Tanzania

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Tanzania in a nutshell

Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda on the north, Rwanda, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the west, and Zambia, Malawi and Mozambique on the south. To the east it borders the Indian Ocean.

The country's name is a portmanteau of Tanganyika, which is the large mainland territory, and Zanzibar, the offshore archipelago. The two former British colonies united in 1964, forming the United Republic of Tanganyika and Zanzibar, which later the same year was renamed the United Republic of Tanzania.

In 1996 government offices were transferred from Dar es Salaam to Dodoma, making Dodoma the country's political capital. Dar es Salaam remains the principal commercial city.

The Tanzanian official language is Swahili (de facto) and English in Higher courts, Higher Education

Source: Wikipedia's page on Tanzania

Tanzania education policy

The Higher Education Policy

Up until 1992, there had been no coherent national higher education policy. The newly created Ministry of Science, Technology, and Higher Education in 1992, observed the following problems pertaining the to higher education sector:

• mushrooming of small training centres and institutions belonging to separate ministries and parastatals;
• poor co-ordination in the development of higher education, resulting in duplication of programmes and awards;
• lack of legal and regulatory framework for the establishment of new institutions and certification;
• low enrolments amidst the uncoordinated proliferation of institutions;

imbalance between the sciences and liberal arts in favour of the later;

• gender imbalance in favour of boys;
• under-funding and poor provision of key inputs; and
• poor match between higher education and the economic, political, social, cultural and demographic changes taking place.

It was in the context of these problems and the paucity of a coherent philosophy for the development and management of higher education that the Ministry Science, Technology and Higher Education (MOSTHE) initiated a concerted policy-making exercise that resulted into the Higher Education Policy (1998) whose major thrusts include:

• the creation of a higher education council for accreditation purposes;
• dramatic expansion of enrolments;
• institutionalization of cost sharing;
• correcting the gender imbalances in enrolments;
• improving female participation rates in science, mathematics and technology;
• encouragement of the establishment of private institutions;
• improving the funding of higher education, and R&D in particular;
• being responsive to market demands in the training enterprise;
• increase autonomy of institutions of higher learning;
• improved co-ordination and rationalization of programmes and sizes, and
• promotion of co-operation among institutions of higher learning.

Tanzania Vision 2025

Vision 2025 targets at a high quality livelihood for all Tanzanians through the realization of universal primary education, the eradication of illiteracy and the attainment of a level of tertiary education and training commensurate with a critical mass of high quality human resources required to effectively respond to the developmental challenges at all levels.

Education is treated as a strategic agent for mindset transformation and for the creation of a well educated nation, sufficiently equipped with the knowledge needed to competently and competitively solve the development challenges facing the nation. In this light, the education system is restructured and transformed qualitatively, with a focus on promoting a science and technological culture from its lowest levels, giving a high standard education to all children between age of 6 - 15. Basic sciences and mathematics are accorded great importance in keeping with the demands of the modern technological age without losing sight of the humanities. The vision emphasize the need to ensure that science and technology education and their application for promoting and enhancing productivity permeate the whole society through continuous learning and publicity campaigns.

In addition, the poor communities are targeted to ensure their access to basic education. The resource base is being broadened to ensure adequate funding for primary education up to the university. More resources are being allocated to tertiary and higher education while management capacity to cope with the requirements of the education sector is enhanced. The vision also points out the need for enhancement and encouragement of pre-school education.

All these challenges will be met through the following strategies:

• reduction to manageable levels, of the high unit costs in higher education and training institutions,
• promotion of partnership between industry,
• the private sector and communities in the provision of education,
• revision of the curriculum to give it a greater science and technology orientation,
• encouragement of a balance between personnel and other inputs,
• encouragement of private investment at the local level in order to tap their creative capacity,
• promotion of special programmes targeting poor households to ensure their access to basic education,
• putting in place mechanisms for developing and utilizing science and technology at all levels of education and training.

In short, Tanzania aspires to be a nation with high quality education at all levels, a nation which produces the quantity and quality of educated people sufficiently equipped with the requisite knowledge and skills to solve the society's problems, meet the challenges of development and attain competitiveness at regional and global levels.

