Alumni of the Month

Timothy Niinfasha Peter Manyaga is the University’s ‘Alumnus of the Month’ for August 2020. A UDSM’s graduate of the 1982 class, Timothy was born on December 27, 1954, in Ngara District, Tanzania. He had his primary education at Mwanga Primary School (1962–1968) in Kigoma and his secondary education at Kigoma Secondary School (for forms I-IV or Certificate of Secondary Education Examination, 1969–1972) and Kibaha Secondary School (for senior forms V-VI, or Advanced Certificate of Secondary Education Examination, 1973–1974. Upon passing the ‘A-level’ exams, he initially enrolled for a diploma course in teacher training at Kleruu Teacher Training College in Iringa (1975-1977). This qualified him for teaching in secondary schools and, in this case, at Mgulani National Service Secondary School in Dar-es-Salaam. He served there as a teacher and as a Second Master for 1½ years from 1978-1979, when he left for university studies at the University of Dar es Salaam, enrolling in the Faculty of Science for a three-year degree programme in Maths, Physics and Education. He was awarded a BSc (Honours) in 1982. His first posting after graduation was as a teacher at Arusha Technical College where he served for 18 years from April 1982–December 2000 and as the College’s Vice-Principal (Academic) as from August 1989.

In 2001, Mr. Manyaga was appointed Deputy Executive Secretary at the National Council for Technical Education (NACTE) in Dar es Salaam, specifically responsible for Registration and Accreditation – a role he played until 2012. From 2013, well up to 2014, he was Director for Institutional Guidance and Support at the same institution. As from January 2015, he has served NACTE in the role of technical advisor for quality assurance.

Over a period spanning almost 40 years since 1982, Mr. Manyaga has accumulated very extensive and enriching personal exposure and institution-building experience. He successfully pursued a Diploma in educational administration (in Landau, Germany) in 1987; an M.A. in education and development (Curriculum Planning) at the University of London’s Institute of Education in the U.K. in 1994; a Certificate in management of technical and vocational education and training (TVET) at the University of Kassel in Germany in 1998; and a Certificate in management of higher education institutions at Galilee International Management Institute in Israel in 2012. The wide-ranging experience has built in him a strong knowledge base for the consulting-cum-advisory engagements with many organisations. These include the Regional Enterprise Development Institute (REDI), in connection with training needs-assessment for the Precision Air Service company (January 1997); the governments of Tanzania and Zanzibar, on conducting institutional audits for 472 technical institutions for formal registration, recognition and accreditation (January 2001–December 2014); as well as the Commonwealth Association of Polytechnics in Africa (CAPA), concerning developing ‘competence-based’ education and training (CBET) curricula for TVET institutions (2001–2014). Countries involved in this programme included Botswana, Burundi, Canada, China, Egypt, France, Germany, India, Israel, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, Singapore, Spain, Swaziland, The Netherlands, Turkey, South Africa, United Kingdom and Uganda. Mr. Manyaga has at the same time assisted a number of tertiary technical institutions across Tanzania on developing market-driven and competence-based modular curricula and programmes.

Over the years, he has chaired a number of committees and task forces in carrying out professional assignments at national, regional and international levels. These assignments include those by the East African Community (EAC) and others by the Southern African Development Community (SADC) over a period between January 2001 and December 2015. Timothy has also held Board memberships and chairmanships in a number of tertiary-education institutions. A few of these the Institute of Finance Management (IFM) in Dar es Salaam, Tengeru Community Development Training Institute (TCDTI) in Arusha, Christian Social Services Commission (CSSC) in Dar-es-Salaam, Al-Maktoum College of Engineering and Technology (AMCET) in Dar es Salaam, RAIDA School of Journalism and Media Studies in Dar-es-Salaam (2019–2022) and St. Mark’s College of Professional Studies in Dar-es-Salaam (2019–July 2024).

Finally, Timothy has written widely and for a number of professional forums, particularly on the subject of TVET. Just a few examples: “The importance of the study of comparative education towards the improvement of education in Tanzania (University of London, 1994); “Towards ensuring quality higher education” (Cape Town, 2003); “Coordination and control of standards and quality of education in higher learning institutions” (Open Forum, Dar-es-Salaam, 2004); “Standards to assure quality in tertiary education: The case of Tanzania” (Emerald Group Publishing Limited, 2008); “Quality assurance policies in tertiary education in Tanzania” in Higher education Africa: Enhancement through partnership (Leeds Metropolitan University, UK, 2008) and; and “Towards a labour market-responsive TVET” (Arusha, 2012). UDSM is clearly delighted by the nature and tenor of his professional commitment and engagements. She wishes him ‘all the best’.