ST.
AUGUSTINE UNIVERSITY OF TANZANIA
A University for the 21st Century
The prospect of a
major new centre of
learning and culture in Tanzania is being realized.
On a 600-acre site outside Mwanza near the shores of Lake Victoria, the
new St. Augustine University of Tanzania (SAUT), sponsored by the Catholic
Church, enrolled its first class of 25 students in September 1998.
This was the beginning
of a new Bachelor’s
programme in Mass Communication, and it was followed in 1999 by a Bachelor of
Business Administration course with emphasis on Accounting and Finance,
Marketing, and Human and Material Resources Management.
Other courses to be added year by year will in time swell the enrollment
to 2,000 or more students.
Actually, those first
students
in 1998 were not at all
lonely. St. Augustine University
incorporated the former Nyegezi Social Training Institute, numbering some 280
students, and continued to offer Advanced Diplomas in Accountancy, Materials
Management, and Journalism. In
addition, one-year Certificate courses in Accountancy and Health Administration
will continue. A new one-year Certificate in Journalism and Media Studies was
begun in 1999, to be joined in the year 2002 by a Certificate in Secretarial
Science.
The full
scale of this great enterprise is outlined below.
Intellectual and
educational leaders in
Tanzania have long felt the need for a richer mix of academic offerings in this
country. In the 29 years since the University
of Dar es Salaam (1970) was established, fewer than 20,000 degrees have been
awarded. Sokoine,
an agricultural university, was started in 1984, but this has produced only
about two thousand more graduates. In
1995, Tanzania enacted legislation allowing private universities to be
established under rigid conditions that would assure the integrity of their
degrees.
Relying on the
Catholic Church’s long
tradition in higher education, the Bishops of Tanzania decided in 1996 that the
time was ripe to extend the Church’s service to university education. The logical area for a new university was in the Lake Zone,
and the ideal approach would be to use the Nyegezi Social Training Institute (NSTI),
already a tertiary institution, as the foundation for this exciting development.
Nyegezi Took the Lead
It was back in 1960,
as the winds of change were sweeping across southern Africa, that Bishop
Blomjous of Mwanza encouraged the White Fathers to establish an educational
centre at Nyegezi, ten kilometres south of Mwanza.
Specializing in journalism, accountancy, and community development, the
Nyegezi Social Training Centre would educate personnel to undertake positions of
leadership in the countries of East and Central Africa that were to achieve
their independence during the coming years.
Over the years, Nyegezi sent more than 2,300 graduates into the service
of government, business, religion, the media and other institutions.
It continued to graduate some 100 professionals each year.
What better foundation on which to build in establishing a new
university?
A Rich Network of Colleges
St. Augustine
University
of Tanzania, centered in
Mwanza, is the hub of an educational complex spanning a large area of the
country. In the heart of
Mwanza, the Bugando Medical Centre, established in 1972, will be the site of the
Constituent College of Health Science, offering degree courses in medicine,
dentistry, pharmacy and nursing. The
Constituent College of Education, located in Mwenge outside Moshi, will begin
the training of primary and secondary school teachers in 2002.
The Constituent Colleges of Law and Technical Sciences are projected for
Songea. In addition, the Philosophy
and Theology faculties of the Catholic seminaries in Tanzania may be allied to
the University.
The Central Campus
Within the shadow
of the Nyegezi Social Training Institute (1960-98) lies a 575-acre campus that
the Tanzania Episcopal Conference has set aside for St. Augustine University of
Tanzania. Originally part of the property of the Diocese of Mwanza
owned by the White Fathers, these grounds were handed over to the Tanzanian
government in 1967 for an agricultural college.
With the
government’s
consolidation of agricultural training centres, the property was returned to the
Church in April 1997. Bordering on
Lake Victoria, it contains a model irrigation system developed by the German
government, as well as rich farm lands and facilities for poultry, dairy cattle
and other animals. It has
approximately 100 buildings, some in need of
extensive repair and renovation, including 40 houses for faculty and
staff, classrooms, and residence facilities for 244 students. It currently
houses some 165 SAUT students, who take all their classes on that campus
An increasingly large part of the University will be located there in the
coming years.
