Strip TCU of admissions role, says Bunge team
The chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Public Services and Community Development, Peter Serukamba
What you need to know:
Parliamentary Committee on Public Services says TCU shouln’t act as an agent and lifeline of private varsities that charge students very high fees
Dodoma. A Parliamentary committee has proposed that the Tanzania Commission for Universities (TCU) be stripped of a role on student admissions to remain with its core duty of maintaining the quality of higher education institutions.
“TCU has now become an agent and lifeline of private universities, which charge students inordinately high fees. We highly recommend that the current system to be scrapped and leave students to go for universities of their choice,” Mr Peter Serukamba, the chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Public Services and Community Development, said yesterday here.
The committee also criticised the government for relocating its ministries to the University of Dodoma (Udom).
Mr Serukamba (Kigoma North-CCM) said in a report tabled in Parliament yesterday that although it supported the government’s seat shift from Dar es Salaam to Dodoma, occupying Udom buildings was inappropriate.
“How can you mix government officials with students? By so doing the students will not concentrate with their studies,” reads the report.
It suggested that the government look for other buildings or construct its own offices instead of using the university ones. “The higher learning institution was not meant to accommodate ministry offices.”
Last Thursday opposition MPs Suzan Lyimo (Special Seats-Chadema) and Rev Peter Msigwa (Iringa Urban-Chadema) faulted the government for relocating its offices to the university.
Responding to the opposition lawmakers’ criticism, the deputy minister for Education, Science, Technology and Vocational Training, Ms Stella Manyanya, and the minister of state in the Prime Minister’s Office (Policy, National Assembly, Employment, Youth and People with Disabilities), Ms Jenista Mhagama, said the government use of the Udom buildings was temporary as plans to set up new offices for ministries were underway.
CCM secretary general Abdulrahman Kinana on Sunday backed the government for using the Udom facilities. He was speaking during the party’s 40th anniversary.
