The Paradox of Financing Public Higher Education in Tanzania and The Fate of Quality Education: The Experience of Selected Universities
The Paradox of Financing Public Higher Education in Tanzania and The Fate of Quality Education: The Experience of Selected Universities
research-article20182018
SGOXXX10.1177/2158244018771729SAGE OpenMgaiwa
Article
SAGE Open
Abstract
This article examines the sources of funding for public university education in Tanzania. The article also examines the trends
in Other Charges and Capital Development funding for selected public universities in Tanzania taking a leap of years from
2010/2011 to 2015/2016 and their implications for quality issues in the provision of higher education. Results indicate that
the sources of financing for public universities in Tanzania are unreliable and unsustainable. The findings further show that
government approval rates for budgetary requests from universities decreased over the 6 years. At the same time, the
proportion of government-approved funds and those released to universities decreased during the period under review.
This article argues that given the unreliability of sources of higher education funding and decreasing budget approval rate and
disbursed funds, the fate of quality higher education in the Country is questionable should the trend continue. Based on the
findings, conclusions are drawn and recommendations made in light of the weaknesses identified and the review of the system
of public university education funding in Tanzania.
Keywords
funding trend, Tanzania, quality higher education, financing
Introduction the World Bank to cut their spending on the higher education
subsector (Sall & Oanda, 2014; Teferra, 2014).
The education financing system at any level of education Unlike in the developed world, in Africa, while the enroll-
invariably requires a set of effective mechanisms for generat- ment of students in higher education is dramatically increas-
ing education revenue and fund allocation formulae, which ing, the allocated funding in relation to requests or demand is
are actually methods of allocating funds (Galabawa, 2005; decreasing. That is to say, there is a mismatch between stu-
World Bank, 2010). In achieving this, policy principles are dent enrollment and budgetary allocations. This is the case in
critical. These principles must match economy-wide policy several African countries including Tanzania (Ishengoma,
issues such as access, efficiency, fiscal equalization, macro- 2013; World Bank, 2010). Studies show, for example, that
economic stability, and accountability (Galabawa, 2005; from 1985 to 1989, 17% of the World Bank’s worldwide
Nitume, 2011; Teferra, 2014). It is also argued that the education sector spending was on higher education, whereas
amount of financial resources a system of education can from 1995 to 1999, the proportion allocated to the higher
mobilize is a fundamental element of any effective education education subsector by this financing institution declined to
policy (Mingat, 2003). However, African higher education just 7% (Teferra, 2014, as cited in Bloom, Canning, & Chan,
funding is at a crossroads; many studies indicate that there 2006). This decline mirrors similar trends in individual coun-
has been an acute cut in higher education budgets in recent tries’ government allocations to the higher education subsec-
years not only in universities in the developing world but tor. For example, in Tanzania, the budgetary requests of the
also in those in the developed world (Ishengoma, 2013;
Teferra, 2014; World Bank, 2010). These higher education
1
budget cuts are also driven by a belief that higher education The University Hong Kong, Hong Kong
has low economic returns especially in terms of its contribu- Corresponding Author:
tion to poverty reduction, compared with other levels of edu- Samson John Mgaiwa, 5/F, Meng Wah Complex, Room 525, Hong Kong.
cation. This has obliged international organizations such as Email: [email protected]
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2 SAGE Open
University of Dar es Salaam, the country’s flagship univer- to that of Tanzania. In doing so, the article attempts to contrib-
sity, increased from TSh 26.97 billion (US$50.62 million) in ute to a growing body of knowledge in the area by presenting
2000/2001 to TSh 131.9 billion (US$222.82 million) in more, and the most current, empirical evidence from the
2009/2010, an increase of 79.5%. Conversely, government Tanzanian context. The article is organized as follows:
approval rates declined from 82.6% to 37% during the same Following this introduction, the “Method” section describes
period (Ishengoma, 2013). Notwithstanding the decline in the methodology applied in this the article; the “Funding
government approval of subventions to higher education, the Public Universities” section briefly discusses the funding of
amount of funding has actually increased (Ishengoma, 2013). higher education in Africa and Tanzania, while the “Results
In Kenya, the situation is more or less similar to that of and Discussion” presents and discusses the results. The article
Tanzania. For example, while in 2010/2011 the Kenyan gov- ends with conclusions and recommendations.
ernment allocated KSh 48 billion (US$564.7 million) to pub-
lic universities, this amount was reduced to KSh 44 billion
(US$517.6 million) in 2011/2012 (GOK 2011 in Oanda,
Method
2013). The content analysis research method was used in collecting
In Sub-Saharan Africa countries, funding of the higher and analyzing data on the financing of higher education in
education subsector is a critical issue. This is due to inade- Tanzania and its implications for the quality of education.
quate and unsustainable financing sources and mechanisms With regard to content analysis, some scholars argue that
for financing the higher education subsector. In the case of content analysis is a research technique in social science
Tanzania, this has been exacerbated by changes in the mech- research used to make replicable and valid inferences by
anisms for financing Higher Education (HE) introduced in interpreting and coding textual material (Duriau, Reger, &
the past two decades. According to Ishengoma (2004) and Pfarrer, 2007; Thomas, 2009). In the present article, audited
Nitume (2011), the financing mechanisms for the higher edu- reports, approved budget reports and other documents related
cation subsector are lopsided and not sustainable, and they to planning and budgeting were systematically evaluated.
have led to the abolition of free education and the introduc- The collected information was then systematically analyzed
tion of a user fee policy in Tanzania, whereby potential con- to determine the financing resources for universities and the
sumers of higher education are required to pay for their funding trend for the past 6 years for the universities studied.
tuition fees and other charges. The new financing mechanism In fact, content analysis of the existing data helped in answer-
has also affected the quality of education in higher education ing the research question.
institutions (World Bank, 2010). These financing reforms Three public universities were sampled in this study out
have also been the subject of disagreement and deliberation of 13 public universities in existence as of November 2016.
