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Is AI exposing critical thinking gap in Tanzania’s universities?
Dar es Salaam. As Tanzania gears up for its first-ever Artificial Intelligence (AI) Forum in 2025, a growing concern is emerging from the lecture halls of its universities: the quiet erosion of critical thinking.
With students increasingly relying on AI tools to handle essays, group assignments, and research projects, educators are sounding the alarm over what this means for the future of learning, innovation, and academic integrity in the country.
At the core of the issue is the growing use—and dependence—on AI-powered platforms among university students. Many say it makes academic life easier.
“I use ChatGPT to generate first drafts of my essays. After that, I just go through the answers and adjust them to suit what the lecturer might expect,” said a third-year sociology student at the University of Dar es Salaam.
“Honestly, it saves time, especially when you’re juggling part-time work and studies.” Others like Stephen*, a student at Ardhi University, admit that the tools are so helpful that they barely write anything from scratch anymore. “The confidence I had in my own ideas is fading. Now, I feel like I can’t start anything without an AI input,” he confessed to The Citizen in an interview.
This shift has raised eyebrows among lecturers and academic analysts. A lecturer at the State University of Zanzibar, Dr Abdul Mohamed, warns that this trend is weakening students’ intellectual engagement.
“We are rapidly losing ground to profound societal changes that could have unimaginable consequences for universities if we do not respond quickly,” said Dr Mohamed. “I can appreciate the role of AI in science or math, but in the humanities and social sciences, this overreliance is deeply worrying.”
A humanities lecturer at Moshi Cooperative University (MoCU), Ms Milicent Mkwayu, is equally concerned. “AI is being promoted as a time-saving tool, but in doing so, it’s pushing students away from thinking independently. Writing is not just about producing content—it’s about learning to think.” She draws on the wisdom of novelist E.M Forster, who once said, “How can I tell what I think till I see what I say?” “Writing helps you discover your thoughts. By outsourcing that process, we’re outsourcing thinking itself,” she added.
To address these mounting concerns, Tanzania’s Artificial Intelligence Forum 2025 to be held on July 28 and 29, 2025, is expected to serve as a timely intervention.
The forum, organised by the ICT Commission (ICTC), will gather students, innovators, policymakers, and educationists to debate the ethical use of AI and its implications for Tanzania’s knowledge economy among other themes.
“We will discuss emerging issues in AI and examine the ethical responsibilities that come with it,” said Director General of ICTC, Dr Nkundwe Mwasaga. “We want to emphasise that AI should be a tool, not a replacement for human intelligence.”
Among the six main themes of the forum, education stands out as a priority. Dr Mwasaga believes that, if handled well, AI can drive socio-economic growth and job creation. But for this to happen, there must be a balance between innovation and ethics.
The forum will also showcase innovations from young Tanzanians who are using AI to tackle social challenges— demonstrating that, when directed with purpose, AI can enhance creativity rather than replace it.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology (MoEST) has developed the National Guidelines for AI in Education—a strategic move aimed at integrating digital tools into learning while protecting core academic values.
These guidelines align with the National Digital Education Strategy 2024/25 - 2029/30, and call for the ethical and responsible use of AI.
They emphasise the need for training educators, administrators, and learners on the risks and benefits of AI, while encouraging the creation of monitoring systems within institutions. “Institutions must designate responsible personnel to oversee AI use and ensure ethical compliance,” the guidelines state.
They also call for continuous professional development to support ethical practices in the deployment of AI in classrooms.
Globally, countries like China and the United States are already using AI in education—to personalise learning, assist students with disabilities, and automate administrative tasks.
Tanzania’s approach, however, is trying to go a step further: to ensure that digital tools complement rather than compromise the learning process.
Experts say the time to act is now. “If we fail to protect the core mission of our universities—to develop independent thinkers—we risk raising a generation that can perform but cannot innovate,” warned Ms Mkwayu
