Africa-Press – Tanzania. OVER 400 students from poor families have been sponsored to pursue various health and related courses at Tandabui Institute of Health Science and Technology (TIHEST) between 2012 and 2020.
The move is part of the Institute resolve to support President John Magufuli’s commitment and drive aimed at assisting millions of poor Tanzanians-in the areas of health, individual income, education and other pro-poor development sectors.
“Health is an important pillar for national development, that’s why we, Tandabui have decided to support President Magufuli’s prior-poor mission by sponsoring students from needy families to freely study various health course at our Institute,” said TIHEST Principal, Dr Wallace Keto during the 8th Tandabui graduation held in Mwanza over the weekend.
“We are sponsoring students from poor families as part of our contribution to the community,” he said, noting that during this academic year (2021) TIHEST plans to award 100 students from poor families with scholarships to freely study various healthcare courses.
Without better health, he said, the national dreams of industrialization and lifting the country’s economic status to upper middle income level would not be realized.
Dr Keto noted: “Our country needs qualified health experts capable of providing high quality health services to the wider Tanzanian community, thus enhance efficiency and growth in the industrial, economic and other development sectors countrywide.”
Speaking after conferring 1,935 graduates with various certificates and diplomas in Nursing, Pharmacy, Medicine, Medical Laboratory and Health Records and Information Management courses at Tandabui, Nyamagana District Commissioner, Dr Phiris Nyimbi, urged the graduates to utilize the knowledge and skills acquired to assist the country’s strategies aimed at providing better health to the citizens, and hence move Tanzania to the next and international level of development.
“All of you (graduates) are duty-bound to insure that this country moves forwards. You have to contribute to the government’s strategy geared at improving provision of health services delivery to its people,” said Nyimbi, showering praises on TIHEST for maintaining its profile, by providing high quality health education and produce qualified and competent health experts.
In his introductory remarks, TIHEST principal said the college scholarship programme (targeting poor students) started 8 years ago, and that so far over 400 students have benefited from it.
He said the latest 100 scholarships announced officially over the weekend is part of “a strategic drive to review structures and settings of our scholarship programme so that we may reach out to as many needy students as possible.”
“We, as an institute, are doing business, but we have step up this programme to help students from needy families, complement to the fifth-phase government strategies that aim at increasing the number of health experts and ultimately enable the nation to make great strides in development,” noted the principal.
“Our President has shown kindness and ready to help poor Tanzanians, and we, as an institute would like to support this wellintended initiative,” state an official TIHEST’s statement circulated to the media.
TIHEST is a fully accredited and registered nongovernmental institute by National Council for Technical Education (Nacte) and the Ministry of Health, Community Development, Gender, Elders and Children (MHCDGE&C). Its main campus, Mwananchi Campus, is situated in Nyakato, Mwanza City.
Other facilities include four practicum sites for clinical and academic research activities at Nyamagana District Hospital, Mwananchi Hospital, Sekou Toure Hospital and Bugando Medical Centre (BMC).
