The ManicaPost
THEME:
Teacher education for modernisation and socio-economic development through research and innovation
The principal’s special message to the graduands
Thomas Jefferson, an American once said “Nothing can stop man with the right mental attitude from achieving his/her goal; nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitudes”. You are such wonderful people whose right mental attitudes have made you to succeed to this day when you graduate as teachers. For many of you ladies and gentlemen, your graduation was a dream yesterday, it was a vision for your future and today it is reality. Congratulations for doing so well. You have made us proud as an institution of higher learning. The most important thing in life is to continue to transform yourselves into a better people academically, professionally and of course, socially. Success in life is dependent upon drive and persistence. Try to find extra energy required for you to make another effort. I, therefore, urge all of you all to plan purposefully for a better future, proceed positively, pursue new goals persistently and contribute to the creation of an industrialised Zimbabwe we all cherish to establish.
CONGRATULATIONS, MAKOROKOTO, AMHLOPE!!
MARYMOUNT TEACHERS’ COLLEGE
Vision
Marymount Teachers College as the leader of academic and professional excellence in teacher education
Mission
To ensure total commitment to the development of a heritage based education 5.0 primary school teacher capable of producing science and technology oriented learners.
Core values
Humility
Industriousness
Patriotism
Professionalism
The Principal of Marymount Teachers’ College Mrs. Petty Silitshena and staff have pleasure in welcoming all Marymount Teachers College friends and partners, relatives and friends of the graduands to the Diploma Awarding Ceremony for Intake 20 and ECD 10 students.
Marymount Teachers’ College was established in 1981 after being acquired by the Government of Zimbabwe from the Roman Catholic Church with the assistance of the Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA). It became the first Primary Teachers’ College to be established after independence and pioneered the indigenisation of tertiary education through the Zimbabwe Integrated Teacher Education Course (ZINTEC).
In its endeavour to become a centre of academic and professional excellence, the College offers a rich and diverse curriculum which includes a compulsory Information Communication Technology (ICT) course as well as a variety of subjects namely Physical Education and Sport, Music, Home Economics, Environmental Science, Chishona, English, Social Studies, Professional Studies, Art and Design, Religious Studies, Mathematics, Theory of Education, Health and Life Skills and National and Strategic Studies to make our products compliant with modern trends in education. In response to the call for a science oriented curriculum, we are in the process of introducing the natural sciences which are Physics, Chemistry and Biology. We have recently introduced Agriculture and IsiNdebele as applied subjects. The requisite infrastructure such as classrooms and laboratories is already in place. Alongside the general course, the College is also running a very comprehensive Early Childhood Development Programme.
The flagship projects that we offer are a key source of pride for the institution.
These include Poultry, Gown production, Tracksuit sewing, Horticulture and Nutrition Garden all which generate some revenue for the College in line with the new thrust of encouraging self sustenance. In addition, the College is engaged in a vivid outreach programme whose activities include the Lean Muchekazuwa project, participation in the National Clean-up Programme and support for Cyclone Idai victims. The College has sustained support for Lean, a disadvantaged child through provision of material and financial support since 2016 and we aim to continue until Lean trains at Marymount as a teacher.
The College staff and students have also visited the victims of Cyclone Idai who include student teachers and assisted through providing material as well as Psycho-social support.
It is part of the College’s plans to make follow-ups in this area through research and more psycho-social support.
The theme for this graduation ceremony is “Teacher education for modernisation and socio-economic development through research and innovation” which is a significant departure from the traditional and routine business of teaching, research and community service only.
In accordance with the new policy of Education 5.0, the College has also added new dimensions which are innovation and industrialisation.
In this way the College is certain to contribute significantly to reconfiguring its teacher education programmes to advance beyond the traditional scope of merely teaching and community service.
The College even aims to refocus research activities towards the promotion of modernisation and industrialisation.
We derive our inspiration and guidance from national policies in the new dispensation being spearheaded by the Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education, Science and Technology Development and Zimbabwean Government at large. This guides all our activities as an institution of higher learning.
We wish to extend our most humble and sincere thanks to the Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education, Science and Technology Development, the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education, the Mutare business community, the Religious fraternity, Government Departments, Political leadership, the University of Zimbabwe’s Department of Teacher Education and all our partners within and outside Mutare as well as the civic society whose invaluable support we salute. Thank you all for your contribution to what Marymount is today.
We remain resolute and committed to total quality education and the production of quality teachers.
