Turkey pledges to assist Zim in skills development

The Turkish government says that it is committed to assisting Zimbabwe in widening its skills base to make it match with the southern African country’s high literacy rate.

Zimbabwe’s literacy rate, according to the United Nations Development Programme, stands at 96.4 percent, but the country’s skills enhancement programmes are considered poor.

In a speech read on his behalf at a pre-departure briefing for Zimbabwean students who benefited from a scholarship programme from North Cyprus based Near East University, Turkish Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Kemal Demirciler, said Zimbabwe was lacking in skills development, hence his country’s commitment to assisting the Southern African country.

The NEU was founded by Turkish Cypriot educationist and entrepreneur, Suat Gunsel, in Nicosia in 1988.

It has over 24, 000 students from 90 countries and 17 academic faculties and 90 departments and offers internationally recognized undergraduate and graduate programmes.

In Zimbabwe, the university’s scholarship programmes are coordinated by Eskard Consulting.

Said Demirciler: “The main purpose of establishing this collaboration is to widen the skills base for Zimbabwe. The range of programmes offered by NEU will enhance and strengthen what the government of Zimbabwe is striving to achieve.

“We must recall that Zimbabwe has one of the highest literacy rates in Africa. However, it is in the area of skills that it lags behind.

We need to match the literacy rate to the skills. This is in areas such as commerce, business, communication, information technology and so on. As an embassy, we will continue to support you and make sure your dreams and expectations come true.”

Since September 2013, a total of 110 students from over 10 High Schools in and around Harare have been recruited to study at NEU.

The students will study for the February and September 2014 intakes. The students, according to Eskard managing director, Moses Arogo, have received 50 percent tuition scholarship spread over a period of four years.

Demirciler said his country would continue facilitating easy travel for Zimbabwean students wishing to study in Cyprus.

“I am sure you are aware that there are no direct links between Zimbabwe and Northern Cyprus. We as an embassy are there to facilitate these kinds of ties with our brothers in Northern Cyprus. As you are aware, your children going out will pass through our biggest city Istanbul. There, they will get connecting flights to Northern Cyprus and their university,” said Demirciler.

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  1. Ian Smith

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