A Blueprint for the Future
A university should
be
a spawning ground for a ferment of ideas that will help Tanzania and its people
achieve their fullest human potential. At
the same time, it should prepare talented graduates in fields where it is most
capable of meeting the needs of the country. Thus, the initial Bachelor’s programme in Mass Communication (1998) was followed in 1999-2000 by a Bachelor of
Business Administration degree, with specialisations
in Accounting and Finance,
Marketing Management, Materials Management, and Human Resources Management. A
B.A. in English Literature and Writing and
a B.S. in Information and
Communication Technology are planned for 2001-2002.
The Master’s degree in Mass
Communication is anticipated for 2002, the M.B.A. in 2003, and the Master’s in
English in 2004. To meet the urgent
needs of the Lake Region for well-trained office staff, a Certificate in Secretarial
Sciences will be introduced in 2002. Other
degree programmes will follow.
B.A. and Master’s
degrees in Philosophy
can be provided through the Catholic seminaries of Tanzania, and, as need
dictates, the University will consider offering a Certificate and a Diploma in Pastoral
Theology. Teaching degrees will
be awarded through Mwenge Teacher Training College
beginning in 2004 and degrees from the Bugando
Medical Centre will follow.
Sharing a Great Adventure
Starting a new
University
calls for persons with a
vision and a heart large enough to surmount the numerous challenges facing this
endeavour. The greatest challenge is to keep one’s eyes fixed on the ideal of
superior quality that should characterize an institution in the tradition of
great Catholic universities and dedicated to one of the foremost scholars of the
West and of Africa, St. Augustine of Hippo (354-430).
Educators and scholars
dedicated to teaching and advancing their fields through competent research will
be warmly welcomed into the academic community of St. Augustine University.
Investing in Excellence
Individuals with a
vision
of Tanzania’s immense
potential and its need for a great cadre of educated persons will want to share
in this great adventure with their moral and financial support.
Among the urgent projects requiring financial support for the new
University are the following:
Renovation
of buildings (hostels, staff
Audio-visual
teaching devices for the classrooms
Construction
of a large new tank to supply
Installation
of a fire control system
Renovation
of buildings for photo-journalism and
production studios
Supporting
the University in developing the radio
facilities
Renovation of a building for the Computer Centre and purchase of 50
computers with Internet
Installation of diesel-powered generators for radio
locations and for lighting classrooms, library, and hostels.
Solar-powered
backup to serve as an uninterrupted
Repair
and upgrade of irrigation system installed
in the 1970’s
Cultivation
of rice fields, farmlands and
Restoration
of dairy cows, poultry and
Sholarships for needy
students and assistance in
faculty development and meeting the salaries of new personnel will also be of
great importance.
The generous support
of individuals and business firms is essential for the realization of these
projects. In addition, foundations
and other institutions will be approached to lend their assistance.
In short, the strength of St. Augustine University will come from the
wholehearted collaboration of a great academic family in close relationship with
generous donors from Mwanza, other parts of Tanzania, elsewhere in East Africa,
and abroad.
We warmly welcome
all who are ready to enter
upon this great adventure by investing in excellence -- those who share the
vision of Tanzania’s potential for inspired leadership among African nations
in the 21st century.
For further information,
please contact:
Fr.
D. Rweyongeza, Vice Chancellor
St. Augustine
University of Tanzania
P.O. Box 307
Mwanza, Tanzania
Tel:
255-028-2552725,
2550560, 2550166
Fax:
255-028-2550167,
2500575
e-mail:
saut@africaonline.co.tz
Internet:
http:/saut.ac.tz.tripod.com
St.
Augustine University of Tanzania, like its predecessor, the Nyegezi
Social Training Institute, is located 10km south of Mwanza, on the road to
Nyegezi and Malimbe that branches off from the main Mwanza-Shinyanga highway.