MBEYA UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Chancellor’s Inaugural
Lecture by Prof. Mark J. Mwandosya
Delivered on 16 December
2016
Science Technology and
Society: Realising the Potential of Mbeya University of Science and Technology in achieving the Goals
of Vision 2025
Introduction
In 2014 by the powers conferred on him by the Charter of Mbeya
University of Science and Technology, the President of the United Republic of
Tanzania appointed me Chancellor of the University. It is an appointment I
accepted with humility and a deep sense
of responsibility. For a University in any country, is the pinnacle of
education, the highest centre of learning. The aforesaid could be the reason as
to why universities have enviously been referred to as “Ivory Towers”, a term I
will revert to in the course of my lecture.
As would be expected, before I decided to share with you some
thoughts about the role that I believe MUST could play in furthering the
ambition of the Nation to rid itself of absolute poverty, and indeed poverty
itself by 2025, and critical as a university should be I prepared myself to
answer the question from you as to the legality of my being with you today. I
had to revert to the MUST Charter 2013. For Article 9 of the Charter underlines
the awesome responsibility of the Chancellor as “the head of the University”. A sigh of relief follows when I read my
responsibilities: to confer, in the name
of the University, degrees, and grant diplomas, certificates and other awards.
The responsibilities of your Chancellor are further stipulated
in the Mbeya University of Science and Technology Rules 2013. In accordance
with Section 3 Sub Section 5,the Chancellor has “...the right from time to time, to direct, an inspection of the
University or an inquiry into teaching, research, consultancy or any other work
of the University”. I must at the outset
state that I have not come to invoke my powers under that SubSection.
Yet I believe Section 5(d) and 5(e) could be the most relevant. For according
to SubSection 5(d) the Chancellor has the
“ power to direct for visitation to the University and Constituent University
college(s) in such a manner as may be appropriate or prescribed”.
SubSection 5(e) of the MUST Rules 2013
is perhaps most relevant and should be non controversial in my case today. For,
“ the Chancellor shall provide advice and
guidance to the Council as he or she may consider necessary for the betterment
of the University.” This SubSection of the Rules is a near perfect
definition of Visitation by the Chancellor. Under the cover of that SubSection,
therefore, I wish through this public lecture to share with this assembly, my
reflections, experience, thoughts, perspectives, and advice to the University
leadership and community at large, as we
shoulder together the responsibility of guiding and developing this young
institution in this young and developing nation of ours, guided by the National
Development Vision 2025.
The Vision of the University is as wide as it is comprehensive,
that is: to become the leading centre of excellence for knowledge, skills and
applied education. Knowledge has aptly preceded skills and applied education,
and rightly so. For knowledge is the precursor to the building of a knowledge
and a learned society. We sometimes use the term knowledge in a cursory manner.
As givers and recipients of knowledge we are reminded of the words of extreme
wisdom that have remained true over the ages. In a treatise on the importance
of knowledge and education to society, Imam Ali bin abi Talib, who lived a
millennium and half ago, from 21 March 598 to 28 February 661 AD had these
words of wisdom to impart to us and generations to come:
No vessel is limitless,
except the vessel of knowledge, which expands forever.
If God were to humiliate
a human being, He would deny him knowledge.
No worth equals the mind,
no poverty equals ignorance, no heritage equals culture, and no support is
greater than advice.
Wisdom is the believer's
quest, to be sought everywhere, even among the deceitful.
A person is worth what he
excels at.
No worth can profit you
more than the mind, no isolation can be more desolate than conceit, no
generosity can be better than decency, no heritage can be more bountiful than
culture, no guidance can be truer than inspiration, no enterprise can be more
successful than goodness, and no honour can surpass knowledge.
Knowledge is superior to
wealth. Knowledge guards you, whereas you guard wealth. Wealth decreases with
expenditure, whereas knowledge multiplies with dissemination. A good material
deed vanishes as the material resources behind it vanish, whereas to knowledge
we are indebted forever. Thanks to knowledge, you command people’s respect
during your lifetime, and kind memory after your death. Knowledge rules over
wealth. Those who treasure wealth perish while they are still alive, whereas
scholars live forever; they only disappear in physical image, but in hearts,
their memories are enshrined.
Knowledge is the twin of
action. He who is knowledgeable must act. Knowledge calls upon action; if
answered, it will stay; otherwise, it will depart.
These words of wisdom were translated by Imam Muhammad Abduh in
Beirut in 1985 from Najih al Balagha (Peak of
Eloquence), which are extracts of the quotations by Ali ibn Abi Talib as
quoted in the UNDP Arab Human Development Report 2002.
By way of general information, Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib was the
cousin to Prophet Muhammad(SAW-Peace be Upon Him). He was also son-in-law to
the Prophet, having had the hand of the Prophet in the marriage of his
daughter, Fatima Zahra. He was a prolific writer of his time, an authority in
Arabic language, literature and grammar and Islamic theology. I have often
quoted Ali ibn Abi Talib whenever I am invited to talk to students and teachers
at all levels, if only to remind them,and us all, the benefits of pursuit of
knowledge. For you will agree with me about the timelessness of his wisdom. It
is a reminder to us all here of the gift given to us by society so that we may
acquire knowledge, through education, for the our benefit, for the benefit of
society at large, and for posterity.
Acquisition of Knowledge
through Education
Education is a process,
formal and informal, that society has established for the acquisition and
transfer of knowledge. In his treatise on Freedom and Development, Mwalimu
Julius Kambarage Nyerere has succinctly defined the aim of education thus: The purpose of education is to transmit from one generation to the
next the accumulated wisdom and knowledge of the society, and to prepare the
young people for their future membership of the society and their active
participation in its maintenance and development.
In order to serve that purpose, education is meant to develop a
person in terms of knowledge and awareness so as to make one a complete human
being. Education can be a formal process such as that provided by this
University. Education can also be informal and correct for any shortfalls in
formal education. For what you were not taught in school or college, the
community and society are a lifelong university.
Societies have over ages acquired knowledge and wisdom that has
enabled them to master the environment which has made them survive. Indigenous
knowledge has been in many cases a precursor to the advancement of man’s
understanding of nature. Geologists will attest to the truth of this assertion.
In many cases indigenous knowledge of minerals has led to the discovery of
large commercial reserves. The discovery of oil reserves has at times been
aided by local knowledge of the occurrence of oil seeps. Irrigation works in
highland communities are not a new innovation. Infact some of the new
irrigation works designed by us engineers are but a mere improvement of old
systems to cater for modern needs on the basis of current hydrology. My
submission here is that as we pursue formal education, in particular at
university level, we must have the humility to learn from, research on, acquire
from, improve on, knowledge that may be available from the informal system and
from those who have not been fortunate enough to go through the formal
education system like our own.
