Higher education
18 Nov 2010
On this page
- Short description of the higher education system
- Types of degrees
- Quality assurance and accreditation
- Recent reforms
Short description of the higher education system
The first higher education institution in Tanzania was established in 1961 as a college of the University of London. The University College of Tanganyika, as it was then called, started with the Faculty of Law.
In 1963, the college became a constituent college of the University of East Africa, together with Makerere and Nairobi university colleges. It then became known as University College Dar es Salaam. In 1970, when the University of East Africa was dissolved, the University College Dar es Salaam became an independent national university (1 July 1970).
The number of higher education institutions in the country has grown from that one to 35 today. Of this number, eleven are recognized public or private universities, nine are university colleges and eleven are non-university tertiary institutions.
Many higher education institutions, mainly private, were established after 1996 as a response to the government decision to liberalize the establishment, ownership and management of higher education institutions. Existing public institutions have also expanded their facilities and continue to introduce new programmes and courses.
The Vocational Education and Training Act was enacted by Tanzanian parliament in 1994 to guide the country’s vocational education and training (VET) system. The act established the Vocational Education and Training Authority (VETA) as an autonomous government agency charged with overall responsibility for coordination, regulation, financing, provision and promotion of vocational education and training.
Types of degrees
Higher education is organized on two levels: non-university and university. Non-university tertiary-level institutions include those which offer courses of up to three years and have the Advanced Diploma as their highest possible qualification, while university-level institutions include those which offer courses leading to bachelor’s and subsequent degrees.
Higher education institutions are identified by their mission, objectives and curricular orientation. The distinction between a higher and a non-higher education institution lies in the academic admission requirements, the level and duration of courses, the qualifications conferred and the minimum academic and professional requirements of academic staff. These and related requirements are normally validated against internationally accepted standards by academic boards, committees for higher education colleges or university senates.
Quality assurance and accreditation
The Tanzania Commission for Universities (TCU) was enacted by Act No. 7 of the Parliament in 2005. This followed the transformation of what used to be the Higher Education Accreditation Council (HEAC), established in 1995. The TCU is responsible for institutional registration and monitoring and accreditation and quality control for programmes, courses and qualifications at both public and private universities. In addition, a proposal to establish a Qualifications Framework has been developed, with public consultation commencing in the second half of 2008.
Higher education institutions are also required to monitor quality internally on an ongoing basis. Each institution has a Quality Assurance Department, and institutional quality of programmes and qualifications is monitored and controlled through faculty boards, senates and external examiners. Institutions not funded by the government are subject to the same quality assurance procedures as government-funded institutions, as all institutions are supposed to have the same quality assurance procedures in place.
The website of the TCU offers up-to-date status reports on the recognition, registration and accreditation of newly established public and private university-level institutions (1997 to date), validated and approved programmes and courses offered by specific institutions.
Recent reforms
The National Higher Education Policy (1999) has the following major aims: creation of a higher education council for accreditation purposes (now TCU), dramatic expansion of enrolments, institutionalization of cost sharing, correcting the gender imbalance in enrolments, improving female participation rates in science, mathematics and technology, encouraging the establishment of private institutions, improving the funding of higher education, responding to market demands for enterprise training, increasing autonomy of institutions of higher learning, improving coordination and rationalization of programmes and sizes, and promoting cooperation among higher education institutions. This policy is currently under review in a consultation process, with the revised policy expected to be released in 2009. This would have been completed already, but has been delayed by the merger of the two ministries responsible for education. The review of higher education policy is thus now taking place as part of a broader sector review, which will lead to a unified education policy. (Source: SARUA)
