Issues on Financing Higher Education in Tanzania

Background

According to the Higher Education Policy (1999), there are two levels of training in higher education in Tanzania, namely academic full-professional training and intermediary professional education and training institutions. The two levels are respectively represented by universities and non-university professional training institutions. Elaborating on the role of universities, the policy stipulates that universities are the highest level of institutions dedicated to the professional and intellectual development of the society. These are mandated to teaching and conducting research and outreach activities. With regard to intermediary institutions of higher education, the policy specifies that these are devoted to the development of human resource for the middle and intermediate level of the occupational structure of the society. Nevertheless, it is clearly stipulated in the National Higher Education Policy (1999) that the higher education in Tanzania is faced with a number of challenges, including imbalances in student enrolment with more students enrolling in humanities and social science programmes as opposed to science and technology‐based programmes, high running costs, limited space, deteriorating infrastructure and facilities, and curricula that do not adequately focus on the demands and priorities of the society (Bailey, Cloete, Pillay, 2011).