Education is not only a prime mover of, it is also an indicator
of development. It would appear strange
that I should be talking about education
to you at all. For, doing so is akin to poliselythising born
again christians or converting to Islam a
muezzin who calls out from a
mosque minaret, for the Adhan,
summoning pious moslems to prayer. I trust you will bear with me since this is
the only way I can proclaim my deep faith in a vocation that I have benefited
much from.
To appreciate education as a simple indicator of development
one does not need to have a grounding in statistics or rocket science. The
number of educated people per 1000 of the population is a simple indicator of,
or a manifestation of development. Use this as an indicator it can
differentiate a village from another village, a ward from another ward, an
administrative division from another division, a district from another
district, and one administrative region
from another, in one country. It is also a simple, back of the envelope
indicator that can be used to compare the development level between two
countries and between and among developing and developed countries and between
the developed and the developed world.
That we are gathered here today testifies to the power and effect of education, and our zeal
to acquire knowledge. For we all are part of the education process and are at
Mbeya University of Science and Technology as students in the quest for
knowledge, or as lecturers and professors, undertaking the noble and at times
challenging vocation of teaching. It is education that will play a central and
critical role in the nation's desire and vision to rid itself of absolute
poverty, to create a knowledge society, and for Tanzania to become a middle,
middle income country by the year 2025, as stated in the National Development Vision 2025. The Vision
is about the creation of a society that should be substantially more developed
than it is now. In this context it envisions a nation imbued with five main
attributes:
1.
A high quality livelihood
2.
Peace, stability and unity
3.
Good governance
4.
A well educated and learned society, and
5.
A competitive economy capable of producing sustainable
growth and shared benefits.
It was an honour and a privilege for me to be part of the Team
that crafted Vision 2025. To attain a well educated and learned society and
other aforementioned attributes requires a a good and solid system of education
from kindergarten to university, a system which is based on cooperation and
collaboration among institutions of higher learning and between universities
and the wider community.
Cooperation and
Collaboration among Institutions of Higher Learning and between Universities and the Community
The foregoing submission naturally brings me to the subject of
collaboration between MUST and the community. The community I am referring to
is the immediate neighbourhood, the impact area comprising of Mbeya City, Mbeya
Region, and the Southern Highlands zone, the nation, and the international
community.
In my opening remarks I made reference to universities,
particularly in developing countries as “ivory towers”. With the exception of
city centre universities we have campus
universities which are unique in the sense that they are either isolated or,
and thanks to the founders, are located on hills that make them easy to spot
from afar. They “tower” over neighbouring areas, areas which are at worst slums, and at best unplanned. They
are easily distinguishable. MUST is one such a “tower”. In respect of MUST, our
immediate impact area is Iyunga ward. Everytime I make my way to the University
I am intrigued by the fact that as university of technology we have not to date
been able to design and implement the construction of the one kilometre road
passing through the densely populated neighbourhood of Ikuti. Admittedly we are
waiting for the City Council to construct a tarmac road. It may take eternity
for the Council to do so. My considered advice is that we attempt to design and implement a stone surfaced road
and drainage system as part of our civil engineering practicals.
Apart from the densely populated neighbourhood of Ikuti, our
immediate impact area is our backyard, the planned but undeveloped area to the
south. I am informed that half of the area has been acquired by MUST after
compensation had been paid to the former occupants of the area. We legally own
the rest of the area but can acquire it only after we pay compensation to the
current residents. I have examined the physical plans of the area. May I
suggest an improvement on what could otherwise end up to be a concrete jungle.
We could set aside 50 acres say, and develop a botanical garden. The botanical
garden could serve as the store for the flora of the southern highlands of
Tanzania. Plants from all over the climatic and geographical zone could be
planted, identified, classified, and described using the science of plant
taxonomy: the classification and subclassification of plants into distinct
categories: Kingdoms, Phyla, Classes, Orders, Families, Genera, and Species. We
will be playing our part in the preservation of endangered plant species at the
same time as we provide an avenue for science learning, research, and leisure.
As such. we will be doing justice to the “science” part of our name.
Mbeya as a city and its surrounding areas are in the impact
area of MUST. Industries, large, medium and small size are usually drawn to a
town or to an area due to the existence of a university. The reasons include,
among others, the availability of skilled high level manpower, research
facilities, technology development facilities, and encouraging and supporting
business “startups”. We have to interact with the immediate community and the
wider society through the provision of counselling, mentoring and other such
activities as you may deem fit. Of course this has to be done in consultation
with the community and the stakeholders concerned. MUST can assist small
entrepreneurs in writing business plans. We can also assist young people,
especially young women who need training in skills such as machine tool
operation, electrical wiring, refrigeration, and motor vehicle mechanics. I
recently watched a programme on Al Jazeera in which a mere school leaver,
a young lady, Sandra Aguebor, founder of
the Lady Mechanic Initiative (LMI), has been able to set a very successful programme that trains
hundreds of young girls as motor vehicle mechanics across many states of
Nigeria. To be relevant, therefore, the University has to be an organic part of
the City and has to influence its growth in technology including information
and communication technology (ICT), architecture, physical planning,
manpower development and employment.
Globalisation has been enabled by rapid advances in science and
technology. It is facilitated by information and communication technology.
Universities have been at the forefront in the use, advancement of knowledge,
and in fostering new advances and innovations in ICT. MUST has all the attributes to be a centre of
excellence in ICT. As such we must develop an ICT Master Plan against which we
will measure our successes and shortfalls as we keep abreast of advances in
technology and contribute to the
advances too. In the noble cause of service to society, I urge the university
to extend its ICT network to the less fortunate neighbourhood of Ikuti. Only
then can we measure the impact of ICT in development at the grassroot.
To be relevant to the communities around us and societies, it
may be necessary for us to revisit our mission statement so as to embrace needs
and challenges of the society of which we are part. We are part of Iyunga. We
are in Ikuti. We are also part of Mbeya
City, Mbeya Region, the Southern Highlands Zone and the country at large.
Regional Zonal and National Cooperation and
Collaboration
It is said of charity, that it begins at home. Apart from MUST,
Mbeya is host to a number of institutions of higher learning. These include the
Teofilo Kisanji University, and branches
or campuses of St. Augustine University of Tanzania (SAUT), Mzumbe University,
the Open University, and the University of Dar es Salaam Computing Centre.
Collaborative research, common use of facilities, exchange of appropriate staff
and joint cultural and sports events should be considered as part of university
life. Mbeya is also host to an important agricultural research and training
institution, the Agricultural Research Institute-Uyole (ARI-Uyole). MUST is at
the epicentre of the southern highlands zone of the country stretching from
Ruvuma, Iringa, through Mbeya and Rukwa. Agriculture is the mainstay of the
economy of the zone. ARI-Uyole is therefore a natural partner to MUST in
agricultural engineering training and research,
in the development of new, improved and appropriate technologies for
farmers and for the sustainable use of natural resources, and the development
of an irrigation engineering course at
MUST. Mbeya City is situated at the confluence of the great East African Rift system, within which
are two African Great Lakes, Lake
Tanganyika and Lake Nyasa, and a much smaller
Lake Rukwa. The establishment of courses relevant to this lift system
and the lacustrine environment; the science of lake ecosystems (limnology) and
engineering, would seem to be an obvious choice for MUST to undertake, again in
order for the University to be relevant to its immediate impact area and the
nation.
