Mpofu last month graduated with a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Policy Studies from the Zimbabwe Open University (ZOU).
He was capped by President Robert Mugabe together with Zanu-PF chief whip Joram Gumbo (PhD in Policy Studies) and Police Senior Assistant Commissioner Charles Makono (PhD in Philosophy in Management). Many questioned how Mpofu had managed to pursue his studies considering the tight schedule ministers have.
“Yes, a minister’s schedule is busy but with dedication, it is possible to study and improve oneself,” Mpofu said.
“Technological advancements make it easy to study nowadays as one can read from their computer instead of moving from one library to another.”He added: “Being a minister is a 24 hours’ work but I still manage to do a lot of reading and everything I read becomes part of my research.”There have been sentiments that some legislators, even those at high offices, lack requisite skills for their jobs.
A PhD is a doctorate usually based on at least three years graduate study and a thesis. It is the highest degree awarded graduate study and is awarded for original contributions to knowledge.
Most work for a PhD centres around research for the thesis which can be over 200 pages compared to typical undergraduate dissertations which might be forty pages and Master’s theses which can be 100 pages.
Mpofu said he started gathering data for his PhD thesis in 2008 when he was Minister of Industry and International Trade.He said publishing companies had approached him with requests to publish a book based on his thesis titled “An Analysis of The Tripartite Negotiating Forum (TNF) in Zimbabwe”.
TNF is a forum where government, industry and labour meet to discuss issues to do with the economy, business environment and workers’ welfare among others.
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“My stint in the ministry, which exposed me to a lot of negotiations locally, in the region and internationally influenced my research topic,” Mpofu said. “My thesis explores why we had a lot of inconclusive negotiations in the TNF and is about the enhancement of negotiating skills which Africa is not fully equipped in as is shown in negotiations under such organizations as World Trade Organisation, Sadc, Comesa, ACP-EU and Kimberly Process.”
Mpofu encouraged his colleagues to study despite hinderances. He said he studied for his Masters in Policy Studies with the University of Zimbabwe and Fort Hare under difficult conditions as his lecturers who included Dr John Makumbe, Eldred Masunungure and the late Masiphula Sithole were always critical of his party Zanu-PF.
Mpofu said despite some negative views about ZOU, the institution is better than many in the region, especially regarding research as supervisors are drawn from various universities in the region.
“Of course, there is need for them to improve in some areas like those with programmes which have been suspended but that does not mean they are a bad institution,” he said.
Mpofu said he believed government was committed to improving the quality education in the country despite the lack of resources.“My colleagues in the Information and Technology Development Ministry are doing their best to equip schools with computers,” he said. “Others in other ministries linked to education are also doing all they can so I believe government is doing its best to ensure that education is available to all in Zimbabwe.
He added: “Conditions at schools are better these days compared to our days when books were limited and the sole source of information, especially in rural schools, was the teacher.”