among scholars in Tanzania and elsewhere in recent years In terms of generalizability, this number was thought to be
(Cooley, 2015; Nisar, 2015; Teferra, 2013; World Bank, adequate because it constituted about 23% of the total public
2010: Empirical evidence shows that the economic inability universities in the country. These universities were purpo-
in most African countries has been the stumbling block to sively selected on the basis of their being representative of a
adequate funding for higher education (Galabawa, 2005; mixture of different sizes and ages. They included the
Tilak, 2015; Woodhull, 2007; World Bank, 2010). Therefore, University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM), a fully-fledged uni-
unless financing mechanisms are changed from the current versity and the country’s flagship university. The University
reliance on state funding to other reliable sources, the devel- of Dar es Salaam was established in 1970 after detaching
opment of higher education will not be achieved as expected. from East African University, which comprised Makerere
This article, therefore, analyses the paradox in funding University and Nairobi (Matonya, 2016). The UDSM is the
public universities in Tanzania and the fate of the quality of oldest and second largest public university in Tanzania after
education provided. It assesses funding trends for three public the University of Dodoma. The university is fully financed
universities taking a leap of 6 years from the 2010/2011 to the by the Government of the United Republic of Tanzania
2015/2016 financial years. These universities are the (URT). Currently, it has 25,449 students admitted for both
University of Dar es Salaam, Ardhi University, and Mkwawa undergraduate and postgraduate studies (Bujulu &
University College of Education. The article compares the Malangwa, 2017).
university budgetary requests, the government-approved bud- Ardhi University, on the contrary, was included on the
get, and the released funds. The article also highlights the basis of its being representative of the universities whose
funding challenges facing the universities management in degree programs focus on land use and earth sciences. It was
achieving their institutional vision and mission, which include established in 2007 and had an enrollment of more than
the quality of education. Finally, it makes recommendations 4,107 students as of January 2017 (Ardhi University, 2016).
for improvement taking into account the existing sources of Mkwawa University College was purposively selected to
funding, the trend in budget allocation, and the models of represent university colleges that focus on education offer-
funding public higher education that have worked in other ing, which has been the country’s focus in recent years to
countries with a similar educational history and environment curb the shortage of teachers in the country. In view of the
Mgaiwa 3
type of data, the analysis was based on institutional financial In Thailand, for example, the government initiated higher
reports in relation to the sources of funds and funding trends. education reforms to cut public spending and to stimulate
These institutional reports were collected primarily after university–industry cooperation as a means to obtain addi-
research clearance was obtained from relevant authorities. tional university income (Schiller & Liefner, 2006).
Their analysis helped in determining the impact of the gov- Similarly, in Europe, universities which were publicly funded
ernment’s move to fund higher education through the exist- by the state and traditionally specializing in both teaching
ing modalities and principles. This was done with the and research are said to be under pressure to review their
understanding that there were several sources of financing missions as a coping strategy to financial austerity in all pub-
higher education, but that the focus was on higher education lic-sector services (Pierson, 2001). For instance, some
financing sources and trend. research-intensive universities are perceived as capable of
The trend of approved funds from the state and those generating their own additional income through, for exam-
released to higher education institutions and its relation to ple, various forms of entrepreneurialism and third-mission
the quality of education were examined by looking at the activities or cost-sharing mechanisms where fees are legally
amount released and the volume of activities budgeted possible. Paradoxically, public entrepreneurial universities
through government funding. This was done with the under- are more successful financially (Schiller & Liefner, 2006).
standing that there are several indicators of quality educa- This trend has affected many countries and has been a sig-
tion, which can be categorized into context, input, process, nificant fall even in advanced countries such as the United
and output/outcomes indicators (Barnett, 1992; Levy, 2007; Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand, although evidences
Scheerens, 2011). However, given the research approach suggest that higher education in high-income countries has
used, it was not possible to obtain data for all indicators. not suffered much compared with developing countries such
Therefore, the present research examined some aspects of as Botswana, Jamaica, Hungary, and Tanzania (Tilak, 2015).
the input and process indicators for which data were avail- Generally, European universities have established explic-
able, concentrating on the adequacy of the funds approved itly policy imperatives for universities, industry, and business
and those released for two obvious reasons: Data on that is cooperation as a third-stream income generating activity
readily available, and it is a basic input indicator affecting against financial austerity (Koryakina, Teixeira, & Sarrico,
the teaching and learning process and of how well prepared 2015). In fact, the current debate on financing higher educa-
the output (i.e., graduates, in terms of their knowledge and tion has two major views, one side proposing that financing
skills) would be. By looking at the funds released from the of higher education be a shared responsibility because it has a
state and the reliability of sources, it was easier to deduce the duo benefit to both the state and society, but on the contrary,
impact of existing financing systems on the quality of educa- there are those who argue that financing of higher education
tion in public universities and university colleges in Tanzania. should remain to be the sole responsibility of the state (Brada,
Bienkowski, & Kuboniwa, 2015; Carnoy, Froumin, Loyalka,
Funding Public Universities: An & Tilak, 2014; Johnstone, 2010; Teferra, 2014). This group
believes that the economic returns to the state are higher than
Overview
that which goes to the society. Such a debate has an implica-
The landscape of higher education funding in Africa has tion on the sources of funding to universities, and to a large
been a challenge for many years. Higher education institu- extent determines how much should be collected by universi-
tions globally, even in the developed world, face fiscal prob- ties from students as tuition fees. Available literature indicates
lems, but the degree of these problems is far greater in Africa that the dominance of state funding in higher education in
than anywhere else. However, in Sub-Saharan Africa, higher Africa is the result of the post-independence development
education institutions are the most financially challenged in movement, which started off with a fervent commitment,
the world (Teferra, 2005, 2015). This is due to the inability of energy, and determination aimed at placing higher education
these countries to fund social services, including education at at a central location of national and regional progress (Teferra,
all levels. Despite government inability to fund education 2014). As a result, nations provided dedicated support and
institutions, the role of higher education subsector funding in unmitigated leadership to higher education development.
Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa in particular has remained the However, the landscape and climate of funding higher educa-
responsibility of the state (Ishengoma, 2004, 2013; Kossey tion in Africa changed due to several reasons including
& Ishengoma, 2017). This state of the art is not only the case changes in the direction and climate of international financial
in Africa, but it has been the case in some countries in Asia, institutions, pressures of expansion and massification, and the
Europe, and America. For instance, in German, higher edu- economic problems facing most African countries, all of
cation is free and all costs are borne by the state (Alfonso, which make it hard, if not impossible, to provide increased
2008). Whether or not the availed funds to universities are funding to higher education. For instance, in South Africa,
adequate or not, is not a remit of this article to interrogate the funding constraints, significant increase in students’ enroll-
statistics in detail, hence needs a separate study. ment, and globalization called for universities to move from a
4 SAGE Open
traditional form of organization funding to a more entrepre- has been in South–North partnership for grabbing research
neurial funding model (Mignot, 2003). and development funds to their partners as a strategy for
mitigating financial constraints as a result of state under-
funding. It has been noted with concern that the government,
Funding Public Universities in Tanzania
despite its declining ability to fund public university, has also
Studies conducted in Tanzania indicated that about 50% of been financing private institutions (Ishengoma, 2004;
Tanzania’s higher education budget is spent to facilitate the Johnstone, 2010). As noted elsewhere in this article, the
issuance of student loans by the Higher Education Students funding of the education sector in Tanzania depends solely
Loans Board (HESLB), with universities normally receiving on the education tax revenue base, the policy principles gov-
about 20 to 30 of their annual budget request (Fusy, 2017; erning the financing of education, and the economic health
Kossey & Ishengoma, 2017; URT 2014). Despite this short of the respective country. While Tanzania has remained gov-
fall in terms of allocation, the funding of universities and ernment funding as a major source of funding higher educa-
university colleges has been declining, but studies show that tion, in Europe there has been a policy shift from that of state
this decline is a consequence of the decline in the percent of funding to university–industry and business cooperation as
funds that are set aside for higher education budget from the well as establishment of Education Investment Fund (EIF)
state budget (Galabawa, 2005; Ishengoma, 2004, 2013; for dealing with declining funding from the state (Fussy,
Mgaya & Lokina, 2010). As a result, this has brought fiscal 2017; Koryakina et al., 2015).
pressures and continued funding constraints (Ishengoma,
2004, 2013). In view of this, the government has for many
years been adapting different systems of financing for the
Fund Allocation to Universities in Tanzania
higher education subsector for its development within the Available literatures confirm that countries have different
limited available financial resources. For instance, since ways on how they allocate funds to their universities.
independence, higher education in Tanzania has made However, evidences indicate that the level, extent, and share
remarkable progress in terms of the number of institutions, of funding to a large extent are shaped by countries’ policies
student enrollment, and increased access especially in the on funding their universities and other government institu-
last two decades. In 2009/2010, the total enrollment in tions (Bailey, Cloete, & Pillay, 2010; UNESCO, 2011). For
Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in Tanzania stood at instance, for most Western universities, allocation of funds to
117,057 as compared with only 13 students enrolled in 1961. universities sometimes is a negotiation between the state and
Between 1961 and 2015, the number of Universities higher education institutions and allocation is made based on
increased from 1 to 62 fully fledged universities and univer- performance measure or calculated through a formula (Kyvik
sity colleges (consisting of both public and private universi- & Lepori, 2010; Strehl, 2007). The state of the art in Tanzania
ties). Among these, 12 are fully fledged public universities is different from Western countries. In Tanzania, fund alloca-
and two are public university colleges (TCU, 2015). tion to all government agencies including universities is gov-
Moreover, all public universities are currently funded by the erned by the Public Financial Management Reform Program
government, at least for their Other Charges (OC) and Capital (PFMRP) since 1998. The focus of PFMRP is to enhance
Development (CD) needs. public financial management, accountability, and transpar-
While more than 90% of the costs of operating public uni- ency (URT, 2013). However, the allocation of funds to institu-
versity education in Tanzania are borne by the state, the trend tions is made based on macroeconomic performance and
reveals that there have been persistent budgetary cuts to the projections; priority sector Medium Term Expenditure
higher education sector in general (Ishengoma, 2013). In this Frameworks (MTEFs); vote expenditure ceilings based on
regard, there have been competing needs in the midst of resource availability; and the budget framework (URT, 2013).
decreasing budgetary allocation and increased student enroll- Based on the aforesaid criteria, the government uses mainly a
ments. Due to this, from the mid-1980s, the government block funding method, wherein a lump sum allocation is
decided to abolish fee-free higher education and started to given to the country’s public universities based on the number
admit students on a fee charging basis. The aim was to sup- of students enrolled multiplying a student unit cost by the
plement the inadequate and unreliable grants from the state. total number of students within a given university (Fussy,
However, the charges focused mainly on foreign students 2017) Conversely, universities normally prepare a tentative
and institutionally supported students. Despite these initia- budget against their rolling strategic plans and seek approval
tives, yet universities have been running at the midst of of their governing councils or boards as per their chatters.
financial austerity. The criticality of this problem has tempted After approval by their governing councils, institutions pres-
some universities to invite Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) ent their budget to the parental ministry for justification
in form of research cooperation and contracts as a copying according to the funds allocated to the parental Ministry
strategy to financial austerity in public higher education which then submit to the Ministry of Finance and Economic
(Mgaiwa & Poncian, 2016). A study by Ishengoma (2016) Affairs as ministerial budget. However, due to unpredictabil-
for instance has clearly indicated that universities in Tanzania ity of the revenue collection from the government-identified
Mgaiwa 5
sources, countries’ economic performance, little funds are Direct subvention from the central government. One of the
disbursed by the government to its institutions including uni- major sources of funding for universities in Tanzania is direct
versities (Fussy, 2017; Ishengoma, 2010; Mgaya & Lokina, government subvention or grant, which includes personnel
2010). Although there is little evidence to support this claim, emoluments, OC and CD, to all public universities and col-
the problem of approving less than what institutions request leges in the country (Ishengoma, 2004; Mgaya & Lokina,
and disbursing less than what was approved by the govern- 2010). Available evidences show that in 2010, the University
ment might prompt institutions to over budget knowing that of Dar es Salaam, for example, received 66% of its funding
the budget will be reviewed by the government. from government (Bailey et al., 2010). Grants or subventions
from government depend much on levy collection such as
general tax, property taxes, salaries taxes, tariffs, and fine
Theoretical Framework
charges (Kossey & Ishengoma, 2017; Nitume, 2011). There-
This article is confined within the Resource Dependence fore, poor economic health and the competing needs of the
Theory (RDT), so as to understand how external resources country may affect the budgetary allocation to education. As
affect the behavior of public universities in Tanzania. The a result, inadequate funds may be committed to finance
author decided to use this theory because it best explains how higher education and, consequently, the public universities
organizations including universities are dependent to external as part and parcel of the higher education subsector.
