Honorable Dr. William Mgimwa (MP), Minister for Finance;
Honorable, Dr. Shukuru Jumanne Kawambwa, Minister for Education and Vocational Training;
Prof. Benno Ndulu, Governor of the Central Bank of Tanzania;
Mama Maria Nyerere;
Distinguished representatives of financial institutions;
Invited Participants;
Ladies and Gentlemen;
It is my singular honour and pleasure to officiate the launching of the Mwalimu Nyerere Memorial Scholarship Fund. The objective of the Fund, named after our beloved Father of the Nation, the late Mwalimu Julius Kambarage Nyerere, is to sponsor best performing students to pursue higher education in institutions within the country.
I congratulate the Governor and the entire management of the Central Bank of Tanzania for conceiving the idea, nurture it and make it a reality. Indeed it is befitting to launch the Fund at this time of the year when we have just commemorated the 13th anniversary of the untimely death of Nyerere. It is even more appropriate to name the Fund after Mwalimu because it is an expression and recognition of what the late Mwalimu Julius Kambarage Nyerere stood for. He sincerely believed in and fought for the right of education to all Tanzanians. He spent most of his time and energy educating fellow Tanzanians and the world at large by writing books on various subjects. In one of his many speeches on social-economic development of our nation, he said; I quote “development can not come without human capital development”. Mwalimu always insisted on educating our children who in turn would be catalyst to national development.
Ladies and gentlemen;
The amount of 1.7 billion shillings that has been raised by the Fund is a clear demonstration of your institutions’ commitment in ensuring the objective of the Fund is achieved. However, it is important to note that this is a relatively small amount compared to the number of students in need. I therefore appeal to Bank of Tanzania and other financial institutions to put in more effort in mobilizing additional funds.
We in the government welcome the initiative because it has come at the right time when we are putting more efforts to build human capital by expanding high learning opportunities in the country. Apart from increasing the number of higher learning institutions and universities in the country, we have also increased the number of students who can benefit from the government’s education loan. This financial year we have set aside 326 billion shillings for sponsoring 98,772 students. But due to high demand, the fund is not sufficient to cover all the needs. We believe the initiative we are launching today will complement our efforts.
Ladies and Gentlemen;
I am particularly impressed by your decision to sponsor students in Mathematics and Science subjects, specifically female whom for many years have been lagging behind. It is a right decision as the government is also moving towards that direction of giving more emphasis to mathematics and science subjects. This month I have launched the Nelson Mandela Institute of Science and Technology that specializes in research and training of science subjects. It is the state of the art university that will offer its services to the entire region. I believe the Fund will also sponsor students who will take in the future post graduate studies at the Institute.
Once again, I would like to thank all commercial banks, financial institutions, retired government servants and Bank of Tanzania staff for their valuable contribution to the Fund. I personally invite and encourage more contributions especially from commercial banks and other financial institutions which are yet to participate, development partners, private sector and individuals to contribute to this Fund.
Honorable Minister;
Distinguished representatives of the financial institutions;
Ladies and gentlemen;
I now have the honour and privilege to declare that the “Mwalimu Nyerere Memorial Scholarship Fund” is officially launched. I wish you every success in this noble endeavor.