One area where we visibly lack manpower as a nation is in the
field of bio-medical technology and medical engineering and biotechnology. It
is not uncommon for medical equipment to be imported and to lie uninstalled for
lack of operators. Once the equipment is installed and malfunctions after a
while it is either discarded or has to wait for technicians from abroad. With
the Mbeya Zonal Referral Hospital and
the Mbeya Regional Hospital within reach
of MUST, this could be an area of collaboration which MUST could claim a first
in establishing courses in medical technology and bio-medical engineering, and
telemedicine in particular. I am glad that my advice on the establishment of
collaboration between MUST and the Mbeya Zonal Referral Hospital is being acted
upon and could lead to the founding of a college of medical engineering and
allied health sciences, in line with our founding charter.
Tanzania is about to modernise the central railway line,
upgrading it to standard gauge, to
replace the existing 110 old, narrow gauge railway. TAZARA, a relatively modern
standard gauge railway has one of its major stations and workshops in Mbeya, in
the neighborhood of the University. It would seem to me that collaboration with
TAZARA through use of common machine tools and other facilities could be
advantageous to the University and TAZARA.
The introduction of locomotive and railway engineering at MUST could
contribute towards a national capacity in railway modernisation and
construction and railway electrification. Ethiopia has recently inaugurated a
electric railway line between Addis Ababa and Djibouti. It is also about to
complete an electric rapid transit system in Addis Ababa. We also have to aim
high, if not higher.
Four institutions of higher learning in the country belong to
the same league, which could be referred to as
Institutes of Technology Tanzania (ITTs). These are MUST, Dar es Salaam
Institute of Technology (DIT), Arusha Technical College (ATC), and Nelson Mandela African Institute of Science
and Technology (NM-AIST). Established under different legislations, they
nonetheless share the same vision and mission. They complement each other. MUST
could do well to establish links with these other ITTs and formalise such
collaboration through memoranda of understanding. Indian Institutes of
Technology (IITs) have been the bedrock upon which India has been able to
develop technologically. They were initially created in order to prepare India
for post-war industrial development. From the first IIT at Kharagpur
established in 1951, there are now 23 IITs scattered throughout India, and
administered under the Institute of Technology Act,1961. IITs have been declared
institutions of national importance. If we are to achieve the goal of
industrialisation as envisaged in Vision 2025, my considered advice to
Government is that our ITTs be recognised and declared institutions of national
importance and be accorded the necessary support.
Universality of
Knowledge and Knowhow as a basis of International Collaboration
Knowledge is universal. Knowledge has been the basis of, and
has underpinned globalisation. Universalism as a concept has been a feature in
the development of knowledge since medieval times. For centuries it was common
practice for men and women of renown to cross national boundaries in search of
ideas and ideals. Giving an historic perspective of the internalisation of
knowledge and knowhow, the Late Professor Abdus Salam, Nobel Laureate in
Physics recounted the following episode:
Seven hundred and sixty
years ago, a young scotsman left his native glens to travel south to Toledo in
Spain. His name was Michael. His goal was to live and work at the once Arab
Universities of Toledo and Cordova, where one of the greatest medieval Jewish
scholars, Musa bin Maimun, had taught a generation before. Moses ben Maimon
(hebrew) or Moses Maimonides (greek) 1135 - 1204 AD had been court physician to
Sultan Saladin, the famous muslim military leader, and also to his son, al-
Afdal.
Michael reached Toledo in
1217 AD. Once in Toledo, Michael formed the ambitious project of introducing
Aristotle to Latin Europe, translating not from the original Greek, which he
did not know but from Arabic, then taught in Spain. From Toledo Michael travelled
to Sicily, to the Court of Emperor
Frederick II.
Visiting the medical
school at Salerno, which had been given a Royal Charter by Frederick of Sicily
in 1231, Michael-the-Scot met a famous medieval scandinavian, the Danish
physician Henrik Harpestraeng, later to
become Court Physician of King Eric IV Waldemarsson. Henrik the physician had
come to Salerno to compose his treatise on blood-letting and surgery.
Henrik’s sources were the medical canons
of the great clinicians of Islam, Al Razi and Avicenna, which only
Michael-the-Scot could translate for him.
Toledo’s and Salerno’s
schools, representing as they did the finest synthesis of Arabic, Greek, Latin,
and Hebrew scholarship were some of the most memorable of international assays
in scientific collaboration. To Toledo came scholars not only from the rich
countries of the East like Syria, Egypt , Iran and Afghanistan, but also from
the developing lands of the west like Scotland and Scandinavia.
Then, as now, were
obstacles in international concourse, with economic and intellectual disparity
between different parts of the world. Men like Michael-the-Scot and Henrik
Harpestrang-the-Dane were singularities. They did not represent any flourishing
schools of research in their own countries. With all the best will in the world
their teachers at Toledo and Salerno doubted the wisdom and value of training
them for advanced scientific research. At least one of his masters counselled
young Michael-the-Scot to go back to Scotland to clipping sheep and to weaving
woollen cloth.”
The challenges of international concourse in education remain
the same as they were centuries ago, especially for young students relocating
to colleges and universities abroad. Apart from having to face unusual weather
and climatic conditions, students from developing countries have bear with the
doubts of professors as to whether they are up to mark in courses in which they
are registered. I am reminded of the remark of my undergraduate lecturer who
asked me if I had gone to school in England. When I said emphatically, No, he
wondered how I could excel in engineering studies having, according to him,
lived in round huts in Africa and as such would find it difficult to comprehend
the engineering concept of a straight line! When I graduated top of the class,
he had the humility to apologise for the remark. At least he did not counsel me
to return to Tanzania to herd cattle and live in a round hut.
I have learnt two lessons from Prof. Abdus Salam’s narration of the exchange of scientific discourse
in the middle ages in Spain, North Africa and the nations east of the
Mediterranean sea. Firstly, international exchange of knowledge is centuries
old and in line with the wise words of Ali bin abi Talib, with knowledge
expanding upon wide use. Secondly, the
present day developed nations were at one time backward in so far as knowledge
and specifically scientific advances were concerned. That being the case it is
not far fetched to envisage the emergence of Africa as science and technology
powerhouse. We have to work towards that end.
Back to the subject of MUST and international collaboration.
Knowledge has to be sought, worked for, discovered, made known and used in
order to expand. MUST should therefore go an extra mile to establish collaboration
with international institutions that share the same vision. As a young
institution it has a lot to learn from other well established institutions.
