Crop response to fertilizer application depends on the physiological and morphological characteristics of the cultivars, thus causing cultivar differences in growth rate and final yield. A study was carried out in the Zvimba smallholder farming area of Zimbabwe, from November 2016 to February 2017, to investigate the performance of two rape (Brassica napus) cultivars under different nitrogen fertilizer management levels. An experiment was set up in a randomized complete block design, replicated three times, with two rape varieties, Hobson and English Giant, and 5 ammonium nitrate (AN) (34.5% N) fertilizer application rates (200 kg/ha, 300 kg/ha, 350 kg/ha, and 400 kg/ha) as factors. Nitrogen fertilizer rates had a significant (p<0.05) effect on leaf length at 6 WAP and 7 WAP. Nitrogen fertilizer application levels had significant effects on both in-season and total fresh leaf yield. There were no varietal effects on the leaf length (p>0.05), in-season yield and total leaf yield (p>0.05), and there were also no variety ∗ fertilizer application level interaction effects on leaf length, in-season yield and total leaf yield (p>0.05). From the results of this study, English Giant rape would maintain a longer leaf length than Hobson up to the end of the season, but the two cultivars have similar yield response to fertilizers’ application rate. Both the English Giant rape and Hobson rape cultivars can, therefore, be recommended for production in the Mhondoro smallholder farming area of Zimbabwe and other areas with similar climatic and soil characteristics.

The impact of vocational education policy to secondary schools of Rushinga District rural communities in Mashonaland Central Province was studied. The study considered training levels of teachers, availability of relevant teaching material and their usage. Seventy respondents comprising of sixty and ten teachers and heads respectively participated. Purposive sampling was used. Data collection involved questionnaires, interviews and document analysis. Data was presented as frequency tables. Findings revealed that there has been very little effort in rural secondary schools towards implementation of vocational education. Poor policy implementation was due to engagement of majority of untrained teachers with a minimum academic qualification of Ordinary Level to teach vocational subjects. Some inexperienced teachers had no vocational education qualification. No staff development for effective teaching of vocational subjects, lack of relevant resources, overloaded timetables, high staff turnover, negative attitudes of heads and lack of industrial attachment of pupils to effectively implement the curriculum innovation. Major recommendations are that Higher Education Examination Council, through Curriculum, Research and Development Unit should mount re-orientation workshops to vocational education teachers. Syllabuses and additional learning resources of vocational education should be made available in schools. There is need for reduction of corporate taxes for companies that support vocational education.

The impact of vocational education policy to secondary schools of Rushinga District rural communities in Mashonaland Central Province was studied. The study considered training levels of teachers, availability of relevant teaching material and their usage. Seventy respondents comprising of sixty and ten teachers and heads respectively participated. Purposive sampling was used. Data collection involved questionnaires, interviews and document analysis. Data was presented as frequency tables. Findings revealed that there has been very little effort in rural secondary schools towards implementation of vocational education. Poor policy implementation was due to engagement of majority of untrained teachers with a minimum academic qualification of Ordinary Level to teach vocational subjects. Some inexperienced teachers had no vocational education qualification. No staff development for effective teaching of vocational subjects, lack of relevant resources, overloaded timetables, high staff turnover, negative attitudes of heads and lack of industrial attachment of pupils to effectively implement the curriculum innovation. Major recommendations are that Higher Education Examination Council, through Curriculum, Research and Development Unit should mount reorientation workshops to vocational education teachers. Syllabuses and additional learning resources of vocational education should be made available in schools. There is need for reduction of corporate taxes for companies that support vocational education.