Kusini Kwetu

By Vincent Mpepo, OUT

It is creditable hearing something from the authority as the profession of journalism relies on as the best way to ensure authenticity of information and trust.

Academicians are also entrusted with this feature as they are known to be knowledgeable in certain areas of specialization based on what they majored in their course of study.

 Who is an academic then? He or she is a member of an association or institution for the advancement of arts, sciences, or letters.

In other countries an academician is the generic term for anyone employed by a higher education institution to teach and/or research, while “Professor” is reserved for those whose official title is professor and sometimes for only very senior academics who are full Professors.

Due to the reputation and honour they earn from the society based on areas of specialty they can be trusted to say and give information to the society.

For instance, a medical doctor, an engineer or surgeon automatically becomes a reliable source of information to the public in his area of specialty.  

Due to this trust that is vested on them they need to uphold best practices in order to ensure they remain a reliable source of information.

According to the Vice Chancellor of the Open University of Tanzania, Professor Elifas Bisanda, some academicians have negative perceptions towards many issues that make their existence even unimportant to the public.

“In some cases educated people are corrupt and have negative attitude towards implementation of many issues”, denotes Professor Bisanda.

In the recent years, the trust to academicians has lost its way due to many reasons one being apolitical.

Some of the respected academicians have been swayed by politics and lost their reputation due to political influence and affiliation.

May be let us, not blame them, because they have followed green pastures.

They are sometimes not trusted due to the fact that what they are saying is politically motivated hence lost its potentiality.

However, the issue of newly revised education and training policy of 2023 has divided academicians into number a cross road.

“We have those who are against and the ones who are for the implementation of the policy”, says Prof. Bisanda.

Professor Makenya Maboko from University of Dar es salaam says the newly revised education and training policy emphasize acquisition of knowledge, skills and attitudes that uphold employability and self-employment.

“Tanzania need to transform its curricula through policy and implement best practices of it through competent based education from lower levels in order to produce competent graduates”, says Professor Maboko

He adds saying that, establishment of competent based programmes cater for the needs of labour market and economical opportunities in the country. 

A lecturer from Faculty of Business Management of the Open University of Tanzania, Dr.Chacha Matoka says the implementation of the new revised policy should be delayed as there is no proper preparation of the implementing of the same from infrastructures to human resources.

“For instance provision of tablets to teachers in the country is of no use as many of them are using for chatting and other non beneficial uses for themselves and public at large” says Dr.Chacha.

Others are of the opinion that the medium of instruction in Tanzania is a hindrance towards implementing the newly revised education and training policy of 2023.

This means the language of teaching has something to do with creation of a barrier towards the real implementation of the policy.

With the current policy or regulations, with are using both English and Kiswahili for teaching in different levels of education.

According to Professor Bisanda, language is not the only leading factor as many people could be saying instead the focus should be on others if they real exist as what is needed is compatibility of the skills that teachers impart to the learners.

“The language of teaching is not a problem to children and students instead to teachers and lecturers who teach by using Kiswahili could be a problematic”, says Professor Bisanda.

He however insists that the language of teaching should be compatible with the local environment that moulds a child from his/her childhood endeavor.

Professor Makenya Maboko from University of Dar es salaam says Tanzania need to transform its curricula through policy and implement best practices of it through competent based education from lower levels that will determine the future of learners after completing a certain education level.

He says through the newly revised education and training programmes will have to be redesigned to emphasize acquisition of knowledge, skills and attitudes that uphold employability and self-employment.

“Establishment of programmes shall be more closely aligned with the needs of labour market and economical opportunities in the country”, says Professor Maboko  .

 “For instance provision of tablets to teachers in the country is of no use as many of them are using for chatting and other non beneficial uses for themselves and public at large” said Dr.Chacha.

The article highlights the important role that academicians play in disseminating information and fostering trust within society. However, it also acknowledges the challenges and criticisms faced by academicians, particularly regarding issues such as corruption, political influence, and the loss of public trust.