JK grants charter to Aga Khan varsity

President Jakaya Kikwete holds talks with His Highness the Aga Khan at State House yesterday before the Head of State granted a charter to the Aga Khan University. PHOTO | EMMANUEL HERMAN  

Dar es Salaam (The Citizen). President Jakaya Kikwete yesterday granted a charter to the Aga Khan University, making it the first foreign-based institution to get the document.

President Kikwete handed the certificate to His Highness the Aga Khan at a ceremony at State House.

The Head of State said the government of Tanzania had for many years enjoyed a cordial relationship with the Aga Khan Foundation (AKF), which runs the university and other Aga Khan projects in the country.

President Kikwete added that there was room to do more for mutual benefits. The granting of the charter, he said, opened a new chapter in furthering the efforts made by AKF and the government to improve the lives of all Tanzanians.

He stressed that the charter was not just dished out to the institution, saying it was a well-deserved achievement.

“We have granted this charter because of the confidence we have in the Aga Khan University,” he said and added: “I have no doubt that the university will rise to the expectations of all of us.”

In his remarks, His Highness the Aga Khan, who oversaw the institution’s expansion from Asia to Africa, said the event was of immense importance to the Aga Khan University.

“We reached the decision after realising that there was a need to invest in human resources here especially in the areas of health and education,” he said

He added that for Tanzania to make progress in its endeavour to improve the well-being of its people, it was important for the country to have higher education programmes available for people who are in employment.

He revealed that the university had lined up nine postgraduate programmes that had been identified to suit Tanzania’s needs.

Earlier, the Minister for Education and Vocational Training, Dr Shukuru Kawambwa, said the Aga Khan University had met all requirements to be granted the charter as per sections 25 and 27 of the Universities Act Cap.346

The Tanzania Commission for Universities (TCU) Executive Secretary, Prof Yunus Mgaya, said that with the status it acquired yesterday, the Aga Khan University was now well placed to play a crucial role in developing human resources in its niche areas of medicine, science, mathematics and technology.