Academic Freedom and the Social Responsibilities of Academics in Tanzania

Proceedings of the Conference on Academic Freedom and Social Responsibility

Proceedings of the Conference on Academic Freedom and Social Responsibility Whitesands Hotel, Dar Es Salaam, 11-12 February 2005 DAY ONE: 10/02/05 Welcoming Professor Mmari The Vice-Chair UDASA, Professor Saida Yahya-Othman, welcomed Professor Mmari, the current Vice-Chancellor of Open University. She cited the 1990 Dar es Salaam Declaration as a milestone in academic freedom in Africa . She noted that CODESRIA had financed the workshop leading to the declaration and that it was the same Dakar-based council for research in Africa which is responsible for this workshop. She commended UDASA for charting the way forward for academic freedom in the region. She recognised the previous chairs of UDASA and expressed how proud UDASA is to have Professor Mmari deliver the keynote address, as he had been the first chairperson of the academic staff organisation, started during a momentous and crisis-ridden period. She praised Professor Mmari as a dynamic scholar eager to foster academic freedom and excellence as well as the welfare of fellow academicians. Professor Mmari’s Keynote Address – ‘Glimpses of Nationalist Academics’ Professor Mmari gave a historical background to the growth of university education in East Africa, from the colonial days to the current period in which private universities are mushrooming and the commercialisation of university education has become the order of the day. He lauded UDASA’s struggle to maintain the cardinal principle of university education, which is 62 Academic Freedom and the Social Responsabilites of Academics in Tanzania academic freedom. He pointed out that UDASA has stood the test of time since it produced the Dar es Salaam Declaration, and stressed that academic freedom grows out of the struggle for freedom of thought and expression, a basic human right in any free society. Professor Mmari recounted the history of academic freedom since the birth of universities and observed that academic freedom is secure whenever the prestige of university education is high, but insecure when universities do not have such prestige. He described the growth of the university system in East Africa as it grappled with nationalist, political, ideological, economic and global ramifications. He concluded his presentation by showing how factors such as the recent mass expansion of university intakes, the introduction of private providers and the influence of political agendas impact adversely on university education, especially on academic freedom and the maintenance of high academic standards. In conclusion, he called for a return to an environment which will ‘allow universities the freedom to do their work as best they know how .’ Vote of Thanks In thanking Professor Mmari, the UDASA chairperson, Professor Chachage, extolled him as a staunch and unflinching supporter of academic freedom in the various positions he has held and as a pioneer of honest, dynamic leadership in his role as the first UDASA chairperson. Discussion The discussion which followed described Professor Mmari as a dedicated public servant and a true academician who has sacrificed a lot in pursuit of knowledge, excellence and fairness. A question was posed: why do many activists abdicate or give up their militancy once they get better or higher jobs. Professor Mmari explained that very few people practice in earnest what they preach and thus the attainment even of deanships and department headship led some people to forsake their Professoressional stance. Another point raised was the fate of academic freedom in light of market forces dictating policies to academia, restricting academic freedom and watering down academic standards. Professor Mmari responded that there is a need to return to the original role of universities to ward off hijacking by politicians. Another participant inquired whether the original philosophy of the universities was still practicable or relevant in a globalised world. The state of current university was questioned, and it was pointed out that other forces were taking over at the expense of academic freedom. Consequently excellence suffers, as education has been watered down and standards are falling continuously. 63 Proceedings of the Conference on Academic Freedom and Social Responsibility Professor Kanywanyi on ‘Academic Freedom, Autonomy of Institutions of Higher Learning and Social Responsibility of Academicians ’ Professor Kanywanyi introduced his presentation by noting how huge and heavily loaded topic it was. The aim of his paper, he said, was to review the original Dar es Salaam Declaration, discuss how far it had been implemented and attempt a critique of the declaration itself. He posed some intriguing questions, while pointing out that although the declaration clearly...