Mutare (New Ziana) – President Emmerson Mnangagwa capped 172 graduands at the Manicaland State University of Applied Sciences on Thursday, the university’s second graduation.
The university is one of the newest in the country, and has a small enrolment specialising in science disciplines.
But Thursday’s number of graduands is 51 percent higher that last year’s, pointing to the university’s rapid growth.
Of the 172 graduands, 48 percent were females, a pointer to growing gender parity in enrolment for tertiary education, even in sciences.
Of these, 31 won awards for top performance – six notching first class degrees.
President Mnangagwa, who is chancellor of all State universities, gave monetary awards ranging from US$500 to USD $1000 to the best performers in various categories.
University vice chancellor, Prof Albert Chawanda said the institution remained committed to providing quality undergraduate education in line with world best practices and standards.
He added that in its quest to become a research beacon that was sensitive to the needs of the communities the university exists in, the university had intensified its research outputs to contribute to the development of the country.
Among its long range plans, he said, was increasing the number of programmes on offer, including introducing postgraduate courses.
New Ziana
