By
Queenter Mawinda
The
Executive Secretary for the Inter-University Council for East Africa (IUCEA)
Professor Mayunga Nkunya has said that Tanzania still lags behind in university
students’ enrollment rate compared to other East African countries.
Professor
Nkunya made the observation early this week in an interview during the second
East African Community university students’ debates on EAC integration organized
by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), the German
agency for international development.
Professor
Nkunya said in spite of the government’s attempts to increase the number of
students enrolled in universities, there is a need to review the programs to
increase students’ confidence and professionalism after completing their
studies. That would enable them to tune themselves better to the labour market
in East Africa and beyond.
With
Tanzania aiming to reach a target of 300,000 students in its universities by
2015, the Minister for Education and Vocational Training Dr Shukuru Kawambwa
told Parliament that a total of 65,000 students are this year being enrolled in
local universities.
However
the number is well below those admitted to universities in other East African
countries, Prof. Nkunya noted.
For
instance, in Kenya the Economic Survey 2010 reported a total of 143,000
students in public universities in 2009, up from 101,000 in 2008.
And in
2011, the country’s Joint Admission Board (JAB), which handles admissions of
government-sponsored undergraduates to public universities, decided on a double
intake of new undergraduate students. This enabled admissions of 32,611
students who sat for the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) in
2009 and 2010 out of 96,000 who qualified.
These
statistics are for public universities only in Kenya – while the Tanzanian
target includes both private and public universities.
In
Uganda, enrolment in public universities shot up when the National Resistance
Movement took power more than 20 years ago, from about 5,000 students to more
than 100,000 today. According to a 2008 Uganda Bureau of Statistics report, in
that year the country’s 27 universities had 92,605 students.
According
to Prof. Nkunya, many students fail to join universities because of the poor
quality of education and curriculum used in high schools.
In an
envisaged leap forward, there is need to harmonize education systems so as to
increase student’s enrollment in universities as well as integration with other
universities.
He said
the EAC is still faced with lack of employment opportunities for fresh
graduates, while the situation is worse for those who leave schools at lower
levels, contributing to criminality.
Universities
provide education that does not prepare students to creation of entrepreneurial
capacity for empowering individuals to create self employment and employment
for others, the don indicated.
There
is need to establish strong ties between private sector and employers on one
hand, to work hand in hand with universities so as to project students
capability for employment or self employment
“There
is a need to expand employment opportunities so as to reduce the number of
youths who are unemployed in both regional groups,” he stated.
Currently
the council is working closely with the East African Business Council (EABC) so
as to make sure youths are given skills and knowledge that will enable them to
be self employed.
With a
tone of disappointment, he said that it was expected that communities near
agricultural universities like Sokoine University in Morogoro would set
examples for agricultural communities elsewhere in the country.
Our
education system does not give students the opportunity to link with the
outside world and communities, and oversee opportunity and challenges ahead, he
stated.
“Universities
should think outside the box and go beyond the mark on how students are going
to contribute their education to the society,” he added.
SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN (http://www.ippmedia.com/frontend/index.php?l=59046)
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