Seven foreign students benefit from UDSM scholarship to study Kiswahili

Dar es Salaam. Seven students from four African countries have benefited from a scholarship to study Kiswahili at the University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM) in the academic year which began 2020.

The beneficiaries under the Institute of Kiswahili Studies (IKS) are from Ghana, Uganda, Rwanda and Egypt who received tuition fees, research costs, and subsistence allowance (stipend) for the programme’s duration of 18 months.

Speaking to The Citizen the Directorate of Internationalisation Convocation and Advancement, Public Relations Officer Ms Rose Mtei said Kiswahili language has now become very popular, that's why the college decided to provide funding so that students from abroad can come Tanzania to study.

“This program started in 2020 and we provide only for foreign students, the aim of the university is to ensure that the language spreads and is spoken by many countries in Africa and the world,” she said.

She was speaking at the closing ceremony of  17th Tanzania Commission for Universities (TCU) that was held at Mnazi Mmoja grounds, saying that when the scholarship program started, it offered three students but later the number increased due to many applications.

“Number of foreign students like to learn Kiswahili due to its popularity, soon we will open the window to allow applications. Basically the competition is very tough because we received a number of applicants,” she said.

She said university go in line with various efforts that intend to promote the language internationally. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) declared July 7 as World Kiswahili Language Day