Leadership Workshops - Tanzania Commission for Universities

RESOLUTIONS OF THE UNIVERSITY LEADERS DURING THE SUMMATIVE
WORKSHOP FOR VICE CHANCELLORS, DEPUTY VICE CHANCELLORS,
PRINCIPALS, PROVOSTS, DEPUTY PRINCIPALS AND DEPUTY PROVOSTS
HELD IN MOROGORO AT THE HILUX HOTEL
ON 13 th – 19 th NOVEMBER 2011
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IN APPRECIATION of the efforts of the Tanzania Commission for Universities which led to
the establishment and implementation of the Project on Human Resources Capacity
Building for Institutional Management in Tanzanian Universities;
IN FURTHER APPRECIATION of the generous support received from the Carnegie
Corporation of New York that enabled the project to be implemented from 1 st January 2009
to 31 st December 2011;
WHEREAS the project was intended to empower university leaders with skills and ability
to discharge their functions in a manner that promotes the growth of the institutions and
higher education in general;
MINDFUL of the fact that capacity building is a continuous process and that it is important
for university leaders to be conscious of the challenges facing their institutions and take
proactive measures in addressing them;
AWARE of the needs to continuously build the capacity of university institutions in
Tanzania so that they are able to effectively participate in the national, regional and
international development agenda;
COGNISANCE of the role effective leadership, human resources management, resource
mobilization, strategic planning, reform management, quality assurance practices,
management of research projects and Intellectual property Rights (IPR) as well as students
governance systems and practices play in academic institutions;
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DESIROUS to take full advantage of the Information Communication and Technology (ICT)
for institutional prosperity;
CONCERNED by the gender imbalance that exists in the university institutions academic
and leadership positions;
UPHOLDING the management ethics that are critical and necessary to enable the
university institutions address and promote the objectives of higher education nationally,
regionally and globally; and
COMMITTING university institutions to continued capacity building in different areas that
are critical for the attainment of the higher education objectives;
NOW THEREFORE, we university leaders resolve as hereunder:
PART B: RESOLUTIONS
1. Leadership in academic institutions
a. Each university institution should be led in accordance with its Charter granted
or approved by the President in accordance with the Universities Act and that
for university institutions which are yet to submit their Charters in accordance
with the Universities to do so by 2012/13 academic year.
b. Each university institution should organize and execute its functions in a manner
that will attain the national aspirations for higher education.
c. Each university institution should have in a place a leadership development
policy and mechanism for training and development of its leaders at all levels. In
this regard existing University Institutions should have such a Policy by 2013.
d. The Commission, in collaboration with university institutions, should design and
put in place a postgraduate leadership so as to strengthen the university
leadership in the country.
e. Each university institution should constantly review its policies on appointment
of university leaders so as to take into account the changing needs and
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circumstances in university leadership and ensure that university positions are
handled by competent, proactive and entrepreneurial academicians and
administrators, and encourage them to take up leadership positions as and when
they are earmarked for appointment
f. Each university institution should adopt gender mainstreaming policies both at
institutional and unit levels and implement strategies (including embracing
affirmative action, where appropriate) that would help increase the pool of
women candidates for teaching and leadership positions in the institutions. In
the same regard, each university institution should maintain gender based data
to gauge and monitor that progress is being made in the move towards gender
equity by 2013/14 academic year.
g. Each existing university institution should adopt the performance management
approach by 2013/14 so that leaders are assessed on the performance
agreements rather than the current system where no performance targets are
set on appointment in some institutions.
h. Each university institution should be proactive and put in place, by 2013/14
academic year, mechanisms for mobilizing resources from different sources to
finance its operations.
i. Each university institution should review, by 2013/14 academic year, its
governance and management structures and tools so as to enhance
decentralization of power and functions in the institution, this being in line with
the requirements of the Universities Act. In particular, Departments must play a
leading role in ensuring that the university mission and programmes are
attained and that they should be properly resourced in order to effectively play
that role.
j. Each university should work towards sustaining academic freedom and
academic responsibility in the current political climate where politicization of
university institutions is growing.
k. The Commission, in collaboration with university institutions and industries,
should come up with better modalities for increasing the enrolment of students
in mathematics, science, technology and innovations programmes by 2012/13
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academic year. In the same regard, university institutions should continue to
work with the Government and industries to design and implement various
measures aimed at attracting and thereby increasing the pool of students for
mathematics, science, technology and innovations programmes.
l. Each university institution, in collaboration with the Commission, should work
out modalities of strengthening university industry linkage so as to enhance the
delivery of university education in Tanzania, including issues related to research
and practical training.
m. The Commission in collaboration with university institutions should
explore the possibilities of putting in place a system for training on university
leadership and development.