MUST can fast track or leapfrog in many
areas of scholarship through use of what has already been done as we place
ourselves ready to innovate and add on to knowledge. Exchange of staff,
internship for students, collaborative research and postgraduate training are
some of the obvious advantages of cooperation among universities. In the last
two years I am glad to have been able to
introduce MUST to such institutions as: the University of Virginia, the
Thomas Jefferson Foundation, Florida State University, Niger Delta University,
Africa Roundtable for Sustainable Consumption and Production, University of
Hartford, Adama Science and Technology University, the University of
Birmingham, and Mountains of the Moon University. I urge Council and the
Administration to establish, as soon as possible, an office that will be
dedicated to collaboration between MUST and other institutions of higher
learning and research. In the meantime,
I will continue to use my position as Chancellor to seek cooperation between
MUST and other institutions abroad to complement the efforts of the Council and
the Administration.
Some Perspectives and Advice on University
Teaching and Learning
Gender Disparity in
Engineering Education
In order for our country to attain the the goals set forth in
the National Development Vision 2025, all of us as Tanzanians, women and men,
have to work hard and diligently in our endeavours. We must also create opportunities for both genders to contribute
towards the creation of a knowledge society.
Let us examine Tanzania’s education pyramid. For the year 2003
when I discussed issue of gender at my
commencement address to St Augustine
University in Mwanza, the total enrollment at primary school level was
6,562,772. The enrollment in secondary schools was 345,441. The university
enrolled a mere 24,000 students. In the same year the female student enrollment
at primary school level was 48.7 percent. At secondary school level the female
student enrollment was 46 percent and at university level,39 percent. We now compare the same statistics for the
year 2014. The total primary school enrollment was 8,222,667. The statistic for
secondary school enrollment was 1,947,349. The enrollment in universities and
colleges was 224,080 for the year 2014/2015. Let us also examine the proportion
of female student enrollment for the year 2014.
At primary school level the female student enrollment was 50.8
percent. At Form 1 level the female student enrollment was 51.1 percent, at
Form IV level, 47.8 percent, at Form 5 level, 32.5 percent and at Form 6 level
33.1. Female students enrolled in universities and colleges for the year
2014/2015 accounted for 35 percent of the total enrollment.
What do these statistics obtained from the National Bureau of
Statistics show? In eleven years the enrollment at primary school level had
jumped by 25 percent. The enrollment at secondary school level had jumped 5.64
times or by 564 percent. The student enrollment at university level was up
by 9.3 times, or by almost 1000 percent.
These developments are the results of educational policy reforms and strategies
over the last decade. The foregoing achievements notwithstanding, gender imbalance in enrollment in higher
education is a matter if concern.
My interest has been drawn to the female student enrollment at
various levels and changes that have arisen, if any. The pyramid for female student enrollment
percentage wise for the year 2014 was
such that from Standard One to Form Four
the ratio of female student enrollment is almost one half or 50 percent. The ratio
drops sharply at Form Six level to 33.1 percent
almost levelling at 35 percent at University level.
The gender disparity is particularly stark in the fields of
science and technology, not only in student enrollment but in employment also.
During my last visit to MUST, upon completion of infrastructure inspection I
had an impromptu meeting with the staff. Out of 30 members present, only one
was a lady!
In preparation for this lecture I sought to compare gender
parity or rather gender disparity in enrollment among the ITTs. The total
enrollment of female students at diploma level for the the academic year 2015/2016 was 23%, 13%, and 24% at ATC, DIT,
and MUST, respectively. The corresponding numbers for female enrollment at
degree level were; 15%, 13%, and 12% at ATC, DIT, and MUST. When we compare the present employment of
female staff of all cadres at the ITTs against total employment, we arrive at
the following figures; 19%, 16%, 24%, 34%, at ATC, DIT, MUST and NM-AIST,
respectively.The employment figures more or less mirror the enrollment ratios.
A general conclusion is that the ratio
of enrollment of female students as well as employment of female staff is
extremely low taking into account the fact that according to National Bureau of
Statistics, the 2012 National Census results show that 51.28% of Tanzanians are women.
The issue of gender disparity in engineering does seem to be a
global one. For, according to Prof. Susan Silbey of MIT, while women make up
20% of engineering students in the US, they make up only 13 % of the
engineering workforce. Nearly 40% of who earn engineering degrees either quit
or never enter the profession. Writing in The Harvard Business Review Susan Silbey has observed that : The number of women and men [in the US] are nearly equal in law and medicine, and the number of women in basic
sciences is growing annually. With such a low proportion of female engineers
nationally, educators and businesses need to pay more attention to how an
occupation founded on a commitment to complex problem solving so consistently
fails to repair its well-documented gender problem.
MUST should actively engage in addressing the gender imbalance
in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) through, among other
activities, visiting secondary schools in Mbeya and engaging girls in
discussions on what science and engineering are all about and the advantages of
their opting for mathematics and science subjects in higher education.
Female staff members at MUST should act as role models for girl
students at MUST and in secondary schools. Male engineers across the
engineering spectrum and male engineering students should readily welcome
female engineers and female students to this noble, but otherwise male
dominated, fraternity of science and
engineering.
Susan Silbey’s paper in the Harvard Review reminded me of a
similar concern expressed 46 years ago! My advocacy for the mission to get more
women into the engineering profession is not new. For, in 1970 a colleague of
mine, Mathew Luhanga and I, wrote an article in the Tanzania Standard newspaper,
now known as the Daily News, on the theme of Women and Engineering. Some excerpts from the article which was
published on 19th July, 1970 are as follows:
“Allow us to air our
views on the hitherto un debated issue of women and technology……
Traditionally it is held
that women are a weak [gender] and as such they cannot undertake strenuous
jobs. That women are not a weak [gender] is perhaps obvious to any individual.
After all, engineering as discipline besides being diversified, is not always a
matter of lifting heavy objects, turning tight nuts and other chores of the
same calibre. Indeed even if it consisted of such things, we are of the opinion
that our women would be just as proficient as men………
We hold the opinion that
engineers are made, not born. Indeed no less an authority on the mind of the
child than Jean Piaget once observed that to create [people] who are capable of doing new things, possibilities to
invent and discover must be created for him during childhood………
As such the upbringing of
a child assumes great importance. It is here that the role of women in [the]
making [of] engineers should not be understated. In our opinion a mother who is
also an engineer is best suited for the job. As John Quincy Adams once put it,
“All that I am, I owe to my mother”.......
Antagonists to the above
arguments will agree with us that women…… can at least make as good technical
teachers as men….. up until the sixth form girls take the same subjects as boys
hence they stand the same chance in engineering and architecture…..
We hold, and emphatically
too, that engineering is not a patriarchal profession”.
