EDUCATION, Science and Technology Minister Prof Adolf Mkenda has directed the Board and management of the Marangu Teachers College (MTC) to expand teaching of foreign languages to increase the scope of employment for its graduates.
Prof Mkenda gave the statement on Monday in Moshi District, Kilimanjaro Region, when he was talking to Board members, management and students during his visit to the college.
“Since its inception, this college has focused on offering English courses in order to prepare specialised teachers in teaching the subject; now look for the possibility of expanding the scope of foreign language education including Spanish, German, French and Arabic to expand the scope of employment for your graduates,” he said.
He added: “President Dr Samia Suluhu Hassan has made great diplomatic efforts that have exposed Tanzania to the world, something that has opened up new opportunities for Tanzanians, so having skills in different languages is vital.”
Prof Mkenda also asked the leaders of the MTC to continue prioritising the Swahili while considering introducing more foreign languages in its syllabus because the Swahili has a big importance in the international arena.
“We (Tanzanians) are known globally as the custodians of the Swahili language, so it is our responsibility to develop it and protect it from disappearing from the world, even if we think of increasing the scope of providing training in other international languages”, he said.
“The government continues with efforts to reform the education sector which includes reviewing the country’s education policy, National Education Act, 1978, including the curriculum and assessing education infrastructure; this will also involve teachers training institutes, so make sure you plan to improve training for teachers,” he said.
Earlier, the Principal of MTC Dr Cornell Chambulila said the students’ admission at the college has increased from more than 800 students in the past few years to more than 1,000 students in the 2022/2023 academic year.
Currently, the college has 47 instructors of which two are PhD holders, 26 master’s degrees and 19 first degrees. Four years ago, the college gave an opportunity to some of its staff to go for further studies so as to nourish their skills and eventually improve the training at the college.
He named the challenges facing the institution as lack of Information Technology (IT) facilities, laboratory for training students on IT programs, lack of reliable internet access to the college and shortage of staff compared to the increased number of admitted students at the college every year.
Speaking on behalf of the leadership of the College’s Board, a member of the Board, Ms Edith Tarimo thanked the sixth phase government for allocating funds meant to run the college’s daily activities in time, a move which she said will make the institution run its activities smoothly.
“We thank this government led by President Samia Suluhu Hassan because it has allocated funds for meals for all students, Block Training Practice (BTP), text books for the college, to mention but a few; this move has enabled us to start the year 2023 peacefully”, she said.
