By Mthabisi Tshuma
Gwanda State University (GSU) is set to start developing 87 hectares of land in Gwanda Town which the institution was allocated by the Government.
The university is still operating from Epoch Mine in Filabusi and is also working on opening a campus in Gwanda Town. The campus was supposed to be opened in August but was derailed by the closure of universities and impact of Covid-19.
The fully-fledged tertiary institution founded in 2012 started as a National University of Science and Technology (Nust) college based at the Epoch Mine premises. In an interview GSU spokesperson Mr Walter Ndlovu said the institution will start the construction projects in phases.
“The university is about to commence infrastructural developments at the 87 hectares piece of land in Gwanda Town. The first phase of the construction programme will focus on a multi-purpose building which will house offices for administration and lecture rooms as well as the Innovation Hub and the Industrial Park to drive the Education 5.0 mantra.
Phase 1 has already started with the marking of the boundary around the University site. This will be followed by the clearing of the land to pave way for the construction of the envisaged multi-purpose building which will house offices for administration and lecture rooms as well as the Innovation Hub and the Industrial Park,” said Mr Ndlovu.
He said the institution is seeking to spread its focus on academic programmes and thus the campus is expected to be operational by early next year.
“Funds have been allocated for the renovation of the Jahunda Hall which will be the annex campus and the bill of quantities has been done. Currently we are doing the procurement of the building material which is at 75 percent complete.
The university is keen to operationalise the Gwanda Campus in order to expand its academic offerings. In the meantime, the University has secured office and teaching facilities in Gwanda Town on a lease basis to register its presence in the town. The identified premises will be refurbished to meet university standards,” said Mr Ndlovu.
He said as part of the institution’s marketing strategy they have set up a billboard at the Gwanda campus for identification purposes.
“As part of our institutional marketing strategy, we recently officially installed a billboard at our Gwanda campus site last Thursday. “It is envisaged that the billboard will improve the university brand,” said Mr Ndlovu. The Sunday News
Do we really need more universities?