“A New
University in a New City”
Remarks of Hon. Stephen J.
Mashishanga (MNEC),
Regional Commissioner of Mawanza
to Friends of St. Augustine
University
15th October, 2000
We are here tonight to
express our thanks to the people at St. Augustine University for locating their
excellent school right here in our midst.
Five years ago, there was a question about where to locate the new university. Perhaps in Moshi, a strongly Catholic
community. Or maybe in Songea, whose
Archbishop is chairman of the Education Committee of the Catholic Church in
Tanzania. Or perhaps in Dar es
Salaam. Any one of these would have
been a logical choice.
But then they thought, we
already have a strong college-level school in Mwanza. The Nyegezi Social Training Institute (NSTI) had been here since
1960 and had educated over 2,400 graduates, many of them living and working
right here in the Mwanza area. They
said: At Nyegezi we’ve got a solid
foundation to build on, a school that is known all over East and Central Africa
and has earned the respect of thousands of people who have been associated with
it. And so they decided to start the
new university right here in Mwanza.
It was a logical choice, and
we are the beneficiaries of their decision.
St. Augustine University, as I think you know, is located in Nyegezi 10
km south of Mwanza on two campuses.
There is the original 15-acre site of NSTI and, one kilometer further,
the vast area of the former Ministry of Agriculture Training Institute (MATI),
which closed in 1997. St. Augustine
will use a large part of this area for farming, for the benefit of its own
student body and the benefit of other educational institutions in the
vicinity. Some of the produce will be
sold as a source of funding to support the University. All this will be possible because of the
large irrigation system installed in the 1970’s. It’s being restored and will soon be drawing an abundance of
water from Lake Victoria, as it did in the days of MATI.
I think you all know that
running a University is an expensive undertaking. Lecturers’ salaries are high, you’ve got to keep the library
stocked with costly books, you must house the students and keep the grounds
secure, these days you must have computers and make it possible to use
Internet, and you’ve got to have a good staff to run the school and keep up its
grounds and buildings. The annual
budget at St. Augustine is 570m/- this year.
That’s for only 320 students. In
a few years, as St. Augustine increases to close to a thousand students, the
budget will be five times that high, in the range of 2.5b/-. Not only running the University, but
renovating the buildings and making them useful to lecturers and students is a
huge expense.
We all understand these
costs because we know the cost of providing for our families and running our
offices. Whatever you do these days is
expensive; that’s true whether you’re talking about London, England or Mwanza
in Tanzania. St. Augustine University
can’t look to the national government, like the University of Dar es Salaam and
Sokoine. It’s on its own. It can’t look to the Catholic Church. People who think there are barrels filled
with gold bullion somewhere under St. Joseph Cathedral in Dar should ask for a
tour of the basement of that church some day.
It’s pretty bare down there.
It’s true, the Church furnishes some of the personnel for St.
Augustine--some of its best lecturers and most capable administrators; but
money, no. I assure you tonight,
absolutely and unequivocally: St. Augustine depends on its friends. That’s why we’re here this evening. I am happy to be speaking for St. Augustine
University when I ask for your generous support.
I would like to give you ten
reasons why we should be generous in supporting St. Augustine this evening.
First, the people and
institutions of Mwanza are proud to
have this fine new University in our midst.
It could have been placed in half a dozen other locations. The City of Mwanza was chosen. It is our University and we are immensely
proud of it.
Second, this is not just any
school. It is a quality University, built on the eight-hundred year tradition of
university education in the Catholic Church.
These people know how to run a University. They proved that at the Nyegezi Social Training Institute, and
they are already proving it at St. Augustine.
Third, St. Augustine, like
its predecessor NSTI, is here to supply
Mwanza with a well-educated citizenry.
It’s proving that by the Journalists and Broadcasters it’s turning out,
by the Accountants and practitioners of Materials Management, Health Administration,
and Book keeping. It has bachelor’s
programmes in Business Administration and Mass Communication. It’s planning a strong programme in the
English language and literature, and one in Information Technology. Before long, it hopes to offer a first-class
certificate course in Secretarial Science, with training in English and
Kiswahili and, of course in use of the computer. Talk about a well-educated population for Tanzania’s Second
City. We’ve got it all!
Fourth, the University will
attract many new and exciting people
to Mwanza: not only new students and
lecturers, but scholars and businessmen and women, political figures and
educators, economists and churchmen. A
University is a beehive of activity, and Mwanza will enjoy its “day in the sun”
every time St. Augustine hosts a big event.
Fifth, new ideas and new technology are always at home in a University
culture. When new ways are devised of
preparing a budget, or keeping accounts by computer, or doing public relations,
or learning from Internet, or using solar power, a university such as St. Augustine
is there to bring these innovations to public attention. Universities are always instruments of
change and development in their community.
Sixth, the lecturers of St.
Augustine are a ready pool of skilled
technicians for consultation and consultancies, for financial reports, for
planning and innovation, for training in basic skills and in exciting new
developments. When there is talk of
entrepreneurs or business ethics, strategic planning or productivity
assessment, help is near at hand. Just
pick up the phone and dial St. Augustine University.
Seventh, the University
radio station, Radio SAUT (FM 96.1) is Mwanza’s
own voice into our entire region and beyond, into every town and village in
a radius of 130 km—for news and education, for advertising and commentary. The University will be using Radio SAUT in
Kisukuma and Kiswahili to extend its educational function to reach hundreds of
thousands of people who are out of the mainstream of educational
opportunities. It could be the same for
the school’s English newspaper if the University chooses to make that into a
publication for the whole region.
Eighth, St. Augustine
University will help Mwanza develop into
a centre for scholarship and research.
The library, with its ample book collection and Internet capability will
attract scholars to carry out research in congenial surroundings, in company
with a growing number of active researchers at work on various projects. The University is planning an international
scholarly journal and will make other scholarly projects available on Internet
for worldwide distribution. It has
recently entered into a network of seven East African universities connected
with sister universities in Europe for the transmission of scholarly articles
by Internet. The University will soon
become the home of the Tanzania Pastoral Research Institute (TAPRI) which is
being moved here from Kipalapala in Tabora.
The wonders of computing will give Mwanza a brilliant new potential as a
research centre.
Ninth, through its understanding
of Information Technology and business, St. Augustine can make it possible for
Mwanza to become an East African center
for e-commerce and e-business. As
Tanzania becomes part of a global economy, it is critical to realize that
geography makes little difference in the development of new commercial
centers. The challenge is for business
to think creatively, to plan boldly, and to act energetically to capture its
share of the market. By the time
business is ready to take this kind of initiative in Mwanza, Information
Technology at St. Augustine will be there to make it possible.
Tenth, in God’s providence,
St. Augustine University of Tanzania is a valuable resource located close to
home for the education of your son or daughter, for your wife or sister, for
your manager or executive assistant.
When you have an intelligent and energetic young person that you want to
be successful in making the challenging transition from Form VI to university,
you should think instinctively of St. Augustine University. Here, right at your doorstep, is a major
educational institution, with strong values and a superb tradition. Mwanza is
indeed fortunate to have this University to educate our people. Let us make good use of it by enrolling our
sons and daughters there and encouraging our friends to do the same.
Yes, my friends, we have a
strong University right in our back yard, and we are here tonight to make it
stronger. As I said above, this
University depends heavily on its friends.
You can help it achieve all those ten values I indicated above. You will want to visit St. Augustine
sometime soon to see for yourself what they’re doing, but tonight, as we’re
here together, make a memorable pledge of your confidence in the work of this
University. Be as generous as you can
and build on this gift by regular donations in the months and years to
come. Thank you.