2. Human Resources Management
a. University institutions must come up with arrangements on how they can share
academic staff across universities in a manner that is legal and sustainable and
that the Commission should facilitate the process (design regulations on staff
exchange or sharing) so that the Universities Act and respective Charters are not
violated.
b. Each university institution should regularly review working conditions, staff
remuneration and incentive packages so as to attract and retain qualified staff
for its mission and programmes.
c. The Commission, in collaboration with public universities, should continue to
dialogue with the Government so that the issue of extension of retirement age to
65 years (voluntary) and 70 years (compulsory) is decided on as soon as
possible so as to do away with the current practice of engaging retired
academicians on contracts.
d. Each university institution should put in place a system of spotting, mentoring
and developing the university outstanding talents so as to be able to create a
pool of potential members of staff in accordance with the institution’s succession
plan.
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e. Each university should put in place or strengthen existing mechanism for
capacity building of its staff in teaching, research, consultancy and development
(further studies) skills.
f. The Commission, in collaboration with university institutions, should review the
existing system, put in place and enforce a better harmonized system of staff
recruitment, development and promotion so as to address the current practices
that have tended to differ from one institution to another and thereby creating
complaints among staff in different institutions.
3. Resource mobilization
a. University institutions in collaboration with the Commission should find
mechanisms that will enable them to reduce dependence on subventions from
the government and/or students loans and fees system. The modalities should
include establishing and strengthening linkages with industries and other
research related bodies and commercialization of research results across and
outside the country.
b. Vice Chancellors, Principals and Rectors should play a more proactive role in
resource mobilization for their respective institutions and should regularly
improve their mobilization and entrepreneurship skills. In this regard, they
should engage different stakeholders on resources and be cognizance of the fact
that funding agencies are likely to support institutions that are making selfinitiative.
c. Each university institution should be conscious of the rising cost of delivering
higher education and thus establish a fundraising office and equip it with staff
who have the right knowledge and skills on entrepreneurship matters.
d. Each university institution should put in place a mechanism that will enable it to
utilize its alumni so that they become potential contributors to the development
of the institution. The engagement of the alumni should start from the time they
are students so that they see the value and benefit of continuing to be associated
with the development of their alma mater.
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e. The government should complete the student unit cost study so that the
outcome of the study helps university institutions to determine the appropriate
fees to be charged for each programme.
f. The Commission, in collaboration with university institutions and other research
stakeholders, should develop a capacity building programme on skills for writing
fundable/project proposals as well as for the development of research
infrastructure in order to enable the institutions attract funds and other
resources.
g. Each university institution should ensure that there is a proper balance between
the teaching load and engagement of staff in other university income generating
activities so that students do not suffer as a consequence of staff over
engagement in such activities. In this regard, the Commission in collaboration
with University institutions should review the existing load standards and
develop minimum standards for teaching, research and public services.
4. Strategic Planning and Reform Management
a. In order to become competitive universities of the future, the current university
institutions should change their mindset so that they provide quality education
that is relevant to the society they serve as well as the regional and international
development agenda.
b. Each university institution, in developing its strategic plan, should involve all
members of the institution and other strategic stakeholders. The strategic plan
should be SMART and derived from a comprehensive SWOC analysis so as to
address strategic issues and enable the university institution to cut-a-niche.
c. Each university institution should plan, budget and allocate adequate resources
towards the attainment of the core functions of the institution as per the
strategic plan.
d. Each university institution should participate in matters of national interest and
thus direct their activities towards the realization of the national, regional and
global visions for socioeconomic development.
e. University institutions, in collaboration with the Commission, should establish
multi-disciplinary consortia to address key strategic issues of national interest.
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f. In view of the growth and development of the EAC, SADCand beyond, university
institutions in collaboration with the Commission, should work towards
accessing the wider higher education area in the EAC, SADC and beyond the
regions rather than continuing with the practice of pursuing only domestic
opportunities.
g. Considering the growth in secondary education in the country and the growing
number of students who will wish to join higher education in future, each
university institution should take this aspect into accounts in its Master Plan so
as to ensure the attainment of a sustainable and quality growth of higher
education in the country.
