UDSM identifies seven key areas for curriculum review

Dar es Salaam. The University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM) is considering at least seven priority areas, including embedded learning and climate change, as it embarks on curriculum review.

As part of a $47 million grant from the government under the Higher Education for Economic Transformation (HEET) project, UDSM seeks to ensure its curriculum meets current needs, equips students with skills and makes its programmes student-centred.

Prof Bonaventure Rutinwa, UDSM deputy vice chancellor (Academic), said they are also considering to make gender issues part of the curriculum and ensure that what is taught is accepted internationally so that graduates can seek opportunities even beyond the country’s borders.

“We need our programmes to also consider other cross-cutting issues such as special needs education even as we plan to digitise our teaching. We want to ensure that our graduates are accepted both in and outside the country going forward,” he noted.

Prof Rutinwa was addressing UDSM staff from various departments during a three-day workshop dubbed ‘Training Academic Staff on Modern and Innovative Educational Skills” in Bunju, Dar es Salaam.

He noted that they have for a long been concentrating on knowledge-based learning and giving less consideration to other important areas such as practical teaching.

“Through these curriculum improvements, we are now going to ensure that even as we continue to impart knowledge, our graduates must be able to apply it in the labour market.

“We want field attachments to be throughout the year and not in July only so that each programme can prepare students practically,” Prof Rutibwa said.

He noted, for example, that an agriculture student should be able to attend field practise during the tilling, sowing and harvesting periods, and not only once.

Prof Bernadeta Killian, deputy vice chancellor (Administration and Finance), said as the oldest university in the country, UDSM was viewed as a role model and should always be at the forefront in coming up with the best curriculum that could encourage other institutions to conduct similar reviews.

“This is one in a series of workshops aimed at revolutionising the curriculum as directed by the government. We have decided to evaluate ourselves and transform our curriculum so that we can start producing graduates with all the necessary abilities from the 2024/25 academic year,” she said.

Prof Killian added that after collection the views of more than 50,000 alumni, leaders and students and at least 800 employers as well as education stakeholders across the country, they have established that there are areas that should be prioritised in the quest to make the necessary changes.

Prof Joel Mtebe, HEET project coordinator in curriculum review, said through the project, UDSM, as is the case with other universities, aims to build new campuses, strengthen IT systems and improve the curriculum in general.