resources for its survival or existence. The theory further Mgaya and Lokina (2010), argue that at an institutional
specifies that resources one organization desires are in most level like a university, government subventions have to be
cases scarce and in possession by other organizations. Based correlated with the number and type of activities within insti-
on this argument, organizations therefore depend to each tutions and the rate of internally generated funds within insti-
other for resources. The organizational resources are what tutions. However, in practice this is not happening. For
make institutional power and the two are directly interwoven example, Mkwawa University College of Education (MUCE),
(Hillman, Withers, & Collins, 2009; Sharif & Yeoh, 2014). has been receiving quite merger funds from the state despite
Available evidences indicate that meta-analytic studies have having a larger volume of activities (MUCE, 2015) due to its
put the dependence theory under scrutiny in which they pro- infancy. Evidence shows that various financing strategies
pose for forming interlocks, alliances, joint ventures, and developed by the state have authenticated that funding for
mergers and acquisitions, to overcome dependencies and higher education is insufficient (Ishengoma, 2013; Mgaiwa &
improve an organizational autonomy and legitimacy (Davis Poncian, 2016; Mgaya & Lokina, 2010; UDSM, 2008). This
& Cobb, 2010; Drees & Heugens, 2013; Hillman et al., 2009; situation causes institutions to suffer in terms of teaching
Sharif & Yeoh, 2014). The nature of financing higher educa- facilities, educational infrastructure, research, and innova-
tion in Tanzania can be well explained by the RDT. The tions as well as quality improvement due to the poor funding
sources of financing higher education in Tanzania to a large mechanism that causes financial unsustainability.
extent are dependent on external organizations. The major Nevertheless, this source has two major weaknesses as identi-
source of funding is the government with exception to tuition fied by scholars. One is that the government has a lot of com-
fees, consultancies, and contracts which have confirmed to peting needs such as health, social security, infrastructure,
have insignificant contribution to the total budget of institu- and education at the midst of merger financial resources.
tions. To address dependence of organizations, RDT offers a Second, the country’s major sources to fund all other govern-
solution thereby suggesting integration, joint ventures, and ment activities depend on tax base; therefore, whatever shock
other interorganizational relationships, political actions, and in the tax collection by the state, educational sector and others
executive succession (Hillman et al., 2009). which solely depend on tax collection are directly affected
(Galabawa, 2005; Ishengoma, 2013).
Results and Discussion Institutional self-generated funds. The second source of fund-
Sources of Financing Public Universities in ing consists of income generated by higher institutions
themselves. Higher education institutions generate internal
Tanzania funds that vary depending on the complexities of the institu-
As noted elsewhere in this article, the sources of funds to tions. This is not the case only in Tanzanian universities, but
finance education at any level in most countries, both devel- it has been the case for years now even in the developed
oped and developing, are determined by the tax base, politi- countries such as Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United
cal systems, and policy principles of financing education. States (Brada et al., 2015). This situation has compelled
The tax base constitutes the main source of revenue for the some universities in these countries to turn to other sources
government, and thus for the universities, after state collec- of funding such as higher tuition fees, research cooperation
tion of taxes. In view of this, universities in Tanzania depend with the business sector, and philanthropy to make up the
on several sources of funds as discussed in the foregoing difference. Internally generated funds range from collected
subsections. tuition fees, professional profits, outlay incomes, and net
6 SAGE Open
revenues from research activities, training and public ser- Agriculture received five grants with a value of US$1,127,424
vices, cooperative project endeavors, and fund-raising ini- (Lewis, Friedman, & Schoneboom, 2010). Empirical evi-
tiatives (Brada et al., 2015; Mgaya & Lokina, 2010; UDSM, dences further indicate that in 2010, the University of Dar es
2008). This has been part of the decentralization element Salaam, for example, received 29% of its budget from exter-
that exists even in typical centralized systems to make indi- nal donors (Bailey et al., 2010). Available evidences suggest
vidual institutions at the local level fund their institutional that despite the decline in donor funding to higher education
educational activities. Given that state funding has been institutions in Tanzania, their financial contribution to these
declining over the years, a close examination of internally institutions is significant (Fischel, 2008; Ishengoma, 2010).
generated funds is critical, and these funds need to be The case study institutions in this article, like many other
strengthened so as to complement the underfunding from Public Higher Education Institutions in Tanzania, are con-
the state (Mgaya & Lokina, 2010). scious of the fact that such funding is not reliable and sus-
However, the problem with this source of funding is that tainable as it depends on the willingness of the donors, and it
funds generated by institutions may lead to attention being is always said to be competitive. Financing higher education
diverted from the core business of a university. This can through external donor support, however, is an ineffective
result from relying too much on generating income and for- and inefficient strategy as donor assistance is always unsus-
getting the key university functions of teaching, research, tainable and unpredictable because sometimes funding
and consultancy. For example, lecturers may concentrate on depends on the economic health or stability of the donor
moonlighting activities to earn more privately and forget the countries or agencies. Experience has indicated that some-
university mission. This is because when there are no funds times donors may not give the support they pledged, which
for research, it is obvious that lecturers will seek other activi- may lead to poor budget execution and ineffective financing
ties for private earning instead. There are also no reliable and of higher education. For example, any economic crisis or
realistic sources of funding that can be sought to support recession in the donor countries will have an impact on the
such activities as recurrent and development expenditures. country recipients of funds in financing education. Such
The sum generated internally is relatively small and is insuf- weaknesses of donor funding university in the umbrella of
ficient to cover institutional operational costs. partnership has been said to operate within neocolonial struc-
tures, which have perpetuated resource dependence of
Direct joint and multifaceted funding from development part- African universities to capitalist countries (Ishengoma,
ners. The third source is direct joint and multifaceted fund- 2016). This situation undoubtedly indicates that donor sup-
ing from development partners. This normally funds specific port cannot be a dependable and sustainable source of financ-
institutional programs or projects for a specified period of ing for an important sector like education.
