Magufuli challenges higher learning institutions

Dar es Salaam. President John Magufuli has challenged higher learning institutions in Tanzania to change their approaches in order to produce graduates who don’t entirely depend on employment, rather those who will use their knowledge to start own establishments.

The Head of State was speaking during University of Dodoma’s (Udom) 10th graduation ceremony in Dodoma.

He observed in the live televised event that currently, most of those coming out of the country’s higher learning institutions almost entirely depend on employment.

“Currently, most universities generate mostly public servants but we want people who will come to solve real problems,” he said.

President Magufuli, who yesterday was conferred with an honorary doctorate degree in science, said the graduates’ success will not longer be measured by academic certificates but rather by how they used knowledge that they obtained to tackle problems that exist in the society.

He also called the higher learning institutions to conduct researches that will help the country to tackle its challenges. He warned against the tendency of most academic institutions to heavily rely on foreign funds for implementation of researches.

For that the President called for academic and other research institutions to strengthen research funds in their institutions. This, according to him, will make sure that research agendas are locally driven.

He said currently there were researches that were driven by donors’ agenda because they were the financiers, something that puts the country’s future in jeopardy.

“When you depend on foreign funded researches, you (researchers) wouldn’t be helping your country rather you will be serving your financiers by helping them in their agenda,” said the President.

He also criticized public and private entities for their failure to use findings resulting from research work done by locals.

Dr Magufuli said since the ruling CCM came to power in 2015 it has been using local researchers and their findings in implementing the party’s election manifesto but he was surprised that some public organisations have not been doing so.

He expressed his disappointment by the tendency of some public entities to fail to utilise research findings conducted by some locals. The President said even the Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA) has failed to utilise a new technological innovation that was developed by Ardhi University to increase revenue collection.

“Ardhi University developed a technological tool from which locations of all houses across the country can be determined, but to my surprise TRA doesn’t utilise this to improve property tax collections,” said President Magufuli.