Zanzibar — ZANZIBAR: HIGHER learning institutions in the country have been challenged to produce more impactful research to help resolve challenges facing the society and the country in general.
This was stressed by President Hussein Mwinyi, who is also the Chancellor of the State University of Zanzibar (SUZA), at the 19th graduation convocation held at Tunguu main campus, in Unguja South Region.
At the colourful gathering that was also attended by President Samia Suluhu Hassan, Dr Mwinyi emphasised that research should be impactful and beneficial to society, including contributing government priorities such as the implementation of Blue Economy drive.
"We have challenges. Our research must respond to all these challenges. We want to see results and tangible solutions," Dr Mwinyi said, adding that the government is ready to support SUZA to overcome the challenges it faces including shortage of lecturers and space.
"It is the responsibility of higher learning institutions in the country to engage in research works aimed at finding solutions to different challenges facing people in their daily lives," he said.
Dr Mwinyi congratulated the 2,102 graduates in different disciplines, advising them to seek further studies and also be innovative to encounter unemployment burden.
He also thanked the Higher Education Students' Loans Boards of Zanzibar and Mainland for not leaving students with qualification without loan, commending Dr Samia's initiative to support more students to join universities.
He said that it is impressive that the university is switching to producing a number of good graduates in various fields every year, such as experts in languages, education and health which is an indication that the institution is evolving.
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The enthusiastic Mwinyi praised the existing cooperation between SUZA with local and international institutions such as World Bank (HEET project) and the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA) and that the relations are important in achieving the government's goals including major reforms in the education sector.
SUZA Vice-Chancellor Prof Mohamed Makame Haji said Higher Education for Economic Transformation (HEET) project being supported by the World Bank and other projects under BADEA support the expansion of the university.
Prof Haji said that SUZA expansion includes construction of 39 new storey buildings, and improvement of other infrastructures that will enable the university to enrol more than twenty thousand students from the current six thousand.
HEET is a five-year project (started to be executed last year), in partnership with the United Republic of Tanzania and the World Bank, which aims to strengthen the learning environment and labour market alignment of priority programmes.
Zanzibar Minister for Education and Vocational Training Ms Lela Mohamed Mussa said SUZA has been developing because of the guidance from Dr Mwinyi and the management of the University. "I am also happy that female students dominate in number and in good performance."
A total of 2, 102 with 58 per cent female graduated and were awarded certificates, diplomas, degrees, Master's degrees and PhD. Last year, 1,913 graduated.
