Tanzania urges universities to put education quality before enrolment

Alfred Zacharia is a business reporter for The Citizen and Mwananchi newspapers.

Mwananchi Communications Limitted

Dodoma. The government has urged universities to align student admissions with their capacity to provide quality education, warning institutions against increasing enrolment at the expense of academic standards.

Education, Science and Technology Minister, Prof Adolf Mkenda, said universities should focus on producing graduates who meet international standards rather than prioritising the number of students they admit.

“We have asked them to admit students at a level that will not compromise the quality of education. We need quality education and standards, not large numbers of students who ultimately produce unsatisfactory results,” said Prof Mkenda.

He was speaking in Dodoma on Saturday, September 5, 2026, during a joint meeting involving the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, university vice chancellors and chairpersons of university councils.

The meeting discussed measures to strengthen the quality of higher education while ensuring student admissions remain within institutions’ capacity.

Prof Mkenda said universities had agreed on a strategy under which each institution would take responsibility for the quality of education it provides and ensure its standards are comparable with international benchmarks.

He said the government was not seeking to prevent universities from admitting students but wanted institutions to ensure enrolment levels did not undermine the quality of teaching and learning.

He said only two universities had not attended the meeting and that the government would engage them before the next joint meeting, which is expected to address other challenges facing the higher education sector.

The Tanzania Commission for Universities (TCU) executive secretary, Prof Charles Kihampa, said student admissions and education quality were central to the discussions.

Prof Kihampa said the agreed approach was intended to give universities greater clarity while protecting the interests of both students and institutions.

“We have looked at protecting the interests of students and universities in order to avoid conflicts,” he said.

The focus on admissions comes as universities balance growing demand for higher education with the resources available to teach and support students.

Prof Kihampa said the discussions were intended to ensure universities understood their responsibilities and maintained academic standards while managing student admissions.

Teofilo Kisanji University (TEKU) council chairman Aggrey Mlimuka said the strategy could also encourage greater competition among universities based on the quality of education they provide.

He said the labour market would play an important role in determining which institutions attract students and gain recognition from employers.

Employers, he said, would increasingly seek graduates from universities with a reputation for producing competent professionals.

“If a university cannot produce quality professionals, it will eventually be shunned and will have to reassess itself,” said Mr Mlimuka.

The government is expected to continue discussions with universities as part of efforts to establish a common approach to admissions and quality assurance across the higher education sector.