Every Friday The Tanzania Standard published a
special prize-winning letter. That week our letter won the prize, Tsh. 20,
which we received and shared. We were mere high school students then. Both of
us were later to qualify as engineers and became university professors of
electrical engineering.
The lack of parity at higher education level enrollment, the
global nature of the challenge notwithstanding, is a matter of concern. The
wise words of the educationist, philosopher and proudly referred to as the
African, a native of Gold Coast, present day Ghana, the late James Emmanuel
Kwegyir Aggrey are pertinent here: “The
surest way to keep people down is to
educate the men and neglect the women. If you educate a man you simply educate
an individual, but if you educate a woman, you educate a whole nation.”
I trust the Council of the University will do whatever is
necessary to address the gender imbalance
in student enrollment and staff employment at MUST.
University Staff and Student Interaction
As a fellow member of this privileged society of
educationalists and having spent two thirds of my working life as a lecturer at
the University of Dar es Salaam, I take the liberty of sharing with you some
views on university life and interaction between staff and students. First and
foremost there must be a realisation by faculty, staff and students that the
highly cherished concept of academic freedom goes with responsibilities.
In order to produce scientists and engineers capable of meeting
the challenges of development, academic rigor must be maintained. Mediocrity
and low standards should not feature in our vocabulary. Objective scientific
inquiry has to be the cornerstone of our intellectual pursuits. We will soon
start implementing postgraduate programmes. There should be no shortcuts in the
attainment of graduate degrees except in accordance with the minimum levels of
full-time availability, coursework and research requirements.
Let me touch on the issue of mass failure of students. Some
lecturers deliberately cause mass failure in order to create terror among
students and to prove that the subject concerned is tough and so learned is the
lecturer! I have never subscribed to this line of reasoning. For, just like any
other vocation, delivery of service is the ultimate satisfaction and pride of
the provider. Infact mass failure could
be an indication of the weakness of the
lecturer disguised as strength. We are
as providers of knowledge required to do our utmost to make sure that we are
understood even by the slowest of the learners
as in the case of the proverbial shepherd and his ninety nine and one
sheep. This has nothing to do with
standards but a high call to the vocation. In the case of mass failure,
institution of an inquiry would certainly be warranted. I have not heard of any
such a case at MUST, in which case take the advice as a caution.
My advice to colleagues lecturers and professors; language is a
means of communication. To communicate easily we need to be easily understood.
Let us as far as possible avoid being
bombastic and thus refrain from
intimidating students. We have to create a conducive atmosphere for students to
learn. We should refrain from turning a lecture hall into a theatre to canvass support for political causes. To
the extent possible let us be available
during working hours for consultation with students. I know it does not happen at MUST but a word of caution, let us not engage in sexual harassment of female (or
male) students. If we abide by these
simple rules, which I am sure we do, we rightfully earn the respect of peers and students alike.
To students I submit that student life is perhaps the best time
of one’s lifetime. Spend it well and enjoy it. Be inquisitive even if it means
getting your tutor angry. Dream, and work hard
towards making sure your dream comes true. Imagine and test your
imagination. Think of anything positive that you think can be done. Go ahead
and do it. Work hard and earn your grades. Get involved in student politics.
For that is the foundation of future leadership. Criticise the society, the
government, and the university administration, but be constructive in your
criticism. Always abide by the laws and regulations governing your life at the
University and the society at large and
by all means propose any changes or amendments to them using the
necessary channels. Do not engage in riots. Do not vandalise institutional hard
earned property. Get involved in cultural events and debates. Regarding sports and physical fitness remember the
latin saying “Mens sana in corpore sano”
(A sound mind in a sound body).
As students you will sooner rather than later be confronted
with a very profound challenge: what is one’s responsibility to oneself, to
one’s family, to the wider society, to
Tanzania, and to Africa? It will not be long before you realise that your
expectation of what is in store for you in the society may be at variance with
its expectation on you. This will happen when after graduation you will
endeavor to seek for employment, and you will find the employment market rather
tight. Instinctively you will blame the government for lack of or scarcity of
employment. Governments provide education as a service in order to create
knowledge societies. It is an essential duty, a noble duty for that matter. The
education that is availed to you, the authentification of which is a degree, a
diploma or a certificate, is tool given
to you by society, akin to an input in classical control engineering. The
nation has accomplished its duties and responsibilities required of it. It
expects dividends on its investment. This expectation, manifested in your
contribution to society, is the output. The responsibility of the community,
through government, is to evolve and implement sound micro and macro-economic
policies and plans to enable you to use
the education you have received and your God-given talents.
In 2015 I was invited by a group of final year students, then
due to graduate from institutions of higher learning from the Dodoma area, to address them on their
future prospects. Among other things, I advised them, as I advise you now, that
self employment is as noble or even more noble than salaried employment. I once
met an enterprising former student of mine during an event. Our conversation
went as follows:
Student: Sir you seem to
have forgotten me.
Me: Kindly remind me where we met.
Student: You taught me Control Systems Engineering
during my 4 year in the Department
of Electrical Engineering at the University of Dar es Salaam in the late 90s.
Me: Great. I am pleased to meet you. What
are you doing these days?
Student: Sir, you remember, towards the end of each
class and by way of digression, you
used to offer advice to the class about what to expect in real life
after University. In one such a conversation you advised us not to expect
salaried employment because opportunities were becoming scarce. You advised us
to consider self employment. I took your advice seriously. Upon completion of
my studies I registered an electrical engineering company. After a bumpy start,
I am pleased to inform you that my firm is doing well. I now employ close to 50
people. I always thank you for the advice.
I am proud of my student and I have always quoted this example
when I talk to groups of students such as those gathered here today. This is,
however, one side of the story. In order to prepare for service to nation and society, students
at all levels may wish to consider the following advice:
1.
Follow trends in the economy by reading widely. Develop
a habit of reading widely about the trend of the national, regional and global
economy. In this respect Central Bank regular reports and national, regional,
and international media, available online, could be very useful.
2.
Be on the lookout for characteristics of the labour
market. These can be obtained from the Ministry of Labour and Bureau of
Statistics information,and vacancy announcements in the media, employment platforms,and
the social media.
3.
Develop interest in mathematics and science subjects.
These subjects are a foundation to success in science, engineering, technology,
medicine, business studies, economics, and social sciences.
4.
Be conversant and fluent in swahili and english.
Communication is key to success in business and employment. A starting point in
employment is an interview. Command of the language can be an advantage.
Furthermore, as the use of swahili
begins to expand as more than 120 million people speak swahili, more swahili
teachers are being sought in the region and afar. Besides, Swahili is now an
official language of the African Union and will soon become one of the official
languages of the East African Community.
5.
Learn an extra language among the following; French,
Spanish, Russian, and chinese (Mandarin). To succeed in employment in the
regional and international job market, knowledge of a language other than
swahili and english is an added
advantage.
6.