time. This kind of funding depends on long established col-
laboration between the funded institution and the develop- Direct local funding from government institutions. The fourth
ment partners. For quite some years, international source of funding is direct local funding from particular
development partners or donors have been providing finan- institutions such as the Tanzania Education Authority
cial support to the higher education subsector in Tanzania (TEA). It is a publicly funded institution which gets annual
(Ishengoma, 2010; Mgaya & Lokina, 2010). Examples of allocations from the state and can raise additional funding
these donors’ funding in the universities examined in the from individuals and foundations. Available evidences
present study include SIDA-SAREC, Rockefeller, the World indicate that TEA was established under the government
Bank, and DAAD. For example, in 2010, the Association of Act No. 8 of 2001 and charged with a responsibility of
Universities and Colleges of Canada (AUCC) in collabora- financing education at all levels through loans and grants
tion with the Association of African Universities (AAU) (Bailey et al., 2010). Therefore, it has an obligation to
established a partnership program known as Strengthening mobilize funds from government, donors, agencies, and the
Higher Education Stakeholder Relations in Africa (SHESRA) community through voluntary contributions, then distribute
which resulted in the formation of 27 new university–indus- the funds as grant and loans to the education institutions in
try partnerships in Africa and Canada (Ishengoma, 2016). need as the authority may deem appropriate. However, in
It is also clear that funding higher education policies and fulfilling this obligation the Government contributes to the
practices in African countries for several decades has been fund such sum not exceeding 2% (2%) of the annual gov-
meritoriously and aggressively shaped by multilateral agen- ernment recurrent budget less the amount payable in defray-
cies such as the World Bank (Damane & Molutsi, 2013). ing the national debt (URT, 2001). Evidences further
Much of their support has been seen in infrastructure devel- indicates that up to July 2005, TEA had disbursed grants
opment, human resource capacity building, and research totaling TZS 10.9 billion (about US$7.2 million) and TZS
projects. For example, the available data show that from the 5.1 billion (US$3.3 million) in soft loans to 34 private edu-
year 2000 to 2010, the university of Dar es Salaam received cational institutions (including private universities and uni-
20 grants with a value of US$15,672,891 from the Partnership versity colleges) and 62 public educational institutions
for Higher Education in Africa, while Sokoine University of (Ishengoma, 2010).
Mgaiwa 7
Table 1. Governing Board-Approved Budget vs. Government-Approved Budget for MUCE in US$, 2010/2011-2015/2016.
Year OC CD OC CD OC CD
2010/2011 2,635,489 4,287,619 523,810 1,954,857 19.88 45.6
2011/2012 5,090,611 4,957,143 1,776,354 1,431,048 34.89 28.9
2012/2013 3,955,871 4,195,238 1,792,707 606,519 45.32 14.5
2013/2014 3,448,540 4,991,905 1,761,614 — 51.08 —
2014/2015 5,637,640 5,503,219 2,595,058 476,190 46.03 8.7
2015/2016 — — 2,297,481 714,286 — —
Year OC OC OC
2010/2011 523,810 475,922 90.86
2011/2012 480,853 380,276 79.08
2012/2013 201,371 132,838 65.97
2013/2014 201,371 20,662 10.26
2014/2015 302,381 91,372 30.22
2015/2016 331,429 69,048 20.8
Trends in Government Funding for Surveyed 2010/2011 and only 46% in the financial year 2014/2015.
Universities Over a Period of 6 Years Moreover, the government approved only 45.6% of requested
CD funds in the financial year 2010/2011, and only 8.7% of
This section presents the trends in state funding for the three the requested CD in the financial year 2014/2015. This situ-
case study universities in Tanzania in the 6 years from ation is similar to that of Zimbabwe, in which the current
2010/2011 to 2015/2016. The analysis is made on an institu- major problem facing universities is underfunding (Mpofu,
tional basis as cases. Chimhenga, & Mafa, 2013). Similarly, in Botswana, a coun-
try that is said to have attained a middle-income status
Mkwawa University College of Education. During the analysis although its higher education system is funded through the
of the college financial and audited reports, it was noted that traditional ad hoc method, the allocated amounts often
there was a sharp decline in funds from the state over the 6 depend on how well institutions are able to lobby (Damane
years, despite the increase of college activities and commit- & Molutsi, 2013). This decline in financing education has
ments caused by an increase in the number of students in not only affected developing countries, it has also affected
recent years. Table 1 indicates the trend in approved budgets the developed countries. For instance in the United States
by the College Governing Board (GB) versus the Govern- where education is financed locally by states, evidences
ment-Approved Budget over the 6 years from 2010/2011 to show that the proportion of funding has declined from 83.2%
2015/2016. in 1920 to 43.2% in 2000 (Hammack, 2010). All this shows
Table 1 indicates that funds requested by the college (as the interplay between available resources and funding mech-
approved by the GB) for OC or recurrent expenditure anisms. Table 2 provides a snapshot of the experience of
increased from US$2.6 million in the 2010/2011 financial MUCE for the 6 years.
year to US$5.6 million in the 2014/2015 financial year, while Table 2 indicates that of the government’s approved funds
that for development expenditure (CD) remained relatively in the year 2014/2015, only 30.2% of OC funds were released.
stable. Indeed, the government increasingly approved just a The situation was even worse in 2013/2014, when the gov-
fraction of what the college requested as a budget for the ernment released only 10.3% of the approved OC budget for
period under review. For instance, the government approved the college. This is further presented graphically in Figure 1.
only 19.9 % of requested OC funds in the financial year Based on the trend in government funding to the college
8 SAGE Open
Figure 1. Graphical representation of the trend of government-released OC funds for MUCE from 2010/2011 to 2015/2016.
Note. OC = Other Charges; MUCE = Mkwawaniversity College of Education.
Figure 2. Graphical representation of government-approved CD funds versus government-released CD funds in US$ from 2010/2010-
2015/2016.
Note. CD = Capital Development.
clearly suggests that government funding is not a reliable and this period. A similar trend can also be said of the CD grants
sustainable source of education financing. This calls for a approved and released by the government; it released inade-
serious college strategy for alternative sources of funds and quate funds for CD as indicated in Table 2 and Figure 2.
control of its sources of funding so that it can continue with its Some studies have shown that when universities are under-
planned commitments as per the Rolling Strategic Plan funded, it is difficult to maintain adequate student–teacher
(RSP). However, despite the fact that the government ratios, lecture halls are overcrowded, buildings fall into dis-
approved only a small proportion of the budget requested by repair, teaching equipment is not replaced, and investment in
the college during the 6 years, it did not release all the funds research and in training new instructors is insufficient (World
that it approved as a college budget. Figure 1 indicates the Bank, 2010). Based on this evidence and the trend of declin-
government-approved budget for the college against the ing funding presented in this article, there is a likelihood of
funds released for the 6 years from 2010/2011 to 2015/2016. the quality of Tanzanian universities being adversely
Table 2 and Figure 1 show that funds for OC released by affected. Figure 2 presents the government-approved CD
the government decreased significantly in the 6 years from funds versus the government-released CD funds in US dol-
2010/2011 to 2015/2016, and more so in the last 3 years from lars for the 6 years.
2013/2014 to 2015/2016. The college was also requesting As shown in Figure 2, the trend in government-approved
funds for CD activities from the central government during CD funds versus government CD funds declined during the
Mgaiwa 9
Table 3. Council-Approved OC and CD Funds Versus Government-Approved OC and CD Funds in US$ for the University of Dar es
Salaam From 2010/2010-2015/2016.
period under study. In 2013/2014 and 2014/2015, the situa- by the state. However, cost-cutting strategies cannot solve
tion was even worse as there was no single cent released from the problem, which might be caused by a lack of funds and,
the government for CD. Data in Table 1 and 2 as well as in particular, cannot support core university activities such as
Figure 1 and 2 therefore imply that the pattern of public fund- research, teaching, and so forth that focus on quality improve-
ing for the college and the trend in government fund disburse- ment. Indeed, the above situation of unsustainable funding is
ments decreased annually. Given this reality, it is obvious that exacerbated by government financial constraints. This calls
college plans, activities, realization of its vision and mission, for a new financing mechanism for the education sector and
and the quality of education services may have been to a large the higher education subsector in particular.
extent affected. Academic activities like research and teach-
ing might have been affected in one way or another given the The University of Dar es Salaam. Table 3 indicates a clear pic-
little funds approved and those released by the government. ture of what the University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM)
Findings further confirm that there is serious problem of requested from the government versus what the government
funding education by depending on subvention or grants from approved for both OC and CD funds during the 6 years from
government, which have been very few. This is due to the 2010/2011 to 2015/2016. The trend shows that government
inadequate government budget resource envelope, as a result approval of OC and CD funds for the University of Dar es
of which only a small proportion of the institutional budget Salaam decreased significantly during the 6 years. The gov-
requested was approved by the government. For instance, in ernment approved just a fraction of what was requested by
2006/2007, only 38% of the total requested funds were the university: between 5.2% and 17.4% for OC and between
approved. This underfunding hinders the budget execution 2.6% and 19.4% for CD funds. Despite the government
and stipulated aims and goals of the institution, and dimin- approving only a fraction of the requested funds for OC and
ishes the quality of education offered in the institution as well. CD, not only was the amount of funds released after govern-
The literature clearly shows that research-intensive institu- ment approval small, but it also decreased significantly in the
tions like universities are mostly dependent on financial period under study. For example, in the financial year
resource allocations (Bisias, Lo, & Watkins, 2012; Gomez, 2010/2011, the government released only 7.7% of the
Ghaffarzadegan, & Larson, 2012; Teitelbaum, 2008). approved CD funds. The situation was even worse in the
Similarly, the funding level has an effect on developing a new 2014/2015 and 2015/2016 financial years, during which time
research workforce and on grant success rates in an the government did not release any funds for CD despite the
institution. noticeable increase in the number of students that demanded
For example, a research by Ishengoma (2016), indicated the expansion of educational infrastructure such as laborato-
that among other challenges facing public universities ries, lecture theaters, and ICT facilities. Similarly, the
include shortages of academic staff with doctorates and aca- released funds for OC decreased significantly during the 6
demics in the professorial ranks as a result of lack of funding years. For example, the government-released OC funds
to support training of academics to PhD level. Lack of decreased from 77.1% in 2010/2011 to 26.0% in 2015/2016.
research funding also affect academics to acquire higher aca- Figure 3 shows the trend in OC and CD funding in terms of
demic rank upon through research and publications. As the government-approved funds and government-released funds.
SARUA 2012 data indicate, only 49.3% of the academics in Data in Figure 3 clearly indicate a sharp decline in both
eight public universities in Tanzania had doctorates approved and released OC funds for UDSM in the 6 years
(Ishengoma, 2016). Mkwawa University College of from 2010/2011 to 2015/2016. While state funding declined
Education is now adopting a cost containment strategy as a during this period, the number of students at the University
long-term approach to address regular annual budgetary cuts of Dar es Salaam increased—for example, student
10 SAGE Open
Figure 3. Trend of government-approved OC funds versus government-released OC funds for the University of Dar es Salaam from
2010/2011 to 2015/2016.
Note. OC = Other Charges.
Figure 4. Government-approved CD funds versus government-released CD funds for the University of Dar es Salaam from 2010/2011
to 2015/2016.
Note. CD = Capital Development.
enrollment increased from 17,197 in 2010/2011 to 19,986 in number of students. Nevertheless, studies have shown that
2013/2014 (UDSM, 2014). This is an increase of 2,789 stu- with significantly reduced funding to institutions, it is even
dents, which is equivalent to a 16% increase. This suggests more difficult to maintain existing equipment, buildings,
that educational services in universities are likely to be and service infrastructure, which exacerbates poor learning
affected because expansion of infrastructure is not funded conditions and eventually the quality of education provided
on a scale that commensurate with the increase in the num- (Ishengoma, 2013; Oanda, 2013; World Bank, 2010).
ber of students. For example, with student enrollment Data in Figure 4 indicate the trend in government-
increasing and funding decreasing, it is obvious that the approved CD funds versus government-released funds. It is
quality of the learning environment for students is increas- clear that the trend in CD funding is similar to that of OC
ingly becoming unfavorable as a result of the increase in the funding at the University of Dar es Salaam. It appears that
Mgaiwa 11
Table 4. Council-Approved Budget Versus Government-Approved Budget for OC and CD in US$ for Ardhi University From
2010/2011 to 2015/2016.
