Education and Seminaries

The Role Of The TEC Education Department

The department serves as a tool of evangelization through provision of education and technical skills in Tanzania.The department has various roles to play in the development of education in the country, among others are;

To facilitate the provision of education services to Church education institutions.
Advice owners/managers of Church education institutions on quality control and assurance in schools.
Coordinates the activities of Catholic education institutions through diocesan education secretaries and the leadership in the metropolitan education zones.
It gives supervision and guidance to Catholic dioceses in Tanzania in the running of Catholic owned/managed education institutions.
To work hand in hand with Saint Augustine University of Tanzania (SAUT) to ensure quality control and assurance in church schools.
Collecting and compiling education data for Catholic schools.
To Liaise the TEC with the Government – the MOEVT, NECTA, TIE and Curriculum development.
To organize and attend seminars or meetings and workshops on education.

Coverage;

The department covers the following education institutions owned/managed by the Catholic Church;

Pre-primary schools (Kindergarten). Almost every Parish in the 34 Catholic dioceses has a kindergarten where pre-primary education is given as well as teaching religion/catechism. The medium of instruction is mainly Kiswahili and to some English. There are about 240 pre-primary schools.
Primary schools. There are 147 primary schools – most of them English Medium. These are mostly owned and run by religious congregations, some are owned by parishes. All are registered with MOEVT and pupils sit for national standard four and standard seven examinations.
Secondary school and Minor seminaries. There are 245 secondary schools that offer secondary education of which 37 are Minor seminaries. Most of these schools are owned/managed by Catholic dioceses and some by religious congregations. These are also registered with the MOEVT and pupils sit for form two, four and six national examinations.
Vocational Training Centres. These centres are known for imparting technical skills to young people. There are 110 registered vocational training centres. These are registered with VETA (Vocational Education Training Authority) in Tanzania. There are small centres known as Homecrafts run by organized small groups of faithful in some parishes. They learn crafts like needlework, cooking, etc.
Teachers Training Colleges. There are 13 Teachers Training Colleges where Certificate in Education is offered. Most of the graduates from these TTCs teach in the pre-primary and primary schools.
Catholic Higher Learning Institutions. In this stage there are Senior seminaries, Colleges and Universities. There are three Major seminaries that teaches Philosophy, these are Peramiho, Kibosho and Ntungamo philosophicum. The students study to the level of attaining a B.A in Philosophy. There are three major seminaries that teach Theology where the students study to the level of attaining a B.A. in Theology. These are Kipalapala, