the extent that these days what they call brain drain is actually brain circulation because we can still use our people wherever they are. 

Sometimes we have been confronted with a question which says, why are you training them when they are going to the streets?  They will not go to the street when they have the correct design of education.  When the education trains them how to be able to make things; how to be able to form industries and how to be able to work for yourself, whereby our duty will be how to provide them with the correct policy environment so that they are able to do so.  Also, how to provide them with the venture fund so that they have the finances.  So, it tells us of a whole new philosophy of how we want our country to be today and into the future.  We shall not construct people who work for other people.  We will construct people who work for their country, for themselves.

It means therefore, that the question of employment and unemployment is going to change completely as we go into the future.  Taigadzirirwa macolonial industries.  Ikozvino tava kuzvigadzirira isu.  Ilizwe lakhiwa ngabanikazi balo.  Nyika inovakwa nevene vayo. I thank you.

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