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University of Arusha
INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND
The development of this five-year Strategic Plan has benefited greatly from TAC Situational Analysis of October 2003, experiences shared, lessons drawn from a series of consultative meetings and several evaluation missions held between 2000 and October 2003. Participants comprised stakeholders from different sectors, many of which contributed significant time and effort to the contextual framework and subsequent preparation. The Government instruments such as The Higher Education Accreditation Council (HEAC July, 2003) technical evaluation of the Proposed University of Arusha and the Tanzanian Council for Nurses and Midwives (TCNM) have identified the wholistic development of the college infrastructure as a priority issue which should be tackled urgently, since it threatens the transformation of the institution into a full fledged university.

The plan acknowledges that UoA has the basic infrastructure, facilities and manpower to undertake its missionary functions in the setting of its current status. It also acknowledges that UoA¡¯s inadequate capacity to self-finance its development programmes is a reality and that resources drawn from cross-section of well-wishers will be mobilised to tackle the problem. The priority activities and their implementation schedule are within the umbrella of the TAC¡¯s Ten-year Development Master Plan (DMP). The plan therefore, recognises the important role the planned interventions will play in guiding the development process to accommodate the proposed upgrade status.

The Strategic Plan is designed for UoA policy makers, planners, administrators and stakeholders to direct the focus of their activities and apportion resources towards tackling the new challenges. This explains why the formulation of the Strategic Development Plan (SDP) drew accumulated experiences from across section of stakeholders such Board of Trustees (BoT), UoA management, faculty, community, students and collaborating institutions. The process made use of participatory approaches where Objective Oriented Project Planning (OOPP) was used. Institutional problems were identified, prioritised and analysed.

The document is organized into Nine Sections. An overview of the current TAC situation is presented as introduction and background information in Section One. This is followed by Section Two where the socio-economic profile of Arumeru District is presented together with identified problems. The proposed University of Arusha Vision, Mission and development mandate follows in Section Three. Institutional assessment and prioritisation of various strategies for intervention are then discussed in Sections Four and Five respectively. Proposed programme scope and development of auxiliary projects for intervention are featured in Section Six as a prelude to the need to mobilize resources presented in Section Seven. The importance of integrating the Strategic Plan with the budgeting process is highlighted in Section Seven. Roles and responsibilities of stakeholders within the multi-sector approach are discussed under management and organisation of the implementation in Section Eight. In appreciation of the challenges presented in the planning process, the document has instituted Section Nine, which presents key developmental recommendations. Finally, implementation matrices are included. Appendix 1 is based on costed priority areas of intervention while Appendix 2 is based on intervention through selected sectors for the proposed University of Arusha.

The Purpose of the Strategic Development Plan

The proposal to transform Tanzania Adventist College (TAC) into a full fledged University (University of Arusha) provides the beginning of a stronger co-ordination mechanism to tap the full potential of all sectors and stakeholders to tackle the challenges presented by the developments. Successful multi sector response will be mounted in accordance to TAC Development Master Plan and the recommendations of the HEAC of Tanzania. It is in this context that TAC in developing this plan seeks to: -

To analyse the current activities of TAC and formulate strategies to respond to developmental challenges for the proposed University of Arusha.
To provide strategic leadership to guide the institution

To formulate a five-year strategic development plan outlining both educational activities and development project activities.

To assess the organizational capacity of UoA to provide a framework to guide the implementation of the five-year strategic plan.

To provide a framework for resource mobilization and management of the institution.

In line with the TAC management policy guide, the Strategic Plan aims to facilitate the realization of the objective of self-reliance through: -

Increasing the enrolment pattern from the current 150 to 500 by 2005

Strengthening the capacity of its faculty and staff to respond to the challenges at all levels by 2005.

Development of sustainable auxiliary enterprises (projects) as alternative income generation activities by the beginning of the year 2004.

Background and Historical Evolvement of the University of Arusha (UoA)

The activities of University of Arusha (UoA) former (TAC), can be traced as far back as 1970, when the Tanzania Union of the Seventh-day Adventists sought to establish the institution in a peaceful surrounding of Ngongongare, Arumeru district. This was the time when the Union acquired about 200 acres plus an existing building, from Mr. Frankson, a white settler from Norway who arrived in the 1930s to do wood business and dairy farming. Mr. Frankson was popularly known as Bwana-Mbao because of the nature of his business.

However, from historical profiles it was established that, before the First World War the land on which the University of Arusha (UoA) is located belonged to a German settler, Mr. Trapp. After the First World War, the land was given as a gift to Mr. Moses, a British colonel, and was later inherited by Mr. Hunts. Bwana Mbao, acquired over 3,900 acres from Mr. Hunts which extended from the foot of Mount Meru on the Eastern side to the Sakila hill. Around 1940, he established the building inherited by the proposed University of Arusha and currently being used as the administration block.

Bwana Mbao was very unpopular to the native whom he used to refer to as African monkeys and kaffir (heathens). When Tanzania got its independence in 1961, it adopted a socialist policy involving nationalization and sharing of natural resources. Since Bwana Mbao was not willing to remain with 50 acres only out of his 3,900 acres, he left the land to his workers and went back to Norway in 1964. Ten years later, in 1975 the area was organized into a ujamaa (communal) village.

In 1974, the government granted to the Seventh-day Adventist Church, 202 acres of Bwana Mbao¡¯s land and the premises for the establishment of Arusha Adventist Seminary (AAS). Just like the former settlers, Seventh-day Adventists were strangers in Ngongongare and were associated with the Jews who observed the Seventh-day Sabbath, rather than with the Christians who were Sunday worshipers. Church pastors threatened to excommunicate and curse their church members if they would join the strange religion that had come in the area. The natives even feared employment at the Seminary lest they become converted to the Seventh-day Adventist faith. Even as an educational institution, the Arusha Adventist Seminary (AAS) was not welcome by the natives. The Lutheran Church in the area had given very little emphasis on education. As a result, majority of the surrounding natives were illiterate and poor, unable to study the Bible themselves and in need of material help.