How students choose courses for university

Since independence, there has been a significant rise in the number of universities in the country from one in 1961 to the current 28. With all these institutions of higher learning, students now have a wider pool from which to pick the courses they want to study.

But spoilt for choice, how exactly have Tanzanian students been choosing degrees over the past few years?

We look at the most popular courses in terms of numbers of applicants, according to information provided to Success by the Tanzania Commission for Universities (TCU) last week.

1. Education

Education has been an unsurprising number one course in terms of enrollment figures in the past five years, statistics from the TCU show. Why, despite the plethora of challenges facing the sector, education remains the most sought after degree programme in Tanzania may not be too difficult to understand, after all.

State funding plays a key role in the country’s tertiary education. The majority of local university applicants are from poor families and whether or not they will proceed to tertiary education largely depends on whether or not they will get a full or part scholarship.

“There may be many reasons for this trend, but it’s partly due to the availability of loans. Students pursuing education as a degree stand a greater chance of securing State funding,” says Edward Mkaku, TCU spokesperson.

Education students are entitled to between 80 and 100 per cent bursaries courtesy of the Treasury, says the TCU spokesperson.

Last year, the number of students who successfully applied to study education in all the universities was 45.94 per cent of the total admissions, according to the TCU. There were 44,715 applicants in the 2012/13 academic year.

In fact, the past five years have seen a steady rise in the number of applicants for education. In the academic year 2008/2009, 14,000 students applied for the course. In the following year, there were 17,000 applicants. The figure shot up to 20,000 in the 2010/2011 academic year. Though it fell slightly in 2011/12 to 18,998, it increased significantly last year.

Prof Issa Omary Mcholo from the Open University of Tanzania (OUT) says the popularity of education is a result of the government’s strategy to woo students to the teaching profession by providing attractive funding at university.

“Education comes with attractive loan packages for students. There is also the issue of one having a job guarantee after university,” he tells Success. But there are other reasons too.

The cut-off points are among the lowest in the country, at all universities. A-level leavers who fail to make it to their first choice end up taking education as a backup course. A few of them will branch later to other career paths, like journalism and administration. It is also easier for an education graduate to get a job after college. The shrinking job market has over the years forced students to choose degree courses with life after campus in mind.

“There is a critical shortage of teachers in the country while everyone is crying for jobs. At least with education you are assured of a job. It gives you an option,” says Bugingo Zablon, a teacher-cum-journalist, now working with TBC 1.

A teacher at Shabaan Robert Secondary School, Mr Immanuel Kimolo, corroborates. “If you look at it closely, a person with an education qualification can easily fit into many other careers – a teacher can easily become a journalist or administrator, or sales person,” he says.

2. Business Management and Admin.

A management degree has also proven to be a very popular course for Tanzanian students who want to pursue careers in the corporate world. The past three years have seen total enrollment figures high at 8,763 in 2010/11, 7,446 in 2011/12 and 8,539 last year.

Business management and administration courses prepare students, at best, to become strategic leaders and, at worst, for the realities of life in the world of business. In Tanzania, their popularity can be attributed to the country’s steady economic growth over the past five years, which has seen more local and foreign investors pour their money into various businesses.

There has been a lot of investment in the banking sector, for instance, a favourite destination for many a student studying business.

Last year, 8,539 students enrolled for business management and administration courses, which is 19 per cent of the total admissions. In the 2011/12 academic year there were 7,446 applicants for the courses. The figure rose from 5,792 in 2008/2009.

3. Law and Social Sciences

Law and social sciences come third in terms of popularity among prospective students. Last year, students who applied for law and social sciences comprised 12.38 per cent of the total admissions. Over the last five years at least 35,743 students studied law and social sciences in the country’s universities.

Social science covers all aspects of the arts and humanities. And the successful completion of a degree in any social sciences subject demonstrates, in particular, research skills, analytical ability, critical evaluation, the ability to work to deadlines, creativity, logical thinking, team-working, self-organisation and communication skills.

Besides NGO jobs, many are probably being attracted to career prospects in the private sector such as media, advertising and marketing. There are also plenty of opportunities in the civil service, local government, charities, political and religious organisations. And law remains on the list of the so-called high-status degrees in Tanzania though evidence on the ground proves that it is no walk in the park. But the belief is that with a law degree comes attractive career prospects in, not necessarily the legal fraternity, but corporate world where legal astuteness is an invaluable asset.

4. Science and ICT

The total number of students who applied for science and ICT studies in all universities last year was 3,860. But the growth of the ICT sector in the country has seen the number grow from 2,369 in the 2008/2009 academic year, 3,500 in 2010, 4,512 in 2011 and 5,008 in 2011/2012. Information technology graduates are some of the most-sought-after professionals the world over, and Tanzania is no exception.

Experts say the nation’s vision of becoming a middle-income country by 2025 will largely depend on the growth of the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector. According to Dr Hassan Mshinda, the director general of the Tanzania Commission for Science and Technology (Costech), ICT ranks fourth as the fastest growing sector in the world. In a recent interview with The East African, he noted that the growth of ICT over the years has been widely pointed out as a major boost in creating jobs for the many young people in the country. He said Tanzanian universities have to be encouraged to start incubation programmes.

5. Engineering Sciences

Admittedly, engineering is not your kind of course where you are to find every Tom, Dick and Harry. The selection criterion is tough and based on excellent performance in the right sciences at A-level. It is not a wonder, therefore, that only 456 students enrolled for engineering courses in all universities in 2008/9.

The good news though is that the figure shot up by more than three times to 2,549 last year. So, why is engineering becoming more and more popular? There may be varying reasons, but there have been concerted efforts to promote the study of sciences in schools.

In the past, no girl, or one or two at least, would be found in a physics class. That has changed, and now more girls are breaking the glass ceiling.

With the rapid infrastructural development going on in the country, engineering may soon prove to be a course to do for those in love with sciences.

6. Medicine

The health industry is growing, and so is the number of students applying to study medicine at university. In the 2008/9 academic year, only 1,490 students applied for medical sciences. The number has since grown to 2,141 last year.

But a lot still needs to be done considering the lack of nursing professionals and midwifes. While medical sciences remain prestigious courses on paper, the salaries remain a put-off. In any case, one would not have expected much considering the stiff requirements for one to study medicine. Not another course for the faint-hearted.

7. Agriculture and Natural Sciences

This does not surprise at all, but in the past five years, only 3,167 students applied to study agriculture, while 2,591 studied natural sciences during the same period, making these some of the least popular courses in the country.

Last year, students who applied for agriculture constituted a mere 2 per cent of the total admissions, according to the TCU. This is not surprising. While agriculture has a lot of potential in the country, the sector has remained underfunded with tracts of arable land lying idle. ‘Kilimo Kwanza’ initiative is yet to bear fruit.