Dar es Salaam:  As the country positions itself on the path to becoming a middle-income level economy over the next 15 years, the authorities are coming under criticism  for not engaging intellectuals in the process.

There is growing concern that the place of the national universities and  other institutions of higher learning in the quest for development has  been downgraded. The institutions are increasingly having less and less  influence on policy development and the making of major government  decisions. In wide-ranging interviews with a cross section of academicians, a warning was sounded that politics was taking centre stage in the nation, and with some disastrous results. They said this had been manifested in some of the problems bedeviling the country  today, including corruption and inept public leadership.

Dr Vera Ngowi, of Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Science (MUHAS), in Dar es Salaam, said it was hard to tell if the government made use of intellectuals because there were no benchmarks from which to determine that.  "Maybe intellectuals are not used or they are used but their recommendations are not utilised," she said. Dr Ngowi said it was saddening that donors continued to lead in the funding of research. 

The acting head of the Economics Department at the University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM), Dr Razack Lokina, said both the government and intellectuals were to blame for having failed to fulfil the role the society expected of them.  Dr Lokina said though some intellectuals had researched on various issues affecting the society, few had made their findings public or implemented them.  He criticised the government for failure to tap into such research. Faulting the government on the environmental protection challenges, he said the ban on  the use of plastic bags had not succeeded because no research was carried before it was effected.  "It is now that they have consulted UDSM to see how best to enforce the ban."

However, Dr Lokina said: "Most of research at universities is sponsored by the donors, who gave specific orders. The government must provide funds  for research related to our needs as a country."

For his part, the UDSM research and publications director, Prof Joe Tesha, said  the country did not have enough intellectuals in law, engineering, medicine and several other fields.  "The problem with the government is that it does not use intellectuals enough in the implementation of policies. And where they are involved, they are  not consulted early enough to be able to influence the process."

He also criticised the government for not funding local research. He said for good polices such as Vision 2025, Min-Tiger Plan, Mkukuta, or Mkurabita to succeed, some political pressure and concrete plans backed by enough resources would be necessary.

A renowned academician, Prof Issa Shivji, said the deterioration in the quality of education was one of the major drawbacks. Prof Shivji, a retired UDSM  law lecturer, said the education system was based on skill provision rather than on giving students the tools for analysing issues.

Another retired UDSM lecturer, Prof Mwesiga Baregu, said the current university students lacked the time and resources to study appropriately. "During our time at university, our only concern was our studies.  But currently, students are supposed to pay their tuition fees, for accommodation and for their practical studies. How then can you expect them to care about other things?" asked Prof Baregu, who taught political science at UDSM for many years.

The NCCR-Mageuzi chairman, Mr James Mbatia, said higher learning institutions had lost their status as centres for raising and analysing public issues. He said the education system prepared students to pass their examinations and not become critics of issues of public interest.

The St Augustine University of Tanzania Vice-Chancellor, Dr Charles Kitima, saw political involvement by personnel from institutions of higher learning as having impaired their ability to independently analyse issues.  He said it was today difficult for students to give free and fair analysis of issues in the society because they were aligned to different political ideologies as the political parties competed in membership recruitment in the universities.

Prof Yunus Rubanza, of the Kiswahili Studies Department, blamed poor reading culture. "I can assure you that out of 15,000 students at UDSM only less than  10 per cent read, so we have to be realistic on why things seem to have dipped."