How disparities in degree preferences reveal gaps in Tanzania’s higher education goals

Dar es Salaam. As Tanzania advances towards industrialisation and a knowledge-based economy, new data has revealed persistent gender-based programme preferences in universities, highlighting both progress and lingering imbalances in the country’s higher education system.

The VitalStats on University Education in Tanzania 2024, released by the Tanzania Commission for Universities (TCU), shows that female students continue to dominate social science and service-oriented programmes.

Conversely, male students remain more inclined towards engineering, physical sciences, and technology-based fields.

This gender gap in programme choice emerges as the government prioritises science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) as critical enablers of national development.

Also read: Where are female students in Tanzania's higher education levels?

However, the university pipeline suggests a future workforce that may not be fully aligned with that vision, particularly in terms of gender equity.

A closer analysis of the data shows that disciplines such as Education, Business, and Medicine and Health Sciences are attracting significantly higher numbers of female students.

For instance, the Education sector enrolled over 23,000 female students compared to just over 22,000 male students, while Medicine and Health Sciences attracted more than 15,000 females against 13,000 males.

Business studies, traditionally viewed as a gender-neutral field, recorded almost equal participation, with female enrolment slightly trailing male counterparts.

In contrast, male students dominate Engineering, Mining and Earth Sciences, and Physical Sciences and Mathematics.

Engineering, a cornerstone of industrial growth, registered over 10,000 male students, compared to fewer than 3,000 females.

Similarly, Mining and Earth Sciences drew nearly three times more male than female students.

Information and Communication Technology (ICT), while nearing parity, still sees a slight male majority.

An education analyst at the University of Dar es Salaam, Dr Zaituni Mzava, told The Citizen on Saturday, July 19, 2025, that the disparities are deeply embedded in societal expectations and early academic exposure.

“Girls are often underrepresented in science subjects at the secondary level. This creates a cycle of underconfidence and limited ambition in fields viewed as male-dominated,” she said.

She emphasised the need to dismantle cultural and educational barriers that deter girls from pursuing STEM careers.

The divide is further illustrated by the Gender Parity Index (GPI), which measures the ratio of female to male enrolment across academic disciplines.

Fields such as Library, Archives and Museum Studies and Education not only had higher female enrolment but also recorded GPIs above 1.5, indicating a strong female majority.

In contrast, Engineering and Mining posted the lowest GPIs—0.28 and 0.38 respectively, underscoring stark gender gaps in these sectors.

Beyond enrolment, graduation data from the report shows Business leading in graduate output, with over 14,000 students completing degrees in the field, followed by Education with more than 13,800 graduates.

Social Sciences, Medicine and Health Sciences, and Law also saw high graduation numbers. At the lower end, Mining and Earth Sciences, Life Sciences, and Architecture and Planning produced the fewest graduates, with Mining contributing just 354 graduates nationwide.

A higher education policy expert, Mr Anthony Mvungi, attributed these trends to perceptions of the labour market.

“Students and their families are becoming more pragmatic. They choose programmes likely to offer stable employment, especially in government, so Business and Education are often favoured,” he said.

He noted that while STEM fields are critical to national progress, they are often seen as demanding and high-risk, particularly by students lacking mentorship or financial support.

These trends, experts warn, could have long-term implications. Despite the government’s commitment to innovation, artificial intelligence, and digital transformation, the human capital emerging from universities remains skewed towards traditional professions.

This mismatch could slow Tanzania’s efforts to adopt Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies and compete effectively in global markets.

A leading advocate for gender equity in education, Prof Lilian Ndunguru, warned that unchecked gender imbalance in degree selection could create a two-tier labour market.

“The country risks having a surplus of graduates in soft-skill sectors and a shortage of specialists in highly technical fields needed to drive future industries,” she said.

Prof Ndunguru urged the implementation of strategic reforms, including early STEM exposure for girls, targeted scholarships such as the Samia Scholarship, and robust efforts to counter gender stereotypes within academic institutions.

She stressed that equipping girls with science confidence at the primary and secondary levels is key to breaking the cycle of gendered career trajectories.

The VitalStats report paints a detailed picture of a higher education sector expanding in quantity but grappling with questions of quality, relevance, and equity.

It highlights not only institutional growth, but also the persistent social and structural factors influencing student choices and, ultimately, national development trajectories.

Although ICT recorded near gender parity, with male enrolment slightly higher, its potential as an equalising field could be realised with intentional policies and inclusive strategies.

Programmes such as Architecture and Planning, Life Sciences, and Physical Sciences and Mathematics also remain male-dominated, indicating the need for sustained interventions across the STEM spectrum.

The report further shows that although female participation is growing in some technical fields, it remains insufficient to meet national aspirations around inclusive innovation and economic transformation.

The upcoming Artificial Intelligence Forum, set to take place in 2025, will shine a spotlight not only on technological advancement but also on the human capital needed to lead that transformation.

Observers argue that without closing gender gaps in STEM, Tanzania risks reinforcing inequalities in the very sectors meant to drive its future.

While progress has been made in expanding university access and boosting female participation in key fields like health and education, more targeted efforts are required to ensure that higher education aligns with the country’s industrialisation roadmap.

These include strengthening career guidance services, scaling up STEM mentorship programmes, enhancing the visibility of female role models in science and technology, and revisiting university admissions criteria to encourage diversity in technical programmes.

Moreover, university-industry linkages must be strengthened to ensure that graduates from all fields are not only employable but also prepared to lead in emerging sectors.

Ultimately, Tanzania’s higher education system stands at a crossroads: it can either replicate old patterns or become a catalyst for a more inclusive and innovation-driven economy.

The road to a digital, industrialised future will not be paved by technology alone, but by the people empowered to build and lead it.