Be aggressive and seek employment opportunities in the
region, and abroad as do Kenyans, Ugandans, Ghanaians and Nigerians. It is a
rare occurrence to meet a Tanzanian working in international business or in
regional or multilateral agencies. We recently met a Tanzanian employee of Emirates. Asked as to how many Tanzanians
were employed in the airline, about 15 was the answer. As for Kenya, the answer
was, well over 100. Emirates has more than 50,000 from 160 countries.
7.
Initially do not be rigid in your choice of employment.
A career path may require a transition. A transition may be a springboard to a
new career, further training, or a career of your choice.
8.
Form peer groups to exchange information, views, and
experiences. Compared to many of us, millennials are good at embracing new
thoughts, new ideas and new technologies.
9.
Make use of
microfinancing and venture capital opportunities available from financial
institutions and government. Search for information on such opportunities.
10. Develop
interest in business studies, business innovation and business startups.
A word of caution to Alumni of MUST, our students and indeed
students elsewhere who are Alumni of the future,and the general populace: The
advent of the web has been a boon to scholars as well as a curse, a curse in
the sense of creating numerous bogus
institutions masquerading as institutions of higher learning offering long
distance courses, institutions which are not accredited. Some of these
institutions claim to be accredited but are recognised by fake accreditation
agencies. Such institutions are known as “degree or diploma mills”. A degree or
diploma mill is usually a non campus online accredited company that grants
degrees or diplomas without being legally authorised to grant such a a degree
or a diploma. Through such mills, a degree or diploma is granted on the basis
of a curriculum vitae that merely details life experience. Some such mills also offer a degree or diploma on the basis
of an essay.
A few years ago I made a search of an institution with a
convincing sounding name, Commonwealth Open University. A disclaimer at the end
read something like” we do not guarantee
that a degree obtained from this institution will be recognized…..”. Yet
many distinguished people forgot to read the fine prints and went on to obtain
“doctorates”. The current advertisement from the same”institution” claims that
“...Accreditation and recognition is an extremely complex issue, given that there are hundreds
of accreditation bodies around the world and no course is ever going to be
accredited or recognised everywhere…..” It
is worthwhile to note that the “university” is established as a company in a
tax haven, in the Virgin Islands!
Another such degree mill which attracted my attention some
years back was Pacific Western University, a degree mill operated from Hawaii
since 1988. It was also registered
in California, and in
Louisiana. After a Congressional probe
it was found to be unaccredited as a university. It was closed in 2006. Many
distinguished names, including some Tanzanians had already obtained
degrees including doctoral degrees. A
number of prominent people across the world had to resign their posts after it was found that they had obtained
degrees from a university which was not accredited. We are advised to watch out
for institutions such as Redding University, Suffield University, American
University in London, American Open University, and Standford University, which
sound almost like bona fide and famous universities.
My caution regarding degree mills relates also to the
proliferation of private entities including some religious institutions, which
offer “honorary doctorate degrees”. Usually these are not bona fide or
accredited academic institutions. Some such institutions or mills have been
granting “honorary doctorates” to prominent people, especially and regrettably
to Africans. A few years ago a controversy arose in Kenya and Uganda concerning
a christian organisation based in the
United States, the United College and Seminary conferring honorary
doctorates on some very prominent people.
They exploit our weakness to accept anything that will make us
add a prefix “doctor” to our names. It
is an affront to the intelligence of an African. Furthermore we do not do
justice to our students. They may think there is a shortcut towards earning a
university degree. In many advanced
countries it is customary for recipients of honorary doctorates not to be
referred to as Doctor so and so. Notwithstanding The aforementioned
notwithstanding linguists would remark “ What is in a name?”. As I once
observed: A Doctor of Philosophy degree,
as is true of any degree award is but a mere tool, an input that is meant to
enable the awardee to face societal
challenges. The output, the reward , is the result of the use the degree for
the benefit of the community and our common humanity.
The Mutuality of Science
and Technology
In Professorial Inaugural Lecture that I gave twenty six years ago, entitled Energy:The
Mutuality of Science and Technology, I introduced the lecture by defining
science, and technology. I did not know then that one day I would be called
upon to revisit the definitions. Science is the understanding of the complex
interrelationship between man and the biosphere. It does encompass knowledge of
biological and physical processes. Science involves the correct understanding
of fundamental laws of nature. Technology, on the other hand is the application
of that knowledge by mankind in the endeavor to control the environment and set
the pace of development. Simply put, science can be defined as knowledge, and
technology as know-how or the application of science for development. Science
and technology are inseparable. Without science, technology is not sustainable.
UNESCO has aptly summarised this link thus: “Like twins, science and technology may be said to be conceived of one
flesh; to be destined, from the moment of separation after first division, to
develop separate identities and personalities, each from its own unique set of
experiences; but to retain throughout their existence a mysterious empathy and
a faculty of telepathic communication….. technological planning, without an
adequate of scientific theory to direct it (naked empiricism) is simply not
enough; the artificial separation of one from the other is a sure recipe for
disappointment.”
Nanotechnology, a recent field of study, is a manifestation of
the mutuality of science and technology. It is the study and application of
extremely small things across chemistry, biology, physics, material science and
engineering, made possible after the invention of the scanning tunneling
microscope and the atomic force microscope. Research is being undertaken around
the world in the manufacture of nanomaterials, new products and new
applications. Before you dismiss work in this field as being suitable for
developed countries may I remind you of the following: In 2015 a Tanzanian
chemical engineer, Dr Askar Hilonga, from Nelson Mandela African Institution of
Science and Technology, won the first Royal Academy of Engineering Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation. Dr
Askar has developed a nanotechnology-based water filter that cleans contaminated
drinking water.
MUST is a reincarnation of Mbeya Technical College and the
Mbeya Institute of Technology in the form of a university. Throughout its
existence since its inception emphasis has been put on the technical or
technology side of training, as if in the name of our institution the s were a
small letter, and the T, a capital letter.
While this emphasis is expected in the short term, in the medium and
long term “science” must take its rightful place at MUST in order for
“technology” to have a solid grounding and backup.
Multidisciplinary
Studies at the University
Traditionally engineering colleges, schools and faculties have
been built on four pillars; civil engineering, mechanical engineering, chemical
engineering, and electrical engineering. Over the years advancement in knowledge
has led to disaggregation of these basic pillars and at times to aggregation
with other disciplines. It is not uncommon these days for students to do a four
year course in engineering and management, engineering and law, or engineering
and business studies. It is fashionable these days for one to obtain a basic
degree in engineering, and a second degree or a postgraduate diploma in
business administration.
I read the following parable in the Strait Times during one of
my stopovers in Singapore some years back. It was recounted by Ngiam Tong Dow,
a renowned Singapore retired senior servant and contemporary of the late Lee
Kuan Yew, at the National University of
Singapore Economics Alumni event in December 2007: “General Bullmoose …... woke up one morning and decided that he should
hire a bright young man to be his aide-de-camp in business. General Bullmoose
is the cartoon caricature of the mighty General Motors in real life.
