Mwapachu issues advice on industries, education

Dar es Salaam. Ambassador Juma Mwapachu has raised concerns over the quality of education, saying the country has neither good colleges nor competent teachers to equip learners with modern technology skills.

Speaking during the launch of his new book entitled Tanzania in the Age of Change and Transformation on Thursday in Dar es Salaam Ambassador Mwapachu said transformation was urgently needed in the education system in order to prepare Tanzanian youth well for the modern world.

The former East African Community Secretary General also said the success of the industrialisation agenda will depend on how well the agriculture sector is taken care off because it is crucial for the provision of raw materials for industries. In his new book Ambassador Mwapachu discusses challenges of the education system, implementation of the industrialisation agenda and the situation of the private sector in the country.

Ambassador Mwapachu, 75, said education stakeholders must come together and agree that the modern world needs science and technology.

“We need to agree on how we will go about transforming primary schools, in the first place. In my book, I have spoken about the pedagogy in teachers’ colleges and universities,” said AmbassadorMwapachu. “We have no good colleges and we have no competent teachers to train teacher trainees. We are lagging far behind. Even university graduates with degrees in education often fail to teach,” he added.

Speaking on the drive to establish more industries, which is a policy priority of President John Magufuli’s administration Ambassador Mwapachu said the government should invest more in agriculture from which industries will get raw materials from. “Today we advocate for industrialisation, but which industries? If they are edible oil industries, do we have the right seeds? There are important things we should concentrate on to make this agenda a success,” said Balozi Mwapachu. On the private sector, Balozi Mwapachu said the situation was also not good, adding that it was an area that needed communication and open discussion.

He said politicians should not be allowed to play politics with the sector. Ambassador Mwapachu, who served as Tanzania’s envoy to France during President Benjamin Mkapa’s administration is an avid reader and a prolific author. Some of his other works include Management of Public Enterprises in Developing Countries and Local Perspectives on Globalization; The African Case.