Source: Tanzanian Ministry of Education and Vocational Training – Policy Issues

Related documents:

• “Tanzania - Education Sector - Policy Overview Paper” by Building Capacity in Energy in the Health, Education and water Sectors for Poverty education in sub-Saharan Africa (ENABLE project), 2006
• “Tanzania: ICT policy for education was born” by Miep Lenoir, International Institute for Communication and Development (IICD), 2006

Higher education

Current status of higher education in Tanzania

1. University infrastructure According to the MOHEST, the country has 43 institutions of higher education, including 21 universities (8 public and 13 private), 4 technical institutions and 18 government accredited institutions or colleges that offer bachelor-level studies in disciplines such as fine art, business and technical studies see Table 7.1). In 2005, UDSM had a total of 12 945 students, making it the biggest university in the country. It has the largest intake of students and offers the widest selection of courses, amounting to 53 degree programmes. Sokoine University of Agriculture follows UDSM with 15 degree programmes (see www.tanzania.go/msthe).

2. Teacher-student ratio In 2005, Tanzania had 48 236 students engaged in higher education. The number of students in higher education doubled in the five-year period 2000–2005. All HEIs are experiencing growth, with the public universities (UDSM, in particular) experiencing the highest. However, the staff ratio at public institutions has not kept pace with this growth.

In 2005, HEIs had 2 735 teachers. The ratio was 22 students to one teacher at public institutions, but only eight students per teacher at private institutions. The teacher-student ratio for public HEIs almost doubled between 2000 and 2005, whereas the private HEIs experienced only a slight increase from 1:06 in 2000 to 1:08 in 2005, despite increased numbers of students (see MOHEST, n.d.).

Universities in Tanzania

Public universities

1. University of Dar es Salaam
2. Muhimbili University College of Health Science
3. University College of Land and Architectural Studies
4. Sokoine University of Agriculture
5. Open University of Tanzania
6. Mzumbe University
7. State University of Zanzibar
8. Moshi University College of Co-operative and Business
9. Studies

Private universities

1. St. Augustine University of Tanzania
2. Tumaini University KCMC
3. Tumaini University Makumira College
4. Tumaini University Iringa College
5. Tumaini University Dar es Salaam College
6. University of Arusha
7. University College of Education Zanzibar
8. Zanzibar University
9. Hubert Kairuki Memorial University
10. IMTU
11. Bugando CHS
12. Aga Khan University
13. Mount Meru University

Private colleges/institutions

1. Dar es Salaam Institute of Technology
2. Arusha Technical College
3. Mbeya Institute of Science and technology
4. Karume Technical College
5. IFM
6. IAA
7. NIT
8. TENGERU
9. Mweka Wildlife College
10. Tanzania Institute of Accountancy
11. Institute of Social Work
12. IRDP – Dodoma
13. College of Business Education
14. Dar es Salaam Maritime Institute
15. PHCI – Iringa
16. Advanved Theatre Management School – MBEYA
17. Vector Control Training Centre – Muheza
18. Masoka Management Training Centre
19. Regional Dermatology Training Centre
20. Mirembe Nursing School
21. MPHN – Morogoro
22. St. Joseph’s College of Engineering and Technology

Source: Partnership for Higher Education in Africa (PHEA) - Educational Technology Initiative: report on Tanzania (PDF - 14 pages)

Related Documents :

• Tanzania Higher Education Profile, by the Boston College Center for International Higher Education (CIHE)
• Wikipedia’s list of Tanzanian Colleges and Universities

Tanzania's HEIs in the information society

Related document: Partnership for Higher Education in Africa (PHEA) - Educational Technology Initiative: report on Tanzania (PDF - 14 pages)

Virtual initiatives in HE

• University of Dar es Salaam
  • Equipment: Facilities for videoconferencing and 300 computers for staff and Students
  • VSAT Connection
  • 128 Kbps bandwidth (1 Mbps to be established)
• Sokoine University of Agriculture
  • Equipment: 30 computers (undergraduate), 200 computers (postgraduate)
  • VSAT Connection
  • 128 Kbps bandwidth

Source: Partnership for Higher Education in Africa (PHEA) - Educational Technology Initiative: report on Tanzania (PDF - 14 pages)

References

1. Tanzanian Government
2. Tanzanian Ministry of Education and Vocational Training
3. Wikipedia's page on Tanzania
4. Tanzanian Ministry of Education and Vocational Training – Policy Issues
5. “Tanzania - Education Sector - Policy Overview Paper” by Building Capacity in Energy in the Health, Education and water Sectors for Poverty education in sub-Saharan Africa (ENABLE project), 2006
6. “Tanzania: ICT policy for education was born” by Miep Lenoir, International Institute for Communication and Development (IICD), 2006
7. Tanzania Higher Education Profile, by the Boston College Center for International Higher Education (CIHE)
8. Wikipedia’s list of Tanzanian Colleges and Universities
9. Partnership for Higher Education in Africa (PHEA) - Educational Technology Initiative: report on Tanzania (PDF - 14 pages)

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