Morocco increases number of scholarships for Tanzania students
Rabat. The number of Tanzanian students studying in Morocco has been increased following a state visit by King Mohammed VI to Tanzania in 2016.
That was revealed by the Director General of the Morocco International Cooperation Agency (AMCI), Ambassador Mohamed Methqal, during an interview with The Citizen in Rabat.
Ambassador Methqal said the annual quota of students who were offered scholarships were three since the year 2017-2018, but after the State visit by King Mohammed Mohammed VI, that annual quota for Tanzanian students has risen to 30 with higher education scholarships.
He said the number has been increased following the cordial relations between Tanzania and Morocco in education and other sectors.
According to Ambassador Methqal, before joining higher education studies in public universities, students are supposed to study a six-month language course in order to master French and English.
The program is for non-French speaking students and is run by AMCI’s Centre for International Languages.
Currently, the Centre offers 660 students from various countries. Tanzania has 12 students who learn both French and English for this current academic year.
Ambassador Methqal explained that the total number of Tanzanian students studying in various public universities is 23.
Out of the number, four were taking up English studies, one was studying Economic Science and Management, six (Islamic studies) and 12 (Sciences and Education).
He said 13 students had been living at Rabat’s AMCI International campus while others live in other cities across the country.
“The selection of students is done directly by countries, according to the students’ grades and their national positions before a list of them is sent to Morocco. The students must meet the required qualifications for their studies and this has been successful with a big support from The Kingdom of Morocco,” said Ambassador Methqal.
What students say?
Most of the students studying there have expressed appreciation for the scholarship program that, according to them,is conducted in transparency.
Altungwabana Ahmed Hammad, who has been studying at the Faculty of the Letter and Human Science since January 2018, said the program had minimized expenses their parents would have incurred for their education.
“As far as scholarships are concerned, we apply via the ministry of education in Tanzania, which, in turn, resend our applications to Morocco via the diplomatic channel. Challenges are inevitable though it is fun learning and we appreciate the diversity in Morocco.
“I came to Morocco after the visit by His Majesty to Tanzania in 2016 when I first heard about scholarships to Morocco. I was among the three students, who applied before I became the first to be offered a scholarship,” he said.
Another student, Buyogora Baraka Jaffary, who studies French language, said he decided to apply to study in Morocco because the country had the best universities that teach the French language, which, to him, was an interesting language that he really wished to learn.
ABOUT AMCI
The institution was established in 1986 with the purpose of strengthening the Kingdom of Morocco’s international cooperation and focusing on promoting the South-South Cooperation.
Its ambition is to play a pivotal role in the South-South Cooperation, bring forward the Moroccan expertise and time-tested field experience in support of the developing countries, mainlythe African countries.
It totally coordinates with the ministry of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccan expatriates in implementing activities in partnership with various Moroccan ministerial departments and national flagship partners.
Its mission is to develop cooperation among nations by contributing to the strengthening of cultural, scientific, economic and technical cooperation between the Kingdom of Morocco and other countries.
Activities
The institution is also involved in cultural and scientific cooperation, whereby it deals with universities and vocational training colleges for foreign students in exchange for researchers.
It also deals with technical cooperation actions like coordinating short and medium term visits for trainees and professionals, dispatch of experts for short, medium and long-term missions. It also supports the implementation of sustainable human development projects. Apart from that, the organization works on humanitarian actions including giving donations.
