TCU okays Open University foundation programme
TANZANIA Commission for Universities (TCU) has re-accredited the foundation course programme offered by the Open University of Tanzania (OUT), after two years of discussions on how it should be structured so as to meet the required standards.
Addressing reporters at OUT headquarters at Kinondoni Biafra in Dar es Salaam, the university's Vice Chancellor, Professor Elifas Bisanda, said that the foundation programme is very important as it is not only a preparation course for attending degree programmes.
but also helps realization of Tanzania's industrialization drive by the fifth phase government, as the number of educated Tanzanians is relatively low "Only five percent of the country's population has access to university degrees, while developed countries like South Korea have 95 per cent of the population that is educated to university level," said the Vice Chancellor.
He said that for the country to have competent vocational educational graduates, more degree holders are needed. He cited South Korea where after university education, youths joins vocational training, a milestone for the country's development as education leads to availability of skilled workforce. In July 2016, the TCU banned all foundation programmes offered at various universities countrywide, as some were below standard.
Professor Bisanda elaborated that the new set standards ban those who completed secondary school and a one-year certificate course from recognized university from joining degree programmes unless they completed not less than three years of diploma course with not less than 3.0 GPA.
The Open University of Tanzania was established in 1992 to help those who don’t get the chance to continue with higher education to study in a distance mode, after siting and passing examination for the preparation programmes (foundation courses) whereby students study on their own without leaving their work places and have flexible examination schedules.
Addressing reporters at OUT headquarters at Kinondoni Biafra in Dar es Salaam, the university's Vice Chancellor, Professor Elifas Bisanda, said that the foundation programme is very important as it is not only a preparation course for attending degree programmes.
but also helps realization of Tanzania's industrialization drive by the fifth phase government, as the number of educated Tanzanians is relatively low "Only five percent of the country's population has access to university degrees, while developed countries like South Korea have 95 per cent of the population that is educated to university level," said the Vice Chancellor.
He said that for the country to have competent vocational educational graduates, more degree holders are needed. He cited South Korea where after university education, youths joins vocational training, a milestone for the country's development as education leads to availability of skilled workforce. In July 2016, the TCU banned all foundation programmes offered at various universities countrywide, as some were below standard.
Professor Bisanda elaborated that the new set standards ban those who completed secondary school and a one-year certificate course from recognized university from joining degree programmes unless they completed not less than three years of diploma course with not less than 3.0 GPA.
The Open University of Tanzania was established in 1992 to help those who don’t get the chance to continue with higher education to study in a distance mode, after siting and passing examination for the preparation programmes (foundation courses) whereby students study on their own without leaving their work places and have flexible examination schedules.
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