Tanzania blocks 19 local, foreign varsities from enrolling students

What you need to know:

According to TCU, the move was precipitated by findings in an assessment report on the quality of education provided by the universities and colleges in the country, conducted between September and October 2016.

Tanzania Commission for Universities (TCU) has blocked 19 local and foreign higher learning institutions from enrolling new students from September for failure to meet standards.

According to TCU, the move was precipitated by findings in an assessment report on the quality of education provided by the universities and colleges in the country, conducted between September and October 2016.

“The report has showed several limitations in some colleges, as a result, the Commission has suspended enrolment of the first year students for the year 2017/18,” said Prof Eleuther Mwageni, TCU’s acting executive secretary.

Ugandan Kampala International University and two Kenyan varsities -- Kenyatta (KU) and Jomo Kenyatta (JKUAT) -- are among those stopped from enlisting new students. Blacklisted local institutions are all privately owned with majority of them Christian.

The suspension comes barely a week to the enrolment window, throwing prospective students and universities into confusion and anxiety.

Suspended courses

TCU also suspended 75 university courses including in main public institutions such as the University of Dar es Salaam and the University of Dodoma.

The suspended programmes will affect students seeking to pursue bachelor, masters and PhD degrees.

“Due to limited requirements found in certain colleges and universities, a total of 75 programmes from 22 universities in the country have been suspended for the coming academic year 2017/18,” Prof Mwageni said.

Tanzania has a total of 71 universities.

Here is a list of the affected higher learning institutions.