Three young men were
selected by the human resource department for an interview with the man
himself. The first was an engineer. When asked what 1 and 1 add up to, it was
no brainer for the quantitative engineer. The answer was obviously 2.
When an accountant was
asked the same question, being more creative he said that 1 and 1 look like 11.
When it came to the
economist the young man was at a loss to give a numerical answer. So he plucked
up his courage and asked General Bullmoose,’Sir, what answer do you want?.
Ngiam Tong Dow’s advice
was that “The nimbleness [quick-wit,
shrewdness] of mind of the economist, combined with the structured logic of the
engineer will, I believe, give you better odds for success in business.”
A multidisciplinary approach to higher education can be viewed
from the perspective of Tanzania’s Vision 2025. In developing the
characteristics of a strong and competitive economy that is envisaged, Vision 2025 defines sustainability as that growth
that will be pursued while effectively reversing adverse trends in the loss and
degradation of environmental resources such as forests, fisheries, fresh water,
soils, biodiversity, and concerns over
climate change and the
accumulation of hazardous substances.
Global efforts to meet challenges posed by environmental
degradation led, in the 1970s to the formation of the World Commission on
Environment and Development, popularly referred to as the Brundtland
Commission, named after its Chairperson Gro Harlem Brundtland of Norway. In its
report ‘Our Common Future’, the term ‘sustainable development’ is defined as
that “development which meets the needs
of the present generation without compromising the ability of future
generations to meet their own needs”. Sustainable development therefore seeks
to reconcile human needs and aspirations with the capacity of the wider
environment to cope with the consequences of human activities. Of immediate
concern to Tanzania is the threat posed by environmental degradation and
climate change. The point I wish to humbly submit is that growth, poverty
reduction and the development and environmental well-being of our planet are
intricately linked with engineering as a discipline and a profession. It in the
light of the aforesaid therefore, that environmental studies should take a
centre stage at MUST as we endeavour as a country and the world to meet
challenges and opportunities posed by climate variability and climate change, development of clean
energies, building a green economy,
efficient resource development and use and reuse, and biodiversity protection.
For natural resources to be protected, the resources must be
located and assessed. This activity is now made easier through the application
of drones. The design, development and use of drones is an area you could, as a
university of science and technology, create a niche.
My considered advice to the Council of MUST and the academic
leadership of the University is that we must prepare our graduates for a world
which is not as compartmentalised as we would make them believe. I studied law
in my second year as an undergraduate engineering student. It was then
compulsory that we take a non-engineering complementary subject in order to
qualify for the award of a degree in engineering. The complementary study in
law, brief though it was, did hold me in good stead in my career. In the not
too distant a future “science” in our name must be expanded to include relevant
social sciences.
Mwalimu Nyerere and the
Mbeya University of Science and Technology
Of all the universities in Tanzania, only two were founded by Mwalimu Julius Kambarage
Nyerere. These are; the University of Dar es Salaam, and the Mbeya University
of Science and Technology. This information should not come as a surprise to
you. By way of history, upon his retirement as President of Tanzania, Mwalimu
remained as Chairman of Chama cha Mapinduzi(CCM). During one of his working
tours he had the opportunity to visit Mbeya. On 31 May 1987 he visited the then
Mbeya Technical College. After inspecting the College he was very impressed. He
remarked to those present that in view of the importance of science and
technology to the development of Tanzania he would wish that the government
develop the college so that it eventually becomes Tanzania’s university of science and
technology. MUST is the result of Mwalimu’s dream.
As we hold our heads high for being associated with the name of
one of the greatest philosophers of our time, and founder of our nation, Mwalimu, we should be
humbled by the responsibility to meet his aspirations and to live in accordance
with his teachings and and his guidance. He was a firm believer on the need for
a university to be relevant to society
and to the country while recognising the international character of knowledge.
MUST has to develop a brand rooted in its relevance to the
community it serves and to the country it belongs. While stressing the
importance of relevance in the university, during his seminal address to the
University of Dar es Salaam community on the occasion of the inauguration of
the university on 29 August 1970, Mwalimu Julius Kambarage Nyerere, the first
Chancellor of the University had this caution to make:” Thus we would be inviting our own destruction if we gave too narrow a
definition to the word ‘relevant’ when using it in relation to our university
studies. Knowledge is international and interrelated. We need to know and
understand as much as we possibly can;
we need to learn from the past and the present of all parts of the
globe. All knowledge is relevant to us, even if we consider ourselves only as
Tanzania citizens and ignore our existence as human beings. It is only by
starting from that basis that we can avoid blundering into national disaster
through deliberate blindness”.
The issue of whether education is a right and that the
government has to give on demand has been debated over decades since Mwalimu.
It becomes a right when the Government can afford it, and it becomes a
privilege when the it can be accorded to a few. Such is the case with higher
education. It is a privilege in the sense that only a select few in the
education pyramid can reach the top because higher education is expensive.
Limits are therefore placed in accordance with passes and the availability of
space, infrastructure, staff and learning facilities. Our worth as the educated
class will continue to be measured by our contribution to society and to
Tanzania. Mwalimu Nyerere aptly summarised our responsibilities as an educated
class thus: “Those who receive this
privilege, therefore, have a duty to repay the sacrifice which others have
made. They are like a man who has been given all the food available in a
starving village in order that he might have the strength to bring food back
from a distant village……” The ‘duty
to repay’ may be construed by the present generation as the duty to repay
educational loans! A gentle reminder to you concerns the fungibility of loans.
A fraction of development expenditure has had to be foregone for the provision
of educational loans. While loans should be repaid, the duty to repay referred
to here is service to the nation. You could argue that after all Mwalimu was a
socialist. The following equally powerful words “Ask not what the country can do for you but what you can do for your
country.” were spoken by John Fitzgerald Kennedy as part of his inaugural
address as President of the United States of America, leader of the capitalist
world.
Mwalimu hated corruption, arrogance, and indolence. He was
God-fearing, humble but resolute. He was an avid reader, writer, listener, and
a brilliant scholar. Mwalimu was a teacher and philosopher. I have yet to meet
a person as punctual as Mwalimu was. He was a lover of plants and fauna. The
establishment of a botanical garden that I have proposed will be a tribute to
Mwalimu’s interest in botany. Being associated with his name, therefore,
requires us to emulate by example, his teachings and the life he led, both as
individuals and as an institution. What Mwalimu would have required of us can
be summarised thus: Service Before Self.