Year OC CD OC CD OC CD
2010/2011 5,598,947.1 15,242,394.3 476,190.5 928,571.4 8.5 6.1
2011/2012 6,236,383.8 33,761,690.0 437,139.0 738,095.2 7.0 2.2
2012/2013 6,569,899.5 37,296,480.5 211,636.0 47,619.0 3.2 0.1
2013/2014 3,506,857.1 37,301,242.4 211,636.0 952,381.0 6.0 2.6
2014/2015 3,442,571.4 2,904,761.9 369,047.6 285,714.3 10.7 9.8
2015/2016 5,043,081.9 45,326,121.5 287,857.1 452,381.0 5.7 1.0
despite the government’s insignificant approval of funds for functions. This implies that the university council, which is
CD, the actual release of funds remained just a fraction of the the highest supervisory body, cannot achieve the institutional
approved funds for the respective financial years, as depicted vision and mission due to financial constraints. For example,
in Figure 4. This fluctuating trend in university funding in during the 6 years, the budgetary approval for CD never
Tanzania is more or less similar to the African regional trend. exceeded 10% of the total budget request by the university
For example, Africa is the only region in the world that has council. Similarly, the government-approved OC funds also
experienced a decrease in the volume of current public declined over time. For the period under study, the govern-
expenditure per student by 30% in the last 15 years (World ment never approved more than 15% of OC funding requested
Bank, 2010). Should this situation continue, it is obvious that by the university council. Given this situation of inadequate
the university core activities of teaching, research, and public funding, it is clear that university activities such as teaching,
service will be adversely affected. This is because to carry research, and public service will be compromised. This is
out these activities, adequate funding is required, a lack of because if the university, for example, has to procure reagents
which compromises the quest for quality education. This for laboratories, pay electricity bills, water bills, and other
situation indeed suggests that universities in Africa might services directly linked to teaching and research, these activ-
fail to take competitive edge in research with other universi- ities will not be of the required quality or standard. This sug-
ties from the developed world. The studies have consistently gests that the quality of education with respect to university
indicated that financing is critical for quality education as it programs will be compromised. In addition to few OC and
can make available basic input and support educational pro- CD funds being approved by the government, the actual
cesses, which together are important determinants of educa- amounts released not only varied significantly from the bud-
tional outcomes (Johnstone, 2004; Teferra, 2013; UNESCO, get approved by the government but also declined annually.
2011). Figure 5 indicates the trend in government-approved OC
budgets versus OC funds released by the state to ARU for the
Ardhi University. Ardhi University (ARU) is one of the public 6 years in US dollars.
universities in Tanzania and was established in 2007 as a Figure 5 shows that the trend in OC funding approved by
nonprofit public higher education institution after detaching the state versus the actual funds received by the university
from the University of Dar es Salaam, of which it was a con- declined significantly over the 6 years. It further indicates
stituent college. As of January 2017, ARU had an enrollment that the government was not effective in releasing funds it
ranging from 3,000 to 3,999 students. Similar financial approves for this institution. This therefore suggests that
sources and mechanisms to those of many other public uni- university activities including teaching and research, whose
versities in Tanzania are used to finance this institution. Nev- funding sources depend on OC funds from the state, were
ertheless, its funding trend is more or less the same as that of adversely affected. This is contrary to what studies have
the University of Dar es Salaam and Mkwawa University suggested for decades, that maintaining the quality of
College of Education. Table 4 indicates the trend in univer- higher education requires an acceptable and sufficient level
sity council-approved (requested budget) budgets versus of resources below which the quality of education provided
government-approved budgets in the 6 years from 2010/2011 is called into question (Adelabu & Akinwumi, 2008; Allais,
to 2015/2016. 2009; Levy, 2007; Materu, 2007; World Bank, 2010). In
As Table 4 shows, the trend in both OC and CD funding this regard, the general impression that can be had from
showed a significant decrease in the 6 years. These data sug- data presented in the three institutional cases is that the
gest that Ardhi University has been underfinanced by the government is still the source of funding for public univer-
state, which has affected effective implementation of its core sities in Tanzania. As such, the academic debate about
12 SAGE Open
Figure 5. Trend in government-approved OC budgets versus government-released OC funds for ARU for the past 6 years in US
dollars.
Note. OC = Other Charges.
Table 5. Student Enrollment for UDSM, MUCE, and ARU From funding despite the fact that university needs have been
the 2010/2011 Academic Year to the 2015/2016 Academic Year. increasing in the same period as a result of many factors
including inflation and an increase in student admissions and
Name of universities
enrollment. The findings further clearly indicate a lack of a
Year UDSM MUCE ARU clear relationship between student enrollment and budgetary
allocations. Table 5 shows the trend in student enrollment in
2010/2011 19,883 2,050 2,806
the universities under study.
2011/2012 20,712 2,317 3,394
While the funding trend and, in particular, the government
2012/2013 22,932 2,568 3,758
approval rate declined over the 6 years, student enrollments
2013/2014 22,020 2,730 3,864
2014/2015 23,295 3,202 3,988
increase over the same period. For example, student enroll-
2015/2016 25,449 3,882 4,107 ment for the University of Dar es Salaam increased from
19,883 in the year 2010/2011 to 25,449 in the 2015/2016
Source. Data Collection, 2016. academic year, a 21.9% increase. On the contrary, MUCE’s
Note. UDSM = University of Dar es Salaam; MUCE = Mkwawa University student enrollment increased from 2,050 in the 2010/2011
College of Education; ARU = Ardhi University.
academic year to 3,882 in the 2015/2016 academic year. This
accounts for 47.1% increase in student enrollment. Similarly,
trends in higher education funding in Sub-Saharan African at ARU, from the 2010/2011 year to the 2015/2016 academic
countries would be incomplete without alluding to the eco- year, the number of students increased from 2,806 to 4,107,
nomic trajectories of Tanzania (Johnstone & Teferra, 2004; constituting a 31.7% increase, while the funding approval
Oanda, 2013). However, to improve the state of the art, it is rate declined during the same period. The presented enroll-
imperative that the government rethink about the weakness ment data show that there was a significant expansion of stu-
of current funding mechanisms and funding sources, dent enrollment over the 6 years. It is obvious that a declining
thereby adopting reliable, sufficient, and sustainable fund- funding trend will affect the input that needs to be procured
ing sources. and subsequently the quality of services offered by these
universities.
