Arusha — COMMISSIONER for Education at the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, Dr Lyabwene Mutahaba has rooted for more research in addressing unemployment in the country.
Dr Mutahaba, who was speaking during the launch of an advisory committee on trade development here at the weekend, challenged experts and researchers to delve on more studies and findings that will not only address unemployment, but also bolster the country's economy.
"Scientists need to get out of their comfort zones and undertake more researches to ascertain the needs and demands of our industries and eventually create employment to the youth," explained Dr Mutahaba.
The purpose of research is to enhance society by advancing knowledge through scientific theories, concepts and ideas, he said.
The newly launched advisory board is part of the Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and Technology (NM-AIST), through the Higher Education for Economic Transformation (HEET Project), which is funded by the World Bank (WB).
HEET project is a five-year venture worth 425 million US dollars (about 972bn/-) that aims to strengthen the learning environment and labour market alignment of priority programmes while enhancing the delivery of knowledge to produce graduates who meet the demand and standard of the current and future labour market.
The project also seeks to strengthen the learning environment and labour market alignment of priority programmes at beneficiary higher education institutions and improve the management of the higher education system.
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For his part, NM AIST Deputy Vice-Chancellor Professor Anthony Mshandete exuded confidence that the committee will play a pivotal role in rolling out curricula that will address the markets and industrial demands.
"Our institution should take a lead in being on the forefront in spearheading employment in the country, through our top notch innovations," said the don.
The Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and Technology (NM-AIST) in Arusha is one in a network of Pan-African Institutions of Science and Technology located across Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA).
Such institutions, which are the proud brainchild of the late Nelson Mandela, envision training and developing the next generation of African scientists and engineers with a view to impacting profoundly on the continent's development through the application of Science, Engineering and Technology and Innovation (SETI).