5. Quality Assurance Practices in Higher Education
a. The Commission in collaboration with university institutions should, by
2013/14 academic year, put in place and implement a quality assurance
framework. The framework should take into account other national, regional
and international initiatives on quality assurance, in particular the IUCEA quality
assurance initiatives aimed at establishing the EAC common higher education
area.
b. Each university institution should put in place a quality assurance policy and
quality management plan. In this regard, each institution should ensure that it
develops and embraces the quality assurance culture so that quality assurance
becomes one of the pillars of the provision of university education by the
institution rather than an external requirement by the regulatory bodies.
c. Each university institution, in collaboration with the Commission, should
integrate soft skills – communication skills, interpersonal skills, social skills,
interview and negotiation skills, confidence building, reporting skills, etc - to
staff and students. The integration of soft skills should be part of the curricula
development, review, validation and approval process.
d. Each university institution, in collaboration with the Commission, should ensure
that students become responsible for their own learning as a way of improving
their own skills and competencies. On its side, the university institution should
ensure it facilitates the student centered learning process by designing its
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curricula and preparing its staff along the principles of competency based
teaching and learning.
e. The Commission in collaboration with education stakeholders should, by
2013/14 academic year complete the development of the long awaited National
Qualifications Framework.
f. The Commission, in collaboration with university institutions, should form a
special task force that would look at all issues related to education in general
with a view to forecast the implications of increased demand on education and
unprecedented high enrollments in both primary and secondary schools to
higher education. That task force should also propose possible scenarios and
advice the government, university institutions and other education stakeholders
on the appropriate scenario to address this issue.
g. Universities should not be restricted to the GPA score as the only criterion for
recruitment of academic staff. Other mechanisms and criteria should be devised
to be able to identify competent candidates for academic positions.
h. In view of the increasing demand for higher education, the Commission in
collaboration with university institutions should put in place a mechanism to
guide the process of expansion so as to ensure that quality of higher education is
not compromised.
i. Each university institution in collaboration with the Commission should put in
place mechanisms that will address issues of plagiarism and cheating including
addressing the practice that seem to be emerging of people who write projects,
papers, dissertations and theses for students. Among the mechanisms to be used
should include establishment by the Commission of the central system for
storage of dissertations and theses so that it possible to tract and verify
originality of projects, papers, dissertations and theses.
6. Management of Research Projects and IPR
a. University institutions, in collaboration with the Commission and other research
stakeholders should put in place modalities for joint/collaborative research in
different fields. In this regard, university institutions in Tanzania should take full
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advantage of the national, regional and international research opportunities
offered by different organisations.
b. The Commission should carry out a study on research profiles and ability of
university institutions to do funded research and thereafter put in place a
mechanism to encourage university institutions to do more funded research in
different fields. The mechanism could include a minimum number of research
output per a specified period.
c. The Commission, in collaboration with university institutions, should promote
awareness on IPR issues as well as put in place a framework for IPR
management. The framework should include IPR policies and registration of the
Intellectual Property.
d. Each university institution should vigorously pursue the national research
agenda and constantly engage with the National Planning Commission as well as
the Commission for Science and Technology so that priority research issues are
addressed for national prosperity.
e. Each university institution, in collaboration with the Commission, should fully
participate in different initiatives aimed at improving the ability of university
institutions to take advantage of different research opportunities.
f. Each university institution should disseminate research findings and thereby put
research findings into use through commercilisation and solving the challenges
the society is facing in the area the subject of the research as well as
establishment of incubators.
g. The reforms that the government is carrying out in the area of Science,
Technology and Innovations (STI) should be concluded so that university
institutions take advantage of research opportunities available in the area of STI
area.
7. ICT for Institutional Prosperity
a. Given the ever increasing number of students enrolled in higher education,
university institutions should make use of ICT to facilitate the teaching and
learning. This entails that each university institution should be innovative and
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adopts use of ICT in teaching to accommodate the increased enrolment of
students without compromising quality.
b. Each university institution should properly train both students and staff
for proper management and sustainable use of the ICT infrastructure. In this
regard each university institution should provide students and staff with
adequate access to the ICT resources.
c. Given the limited ICT resources, university institutions should explore
ways for networking and sharing the available ICT resources among themselves.
d. Each university institution should put in place an institutional ICT master
plan and policy by 2013/14 academic year and also regularly monitor and
manage the human-ICT interface. In that regard, each university institution
should recruit and train competent staff to manage ICT resources.
e. Each university institution should regularly use and keep its websites
updated as websites are an essential communication and marketing tool.