Some Concluding Remarks
I started my lecture by the submission that as Chancellor of
the University my role is titular and honorary. The Charter of the University
assigns the responsibility of oversight to the Council. The founding Council
which has ably handled the transition from MIST to MUST has been under the
leadership of Prof. Penina Mlama. I would like, on behalf of the University
community to thank the Council for a job well done. May I add that we did not
expect anything less from the Council. The day to day running of the University
is vested in the Vice Chancellor, assisted by Deputy Vice Chancellors, the
Senate, Heads of Schools and Colleges and the entire administrative and
academic staff. I thank you all.
I have used the opportunity provided to me liberally, by adding
my reflections and perspectives on the role of MUST in contributing to the
attainment of the goals of Vision 2025 and beyond 2025. To underscore the
importance of MUST in the creation of a knowledge and learned society, I have
relied on, as my canons, the writings of three philosophers and
educationalists; Imam Ali bin abi Talib, nephew of Prophet Mohammed(Peace be
Upon Him); James Emmanuel Kwegyir Aggrey of Achimota College, Ghana; and our
Father of the Nation, Mwalimu Julius Kambarage Nyerere.
I have made some suggestions on how you could exploit the
virtues and advantages of universalism of knowledge through cooperation
internally and externally while
remaining relevant to your immediate impact area. I have underscored the need
for MUST to develop a strong science base if it has to emerge with a strong engineering output. I have also
stressed the need for interdisciplinary studies in the knowledge that the
society does not exist in a compartmentalised form. Science is an embodiment of
both basic sciences and social sciences. Furthermore, building a strong
foundation in environmental studies and the development of a botanical
garden could be important this regard.
The model of the robot in the lab must be developed into a working prototype.
The rudimentary motor vehicle MUST should be the basis of continuous
improvement into an electric vehicle and
ultimately a driverless vehicle. Nanotechnology
has to take centre stage in research and development. We must peer into the future, 100 years from
now as we strive to make MUST a hub of knowledge, intellectualism, innovation
and service to society.
I have also reminded you that MUST is a creation of Mwalimu
Nyerere. We must strive to be true to his ideals and ideas. Importantly the
output of MUST must resemble a University steeped in a national ethos of
freedom, respect for rights of an individual, hard work, discipline,
confidence, respect of the rule of law and good governance in all its
manifestations. I urge staff, students,
and alumni of this University remember that
“ ..no good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good
fruit, for each tree is known by its own
fruit.”(Luke 6:43-44).
Our first and paramount responsibility is teaching,
To be good teachers we must be up to date with knowledge. To be up to
date we must do research. To do research we need institutional support. That support is partly
through postgraduate programmes. We must
continue to upgrade our academic and
administrative staff.
As a centre of higher learning, MUST has to create an
atmosphere conducive to interaction between the University community and
scholars, eminent people and persons distinguished in science, technology and
their interface with society. Only then can we measure our understanding of the
the world compared to the actual world, and the world as perceived by others.
This is the essence of the spread and increase, upon use, of knowledge, as
envisaged by Imam Ali bin abi Talib in his treatise on knowledge. This lecture
could therefore be considered as the first of the Chancellor’s Lecture Series
on Science, Technology and Society. I urge the Council to make this exercise an
annual event. I would be glad, after receiving advice from the Chairman of
Council and the Vice Chancellor, to invite guest speakers to this series of
lectures.
I started my journey to Mbeya University of Science and
Technology from the humble begins of Majengo Area in Mbeya where I grew up and
Majengo Primary School where I was enrolled in November 1956 and began my
studies in January 1957. It has been a long 10 kilometre journey that has taken
me 60 years to date, a very worthwhile journey to undertake.
A few weeks ago, as I was preparing for this lecture, as an
avid follower of global events, my attention was drawn to the following
developments: On 22 June 2016 India successfully launched 20 satellites on a
single rocket, the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle-C34. The payload included
satellites from India, Germany, Indonesia, and the United States. The NASA
space probe Juno successfully entered the Jupiter orbit on 4 July 2016. For
24 months, Juno will seek to determine Jupiter’s formation and evolution
and thus add knowledge to the origin of the solar system including our earth.
On 16 October 2016 China launched into space the Shenzhou-11 craft to dock
with the Tiangong-2 space laboratory for 30 days. The astronauts
performed experiments on computers, propulsion systems, and agricultural trials
including the growing of cucumbers in space! among others. As for Africa I
followed with interest an event in
Madagascar. Once in seven years a ceremony of unearthing and reburying the
dead, famadihana, is performed as an act of maintaining links with
ancestors and allowing the dead to experience the happiness of life.
I could only summarise the situation thus: The higher others go
to explore and exploit space to advance knowledge and technology, the deeper we
go under the earth to reconnect with our ancestors! We too can still reconnect
with our ancestors as we seek to explore
space. This is the challenge before MUST and other ITTs, and the nation. As I
conclude the lecture that I deliver to people we are grooming to take us
to space, I recall a tale we were taught in school, the tale that was told
by a Ghanaian, one of the pioneers of
education in Africa, the African, James Emmanuel Kwegyir Aggrey(1875 - 1927),
the parable of the eagle:
One day a man went
hunting in the forest. He was looking for any interesting bird he could find
for his collection. He caught a young eagle which he brought home. He placed
the bird in his farmyard and fed it the same food as his chicks, ducks and
turkeys, in spite of the fact that it was an eagle which is the king of birds.
Five years later, a biologist came to see him. They went to the yard together.
The biologist told the man:
This is an eagle, not a
chicken!
Yes, replied the owner,
but I have trained it to be a chicken. It has been fed and raised like a
chicken. Therefore it is no longer an eagle, even though its wingspan is
fifteen feet.
No, no, replied the
biologist, it is an eagle. It has all the characteristics of an eagle, and I
will prove to you that it is an eagle. I will make it fly high up to the
heavens.
He then took the eagle in
his hands and addressed it with great
intensity in the following terms:
You are an eagle, not a
chicken. Fly away! He then threw it into the air.
The poor eagle fell back
to earth just like a chicken would do, thereupon its owner said: There, I told
you. Now you can see that it is no longer an eagle. It is now a chicken and it
will never fly.
But the biologist did not
give up. The next day he returned and the scene was repeated.The eagle again
fell back to earth like a chicken. On the third day he took the eagle in his
hands, turning it to face the sun and uttering the following words:
Eagle, stretch your wings
and fly. You are not a farmyard bird but the king of the skies.
The eagle looked around,
gazed steadily at the sun and, at the thought of the new life which might await
it, stretched out its wings, uttered the cry of an eagle and flew away higher
and higher into the sky, never to return to the farmyard again.
I submit that we at MUST resemble this eagle. We are free at last, looking
towards the limitless space. Let us fasten our belts as we prepare for a
flight to the heights of science and
technology. The spirits of our ancestors, which reside in the surrounding
majestic Southern Highlands of Tanzania,
summon us to declare never to fall, and never to fail our motherland Tanzania,
and Africa.
I thank you most sincerely for your indulgence.
©Mark Mwandosya
ASANTE SANA MTAALAMU HONGERA SANA
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