...As 20,000 higher level students with multiple admissions may be locked outTHERE is a great possibility that 20,000 students who got multiple admissions at different higher learning institutions may be locked out by the Tanzania Commission for Universities (TCU) to pursue their studies, if they did not confirm only one preferred university of their choice by yesterday.
Students with multiple admissions were
working around the clock for the better part of yesterday to beat the
deadline. They only had until 10:00p.m to confirm to the universities of
their choice before TCU gave a green light to successful applicants
after verification of names admitted to higher learning institutions for
the 2017/2018 academic year.
Since the government banned TCU from
admitting students to various higher learning institutions, students are
now forced to apply for admission at their preferred universities,
which are supposed to subsequently forward the names to TCU for
verification.
TCU spokesperson Edward Mkaku told the
‘Daily News’ yesterday that the verification exercise found out that
20,000 students had been admitted to more than one higher learning
institution and that they had until yesterday at 10:00p.m to confirm
only one preferred university of their choice.
Some students who had multiple
admissions told the ‘Daily News’ that they were encountering challenges
in their bid to communicate to some universities so as to withdraw their
names. According to them, some of the universities were reluctant to
withdraw their admissions.
For example, one student (name
withheld), was admitted to St Augustine University of Tanzania (SAUT) to
pursue a Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communications, and was at the same
time admitted to Muslim University of Morogoro (MUM) to pursue a
Bachelors in Education.
“I have been trying to call MUM to
withdraw my admission to no avail, and they have consistently been
telling me that they have already forwarded my name to TCU,’’ he said,
adding that he had already confirmed his admission at SAUT.
However, Mr Mkaku warned the
universities that were reluctant to heed to the demands of applicants to
stop immediately. “These are awkward cases because the universities
have no mandate to force students to study at their campuses,’’ he said.
Asked if the ministry had any plans to
extend the deadline, to enable students with multiple admissions confirm
their admissions at a single university, the Minister of Education,
Science, Technology and Vocational Training, Professor Joyce Ndalichako,
said she could not comment on the matter as she was yet to receive any
information from TCU on the issue.
“I cannot make any comment because I
have yet to receive information and I think if it will require the
ministry’s intervention, I believe TCU will consult me,’’ she said in a
telephone interview.
TCU completed verification of the first
phase of students who had requested for admission directly to various
higher learning institutions for 2017/2018 academic year on August 30,
2017, and opened room for re-application for students who had received
multiple admissions, among other groups between October 4 and 10, 2017.
During the first phase, according to
information available on the TCU website, the verification concluded
that 180,640 names had been submitted from different universities but
there were different anomalies, including repetition of names.
However, TCU made verification and
remained with 77,756 names of all requests sent to uni versities, out of
which only 44, 627 had successfully been selected by the respective
universities with the remaining 33,129 either failing to meet the
criteria or because of competitiveness.
And, out of 44,627, TCU gave a nod to
only 20,247 students who had been selected by only one university. The
remaining number had been admitted to more than one higher learning
institution, a move that prompted the universities watchdog to call for
confirmation of only one university by students.
Yesterday, Mr Mkaku insisted that the
successful students have until October 30 to report to their respective
universities, asking the higher learning institutions to forward the
names of successful applicants to the Higher Education Students’ Loans
Board (HESLB).
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