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Hongera Serikali ya mama unaendelea kuandika historia na kutafuna mifupa iliyowashinda waliojigamba Wana meno magumu.
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Dar es Salaam. The Mwalimu Julius Nyerere University of Agriculture and Technology (MJNUAT) in Butiama, Mara Region, is finally set to admit its first students after waiting for 13 years.
Established in 2010, the institution had maintained its faculty and college management but puzzled stakeholders by not enrolling any students.
However, now it is on the brink of commencing academic activities.
In January of this year, members of the parliamentary Social and Community Development Committee expressed astonishment and anger when they discovered that the institution had no students despite having academic and non-academic staff.
Special Seat MP Salome Makamba remarked that a professor (without mentioning the name) was sent to the college to become the Vice Chancellor and retired after eight years without a single lecture delivered.
Interestingly, the college continued to receive public funds for salaries and other expenses each month, even though no academic services were being provided.
The reason for the prolonged delay in admitting students was the fact that MJNUAT was operating under a provisional licence, which prevented it from enrolling students until more than 50 of its staff held Ph.D. degrees.
Consequently, most of the academic staff assigned to the college were physically absent because they were pursuing studies at other universities.
However, a glimmer of hope emerged in July when the Minister for Education, Science, and Technology, Prof Adolf Mkenda, visited MJNUAT's Oswald Mang’ombe Campus in Butiama District to inspect the rehabilitation and construction of new buildings.
During this visit, MJNUAT Vice-Chancellor Prof Bernard Melau announced that the university was prepared to start admitting students in the academic year 2023/24.
Prof Melau stated that all the necessary infrastructure would be in place for the anticipated student enrollment in October 2023.
"We will start with between 300 and 350 students and Bachelor programmes for Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness, Aquaculture, as well as Computer Science," he noted.
This promise has now materialised, with the Tanzania Commission for Universities (TCU) recently announcing admission slots to the Butiama campus.
"In this new admission window, there are some programmes, including three from MJNUAT, that will admit students in this window for the academic year 2023/24," noted TCU Executive Secretary, Prof Charles Kihampa.
Education experts and local residents have expressed their relief and excitement about this long-awaited development.
Dr Thomas Jabir, an education expert based in Dar es Salaam, said, "I think this is good news because if they had failed to admit students again this year, it would have been a topic of concern. But for the people of Butiama, it's a prayer being answered, and they must seize this opportunity."
This breakthrough in the Mara region coincides with TCU's decision to open a fourth admission window for undergraduate programmes.
This extension was prompted by numerous requests from applicants who initially missed out and institutions that still had available slots for the academic year 2023/24.
This opportunity ensures that no deserving student is left without a place at a university.
In total, 142,440 applicants applied to various universities in all three admission windows, of which 130,116 have been admitted.
There are 187,084 slots to be filled for the 2023/24 academic year at all accredited universities.
As the doors of MJNUAT open to its first batch of students, it marks the end of a 13-year drought and the beginning of a new era for the institution, offering opportunities for higher learning in the heart of Mara.
“Our institution is ready to fulfil its mission and contribute to the educational growth and development of our region. We were really waiting for this great news,” said Mosaba Andrew, a resident of Butiama, as he spoke to The Citizen by phone.
The Citizen
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- Established in 2010, the institution had maintained its faculty and college management but puzzled stakeholders by not enrolling any students.
Dar es Salaam. The Mwalimu Julius Nyerere University of Agriculture and Technology (MJNUAT) in Butiama, Mara Region, is finally set to admit its first students after waiting for 13 years.
Established in 2010, the institution had maintained its faculty and college management but puzzled stakeholders by not enrolling any students.
However, now it is on the brink of commencing academic activities.
In January of this year, members of the parliamentary Social and Community Development Committee expressed astonishment and anger when they discovered that the institution had no students despite having academic and non-academic staff.
Special Seat MP Salome Makamba remarked that a professor (without mentioning the name) was sent to the college to become the Vice Chancellor and retired after eight years without a single lecture delivered.
Interestingly, the college continued to receive public funds for salaries and other expenses each month, even though no academic services were being provided.
The reason for the prolonged delay in admitting students was the fact that MJNUAT was operating under a provisional licence, which prevented it from enrolling students until more than 50 of its staff held Ph.D. degrees.
Consequently, most of the academic staff assigned to the college were physically absent because they were pursuing studies at other universities.
However, a glimmer of hope emerged in July when the Minister for Education, Science, and Technology, Prof Adolf Mkenda, visited MJNUAT's Oswald Mang’ombe Campus in Butiama District to inspect the rehabilitation and construction of new buildings.
During this visit, MJNUAT Vice-Chancellor Prof Bernard Melau announced that the university was prepared to start admitting students in the academic year 2023/24.
Prof Melau stated that all the necessary infrastructure would be in place for the anticipated student enrollment in October 2023.
"We will start with between 300 and 350 students and Bachelor programmes for Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness, Aquaculture, as well as Computer Science," he noted.
This promise has now materialised, with the Tanzania Commission for Universities (TCU) recently announcing admission slots to the Butiama campus.
"In this new admission window, there are some programmes, including three from MJNUAT, that will admit students in this window for the academic year 2023/24," noted TCU Executive Secretary, Prof Charles Kihampa.
Education experts and local residents have expressed their relief and excitement about this long-awaited development.
Dr Thomas Jabir, an education expert based in Dar es Salaam, said, "I think this is good news because if they had failed to admit students again this year, it would have been a topic of concern. But for the people of Butiama, it's a prayer being answered, and they must seize this opportunity."
This breakthrough in the Mara region coincides with TCU's decision to open a fourth admission window for undergraduate programmes.
This extension was prompted by numerous requests from applicants who initially missed out and institutions that still had available slots for the academic year 2023/24.
This opportunity ensures that no deserving student is left without a place at a university.
In total, 142,440 applicants applied to various universities in all three admission windows, of which 130,116 have been admitted.
There are 187,084 slots to be filled for the 2023/24 academic year at all accredited universities.
As the doors of MJNUAT open to its first batch of students, it marks the end of a 13-year drought and the beginning of a new era for the institution, offering opportunities for higher learning in the heart of Mara.
“Our institution is ready to fulfil its mission and contribute to the educational growth and development of our region. We were really waiting for this great news,” said Mosaba Andrew, a resident of Butiama, as he spoke to The Citizen by phone.
The Citizen
