Univen to deploy more lecturers to Zim university

The Great Zimbabwe University (GZU) will employ more lecturers for the Venda and Tsonga programmes from the University of Venda next year, Mirror has established.

The vice-chancellor of GZU, Prof Obert Maravanyika, told Mirror that the deployment of South African lecturers was in line with a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed by the two institutions in June 2007.

“We signed the MoU and agreed that we would embark on a joint research and exchange programme for both Venda and Tsonga lecturers and students. We are still having a major challenge of lecturers for the two programmes and therefore Univen has offered to deploy more lecturers.” He also added that the registrar of Univen would visit them in January next year to look at the technical modalities, aimed at beefing up their staff.

Maravanyika said they had also agreed with Univen to send their first group of graduates in the Venda and Tsonga programmes to undergo a staff development course as well as pursue honours and master’s
programmes at Univen under a special arrangement. Currently, all eight the lecturers for the Venda and Tsonga programmes are from Univen.

Maravanyika said the university was getting a good response in terms of enrolment for the two programmes. “We had an outreach programme and I am glad the response is quite overwhelming. In fact, the issue of students for the Venda and Tsonga programmes is not a problem anymore, unlike in the past, and they are now surpassing students in other local languages,” he said.

The programmes run for three years, with students taking up either of the two languages, together with two other courses. The students will then subsequently major in their language of choice in the final year of studies. The programme is open to anyone who is proficient in either of the two languages. The university, formerly known as Masvingo State University, introduced the TshiVenda and Tsonga programmes in April 2008.

News - Date: 24 December 2010

Mashudu Netsianda

Mashudu Netsianda is our correspondent in Beit Bridge, Zimbabwe. He joined us in 2006, writing both local and international stories. He had worked for several Zimbabwean publications, as well as the Times of Swaziland. Mashudu received his training at the School of Mass Communication in Harare.

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