The higher education standards in Tanzania

I have been impressed with the speed on the establishment of institutions of higher learning in Tanzania. I recall when I completed A'levels in the early 90s we only had 2 institutions of higher learning, the University of Dar (UDSM) and Sokoine University. And if you were an Art student that meant you had to compete for admission to join UDSM. The competition was notoriously stiff. A decade later we have "utitiri" of universities and I think I have lost count now, which is impressive, but a question is do we have competent instructors to prepare young Tanzanians to compete in the 21st century after graduation? I sometimes take time and browse through websites of these institutions, reading instructors' vitae and biographies, leaving one to think if at the end of the day, a Tanzanian graduate is well prepared to compete with other graduates from other countries in the work force. It is important that both the Ministry of Education and Vocational training and its counterpart the Ministry of Communication, Science and technology give out scholarships for the purposeful preparation of instructors of higher learning in Tanzania. These scholarships have traditionally being awarded to "ndugu wa wakubwa" who later migrate to the countries they were sent to study instead of returning back home and fulfil their initial agreements. I do not want to pretend to know an ideal way to provide these government scholarships for graduate studies, but it is imperative that they are awarded to deserved students who have showed superior scholarship and a potential of scholarly achievements in the future.

Ndugu yangu, ni shida tu hapa bongo ni kuwa mtu anapopata nafasi ya kujiunga kanma academician, inabidi yeye mwenyewe apigane hadi aweze kupata hayo unayosema ndo maana wale watu ninaowaita smart guy wengi wao wakisha pata nafasi wanapotea kwanza, akija kurudi huku Tz ameshazeeka anatumika kidogo muda wake wa kuishi unaisha au kesha choka kufanya kazi kwa nguvu. kuna mizengwe mingi mno, ukiritimba mwingi lakini yote hayo hakuna kurudi nyuma, lazima tuelewe tuna jukumu kubwa la kuhakikisha watanzania wanaishi sawa na mtu aliye marekani kisayansi na technologia kwa kujitoa mhanga. Pia niseme tu wengi wa instructors vyuo vyetu vya elimu ya juu ni wale ambao hawana PhD holder, huko form six ni wale ambao ni diploma hoders na Form six leavers, form form ni wale mabao ni form six leavers na form form leavers, taasis husika zinatakiwa kuona hiyo hali na kuirekebisha haraka. Ni wimbo wa miaka sasa, sehemu nyeti hatuzitilii maanani, tunabaki kaufanya vitu vya leo na kesho hatuna uhakika tutafika au laa! Unaposikia tunaboresha secta ya uwekezaji, je tuko tayari hata kuiba technologia ya hao jamaa wanaokuja kutuibia mali ghafi au tunajipa moyo kuwa siku moja nasisi tutasimama kam watZ. Hayo namwachia JK na serikali yako, haswa wizara ya sayansi na technologia kuona na kuchukua hatua madhubuti ya kuwapa scholarship hawa intructors waende sehemu ambayo itawajenga kiuwezo kupata maarifa ya kuja kuwajuza watz wenzetu kwa manufaa ya baadae. Samahani kama kuna sehemu nimekwaa mtu.