Josiah Kibira University College (JoKUCo)

DAILY NEWS reporter, 4th February 2010 @ 11:03, Total Comments: 0, Hits: 504

THE Evangelical Lutheran Church of Tanzania of the North-West Diocese (ELCT-NWD) has converted Nyakato Teachers' College into a wing of Tumaini University.

The university will be named Josiah Kibira University College (JoKUCo) in honour of the first black African Bishop of the North-Western Diocese of the ELCT - NWD, who served the Diocese from 1964 to 1987.

Josiah Kibira was also a teacher and first deputy headmaster of the Diocese's first secondary school under a Swedish missionary earlier in the 1950s.

A statement issued jointly by Kagera Regional Commissioner Mohamed Babu and the Bishop of the ELCT-NWD, Rev. Elisa Buberwa, said that the decision to make the college a University was reached recently by Church's General Assembly (synod).

JoKUCo will initially offer degree programmes in education (science subjects), which are presently only offered by the University of Dar es Salaam.

''This aims at supporting the government in mitigating the shortage of secondary school science teachers, a concern that points to a serious development setback in our country,'' read the statement.

It is anticipated that in three to five years more degree programmes will follow as the university continues to grow. These will be in business administration, ICT and law.
In a short-term perspective, it is envisaged to have the first student in-take for JoCUCo for next academic year, in October, this year.

The two authorities said the college requires improving and expanding some of the existing facilities as well as a number of other adaptations which demand financial resources.
''In this particular case 1.5bn/- is needed for the project to take off the ground as planned,'' said the statement.

President Jakaya Kikwete, is expected to grace the JoKUCo fundraising event at a gala dinner to be held on March 12 at Diamond Jubilee Hall in Dar es Salaam

http://www.dailynews.co.tz/home/?n=7239&cat=home