8. Gender issues in Universities
a. Each university institution, in collaboration with the Commission, should
put in place a gender policy and strategies to attain gender balance in a
sustainable manner.
b. Each university institution should adopt gender mainstreaming policies
both at the institutional and departmental levels and implement strategies that
would help increase the pool of women candidates, including embracing
affirmative action where appropriate.
c. University institutions should adopt and implement gender responsive
budgeting as part of their general institutional budget.
d. The Government should keep on strengthening strategies that address
gender issues in education at all levels.
9. Students Governance Systems and Practices
a. Each university institution should handle matters related to students
governance in accordance with the Universities Act, its approved or granted
Charter as well as regulations made for that purpose.
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. Each university institution should ensure that it puts in place conducive
teaching and learning environments for its students and staff and make sure that
student and staff are timely informed of all matters that affect them.
c. Each university institution should regularly build the capacity of student
leaders so that they are able to productively participate in the management and
development of higher education nationally, regionally and globally.
d. The Commission in collaboration with university institutions should
carry out a systematic study of students attitudes, values and aspirations in
order to better understand their behaviors and put in place appropriate
mechanism to foster harmony in the provision of university education.
e. Each university institution should ensure that students do not engage in
political party activities in university institution. However, students should be
free to engage in political party activities outside the premises of a university
institution.
10. Management Ethics
a. Each university institution should put in place and use an institutional
code of ethics for staff and students.
b. Each University Institution should address in a holistic manner the ethical
issues related to teaching, research and consultancy and the way such issues
impact on the delivery and management of higher education in the country.
c. In order to impart ethical values to students, there in need to mainstream
ethical issues in all university programmes.
11. Crosscutting Issues
a. The Commission in collaboration with university should put in place
mechanism that will ensure equity in the enrollment of
disadvantaged/marginalized group into higher education.
b. University institutions should ensure equity in the enrolment of students
and recruitment of staff without any form of discrimination. Thus they shall
ensure that there is in place mechanisms for broadening diversity, equity and
equality in the provision of university education.
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c. Each university institution should collaborate with the Higher Education
Students Loan Board to ensure effective disbursement and recovery of loans. In
this regard, university institutions should collaborate in with the Higher
Education Students Loan Board in the development of a system for effective
loans management.
d. Each university institution should ensure that its staff promote the
objectives of higher education and otherwise do not engage in activities which
may frustrate or inhibit university operations and activities.
12. Institutionalisation and sustainability of the Project
a. The Commission in collaboration with the Committee of Vice Chancellors,
Principals and Provosts (CVCPT) and the university institution should design
and develop the plans and programmes for the next three years on capacity
building.
b. The Commission should create a budget line and set aside some funds to
be used for the purpose of university institutions capacity building programmes.
In the same regard, each university institution should set aside adequate funds
to cater for capacity building programmes as are organized by the Commission
from time to time on different modules.
c. The Commission, in collaboration with university institutions, should
continue dialogue with development partners and other financing institutions so
as be able to secure the needed financial support for various capacity building
programmes for the benefit and growth of higher education.
d. In the meantime the interaction between the Commission and the
university institutions and that the financing of that interaction could be
financed through the following scenarios:
Scenario 1
Universities meet the cost of transport and accommodation
TCU to cover administrative cost
The venue for training be centralized
Training be in Modular form
Scenario 2
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Universities meet the cost of transport and accommodation
TCU to cover administrative costs
The venue for the training be decentralized (in zonal basis) for groups
with large number of staff such as Heads of Departments and future
potential leaders (including upcoming females)
Training be in Modular form
Scenario 3
Strengthening of TCU resource Centre, develop and establish e-learning
modules.
Universities develop programmes in University Leadership and
Management at least at Post graduate level
Scenario 4
Combination from the Scenarios above
13. Summary of recommendations and Way Forward
a. The Commission should compile all the resolutions emanating from this
workshop and the workshop which will start from to 13 th to 18 th November
2011 and circulate them to all university institutions.
b. The Commission’s Project Implementation Team should analyse the
resolutions and come up with implementation plan of the resolutions by June
2012. In the same regard university institutions should also prepare their
implementation plans and share them with the Commission by June 2012.
c. Each university institution should complete the questionnaire circulated
by ERA on project evaluation and submit completed questionnaires back to ERA
by 30 th November 2011.
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