At Mbeya

On Wednesday afternoon we did something different.  As you know we are working in our villages on micro finance (using SACCOS).  This keeps us running most days.  However, on Wednesday we went to the University’s Mbeya campus with the VC of Academic Affairs, Gracieux Mbuzuko.  We first met Gracieux last year when he started as the VCAA.  The University was (and still is) having a hard time financially and Gracieux has the job of fixing things.  He and Tom have been in discussion, both in person and through email, exchanging ideas about where to go from here.  Since last year Gracieux has followed through on many of these items.  He has cut the cost of instruction by 25%+.  He has improved collections of fees from 70% to 99%.  He has increased the enrollment giving the school more resources to work with.  Now, he has another list of things to discuss and wanted us to take a look at the Mbeya campus and offer suggestions regarding his course of action there.  With his strong track record how could we say no?

We left for Mbeya about 3 PM.  It took us about six hours to reach Mbeya.  When we got there we were all very tired, but a good tired.  Along the way we talked about issues with the university’s science building, staffing issues, budget issues, curriculum, and a wide variety of things that Gracieux has to deal with. 

We also talked about what the University’s options at Mbeya might be. 

In the morning we met for breakfast and then went over to the Mbeya campus to look around and see what is up.  The Mbeya campus used to be a “cash cow” for the University.  Two years ago they had 300+ students there and were making money from the program there.  When costs were being cut the University cut faculty, advertising, and support.  The enrollment dropped to the present level of 88 and Mbeya started losing money.  The problems here seem quickly solvable. 

Some of the cuts were made since the University used to send staff back and forth.  Other cuts were made since there was no one in Iringa really watching what was going on in Mbeya and so did not understand the budget.  We quickly calculated that they need only raise the enrollment to 95-100 to start making money!  We talked about promotion and advertising, the possibility and cost of local staff, etc.  Tom estimated that getting back to the 300 student level would generate 60-70,000,000 TZS per year for the main campus (about $35,000) – a good start.  All that is really needed is to put a little advertising and recruiting in place and let the Mbeya location be run as a unit.  Gracieux agreed with us that the woman currently in charge was more than capable and should be given a goal and set to work. 

We then talked about a new and larger issue in this area.  The government is making all primary and secondary education free starting this year.  Public school enrollment is doubling and tripling around the country.  At the same time as doing this they are requiring all teachers to earn at least a diploma in education.  This may not seem like an issue; however MOST of the current teachers in this area will no longer qualify to teach, leaving thousands of teaching positions open.  The net result is that there will be tens of thousands of children here who want to go to school, but cannot because there are no teachers.

One solution to this is to offer evening and weekend diploma programs to upgrade the current teachers.  So far however only the University has gotten permission for this type of program, and their permission is dependent on making some upgrades to this campus.

We looked over the campus, visited all of the rooms and looked at the facilities and what needs to happen here.  The problem is not simple.  The current building is leased.  The owner has tried to cheat the University on various items and is unlikely to make the needed upgrades.  The faculty here has located a nearby property for sale they would like to buy, but after walking over to the proposed site, we knew immediately that this would not be a solution. The compound is a former guest house.  It clearly has been empty for a while and would cost much more to fix the old buildings than to build a new one. 

Going back to the existing leased space we make a list of what needs to be done.  They would need to add a small building for offices, a library, and a better computer room.  They would need to fix some of the leaks and do a few repairs.  If these things and a few other small items were done they could most likely handle 250-350 diplomas students here.  If they graduated 300 a year this would provide teachers for almost 10,000 children!  A rough estimate by Tom says that they would need to invest 100,000,000 TZS (about $50,000) to do this.  

Assuming that they get at least 200 students, which seems very likely given the large number of teachers needing to do this, they would generate 240,000,000 TZS in tuition.  This would mean that they could pay for everything and earn thousands of dollars the first year.

Gracieux pointed out a problem here with the owner.  He has tried to cheat the University out of tens of millions of schillings before; can they work with him on this?  Good question.

Another approach would be to find an empty government warehouse and build out class rooms.  We have seen this done before and it has worked well.  There are probably empty spaces in town.  Gracieux knows the governor here and will ask.  Once again we do a few numbers.  We estimate it will take about 120,000,000 TZS to do a basic “fit out.”  They will also need some funds to move and money for more desks for students.  We think that perhaps 160-180,000,000 (about $90,000) would do this.  This is a little more expensive, but really a better solution that will surely meet all of the conditions for permission to offer a diploma program.   This approach would also allow them to begin offering classes this fall.  Once again they could provide enough teachers for at least 10,000 children while earning money for the main campus.

We discussed several other options, but these two seemed the lowest cost and most likely to succeed in a short while.  While it is great that the University can earn money here to help the main campus, the major thing we all agree is that unless someone does something soon there will be a real crisis here.  As the parents enroll their children for school, the schools will be closing or limiting enrollments due a lack of teachers.  Even if the government relaxes their requirements, a big problem will remain for a long time.

We marvel that for $9 or $10 per student the University can ensure that tens of thousands of students are able to get their education – but frankly the University is broke and has no funds for this.  Gracieux is determined.  “We just cannot let this happen,” he told us.  “If we all believe that these children are our future we must find a way to make this happen; we just must.”  We admire his determination and spirit. It is hard to see how a better investment can be made for the children in this area.

The drive to Mbeya was very pretty but about 6-7 hours long.  It was dark when we got there.

The main building is attractive and in a good location.

This classroom was busy when we visited.  Still, by better utilization of their space they can accommodate many more students.

It needs repairs, the roof leaks, and the computer room is too small and in a bad location.  These and a few other issues would need ot be addressed to get permission to hold diploma classes for teachers.

We went over various numbers and options with the staff.  The woman managing this location seems very competent and a little frustrated that she does not have enough control and information to do a better job.  We suggested she get a budget for promotion and advertising.

We looked over the building they had found to purchase.  We quickly decided that it would sot more to fix this than to build a new one.

There is an empty lot near the building.  Maybe NSF (the Tanzanian pension fund) might build a building to lease?  This is a good option, but harder to get done.

It is hard to believe that for want of $9 or $10 per student thousands of children will not be able to go to school.  There will simply not be enough teachers in this region!

It is pretty here in Mbeya but we need to get back.  Tomorrow is a busy day with 2 villages to visit.