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6 The Obligation of the State and Communities in the Provision of Higher Education Mwajabu K. Possi Introduction Higher education in Tanzania is said to be in crisis by many members of society. There have been demands for reforms by people from all walks of life, including many public figures. Recently, comments published in one of the newspapers by a very highly positioned citizen alleged that graduates from the University of Dar es Salaam are unable to compete in the world of work. Among the reasons cited for the alleged deterioration in the quality of higher education are the shortage (or unavailability) of teaching materials and facilities . Other reasons include the increasing numbers of students (admitted without taking into consideration the availability of space and of material and human resources) and the use of inappropriate teaching methodologies due to large class sizes. At the same time, minority groups such as women, people with disabilities and those from what I would call “unreached” communities have been left even further behind in higher education. According to the Minister of Community, Gender and Children, females constituted only 21 percent of students in science and 5.3 percent in architecture in 2004/05. Such figures show that there is still a huge task ahead as far as enrolment of women in higher education is concerned. The following questions are commonly raised by “consumers” of our products. Is there something wrong with the inputs in terms of the type of students enrolled, the curricula used, the teaching and learning materials, the qualifications of teaching staff, the learning environments etc? Do we blame the problems on the teaching and learning processes, the teaching techniques 53 Possi: The Obligation of the State and Communities used in our lecture theatres, seminar rooms, practicals and so on? Can it be that the “outputs”, our graduates, are not “selling” out there in terms of their knowledge and social validity? Obviously, if the education being provided is not socially valid and lacks content validity from the point of view of society, it may as well be considered obsolete and meaningless. A critical eye and brain have to be used here. More needs to be done as far as the obligations of the state, the universities and members of the community are concerned. Without the involvement of the state and members of the community, not much is going to be realised. They both have to own the process of higher education. The Role of Higher Education Education is concerned with the transfer of knowledge from one individual or environment to the other, leading to a relatively permanent change in cognitive , psychomotor and affective behaviour. It is through education that the individual or environment changes for the better, leading to improvements in both thinking and acting. It is believed that if a person’s behaviour does not change after training, no learning can have taken place. The process of education results in individuals possessing knowledge and skills that assist them in their lives. Education therefore prepares individuals for competition in the world of work. It enables them have career options, to be independent and to respond to various challenges. Thus education emancipates individuals and instills freedom in thinking. It also enables them to become socially responsible to the community they live in. This is why countries that do not invest sufficiently in education, such as Tanzania, lack development and become stagnant. Higher education is particularly important because it is meant to produce the “cream” of thinkers – the vanguard of development. Clearly, it is an obligation of the state and community to provide its citizens with education that instills in them the knowledge and skills that will assist them to thrive and participate in national development. The roles played by the state and various communities are therefore crucial for the provision of higher education. However, in practice the provision of higher education in any country is influenced by a host of factors. Ishumi (2000) asserts that access to education is governed by several parameters including physical barriers , financial barriers, legal and regulatory provisions, availability of supply and the packaging of curricula. These factors influence both the quality and quantity of education provided to learners. Any caring society must ensure that its members get the best possible education both qualitatively and quantitative. This is to say that all citizens must have fair access to education according to their needs and abilities and that the education services should be equally distributed. At a qualitative level the...

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