Government Funding, Student Enrollment, and The World Bank has alarmed to the fact that decreasing
university funding while student enrollment is increasing
the Quality of Higher Education affects the quality of lectures, laboratory practical, research
From the foregoing discussion, it is clear that the state (gov- and workshop activities (World & Bank, 2008a, 2008b).
ernment) is the major source of funding for public universi- Other scholars argue that ensuring the quality of education at
ties in Tanzania. The findings also establish that government any level has its cost implications because many of the mate-
funding of public universities in Tanzania is neither reliable rial aspects that can be used in assuring quality need to be
nor sustainable. This is reflected in a declining trend in procured (Ishengoma, 2007; Mgaiwa & Ishengoma, 2017;
Mgaiwa 13
Teferra & Altbach, 2004). In the case of universities in lack of financial resources may lead to a severe decline in the
Tanzania, patterns of subsidy that were introduced when quality of instruction and in the capacity to reorient focus
higher education (HE) admissions were extremely limited and to innovate. It is also worth concluding further that the
proved unsustainable as enrollment expanded. This situation sources of financing for public higher education institutions
has heightened pressure over educational infrastructures, lab- in Tanzania are not reliable and sustainable for an important
oratory facilities, stationary, research, and many other aca- higher education subsector for economic development in
demic services. Mgaiwa and Ishengoma (2017) argue that it is 21st century. That is to say, these unreliable and unsustain-
important for universities to make efficient use of the finan- able sources prevent universities in Tanzania from having a
cial resources they have and to adequately fund academic ser- competitive advantage in the current world where innova-
vices in universities. This is also supported by Materu (2007), tion, science, and technology are taking the lead.
who argues that without adequate funding the credibility and Funding sources and mechanisms for higher education in
integrity of academic services such as institutional quality Tanzania are lopsided and too weak to finance higher educa-
assurance processes are threatened. There are empirical evi- tion sustainably and reliably. Therefore, there is a need for the
dences which also show that most of the public universities in government to establish effective financing modalities that
Tanzania have outdated infrastructure, learning and teaching can also involve the private sector because they are the major
materials, and other facilities and are not repaired due to beneficiaries of the products of higher education. There has
underfunding (Abeli, 2010). This suggests that quality of lec- been a serious decline in the government approval rate in rela-
tures and teaching in general might suffer given the con- tion to university budgetary requests and also a sharp decrease
strained educational infrastructure and facilities. In the in released government subventions and grants in relation to
ongoing debate of the world-class universities for 21st cen- what the government approved in the first place. This call for
tury, scholars argue that ceaseless search for funding to sup- the government to rethink about the position of higher educa-
port research and innovation are crucial elements in this tion especially in research agenda and development and
appeal of a world-class university (Deem, Mok, & Lucas, therefore sets a priority in its financing.
2008). Available evidences suggest that lack of funding had
had an effect on research output which is an important indica-
tor of quality of higher education. For example, the number of
Recommendations
journal articles published by the university of Dar es Salaam Based on the findings and conclusions concerning the fund-
academic staff has slightly declined from 309 (2008/2009) to ing of university education in Tanzania, the following rec-
298 in 2010/2011(Ishengoma, 2014, 2016). ommendations are put forward:
Similarly, when universities are not adequately funded, The most important and critical issues that has been press-
important university plans such as staff training are adversely ing in funding higher education in Tanzania is dependence of
affected. Studies indicate that quality of staffing is one of the higher education institutions to other institutions in terms of
critical indicators of quality and excellence in education financing. This call for application of RDT to solve this issue
(Mosha, 2006). Available data show that underfunding has by mergers/vertical integration, joint ventures, and other
curtailed staff training and is one of the major challenges fac- interorganizational relationships, political actions, and exec-
ing public universities in Tanzanioa. For example, in 2012, utive succession (Hillman et al., 2009). On top of that, the
only 49.3% of the academic staff in eight public universities current financing modalities suggest Tanzania to put in place
in Tanzania had doctorates (Ishengoma, 2016). Consequently, a National financing philosophy of education that commits
staff profiles remain low suggesting the poor quality of a the government to equitable and quality education. Given the
given university because staff qualification is one of the importance of higher education in research and its impact on
parameters used to determine the credibility of universities. social, economic, and technological development, higher
Indeed, research by staff depends solely on the funding level education is supposed to be at the government’s top priorities
of a respective institution. In developed countries, funding of in budgeting and fund disbursement. This also needs to go
research is given priority given the fact that research outputs hand in hand with clear policy that is in consonance with the
make important and indeed critical contributions to national national philosophy, which will further be guided by an edu-
development. cation financing act that makes education financing legally
binding.
To have sustainable and reliable sources of funds, public
Conclusion higher education institutions (universities) need to find ways
This article examined the sources of funding and funding to diversify their income streams so as to reduce their depen-
trends for three public universities in Tanzania and their dence on public funds, which are often tied to economic and
implications for the quality of education provided. Given the political factors. In Tanzania, this can be done by universities
funding state of the art in the three Tanzanian universities coming up with strategies for income generation aimed at
under study, it can be concluded that the financing capabili- diversifying their income through grants and contracts, alumni
ties of the state are limited; the implication might be that the contributions, and partnerships with corporate organizations.
14 SAGE Open
The government and other education stake holders need to K. Biraimah, & W. Gaudelli (Eds.), Education and social
establish a culture of giving back to education especially in inequality in the global culture (pp. 103-121). Dordrecht, The
supporting innovation, research, and growth. Any strong econ- Netherlands: Springer.
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Salaam, Tanzania: Author.
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The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect Drees, J. M., & Heugens, P. P. M. A. R. (2013). Synthesizing
to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. and extending resource dependence theory: A meta-analysis.
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Author Biography
Teitelbaum, M. S. (2008). Structural disequilibria in biomedical Samson John Mgaiwa is currently a doctoral candidate at the
research. Science, 321, 644-645. University of Hong Kong. He does research in educational leader-
Thomas, G. (2009). How to do your research project: A guide for ship, intellectual styles, public private partnerships, education
students in education and applied social sciences. London, financing, and quality assurance in higher education. He is a pub-
England: Sage. lished author to several international reputable journals.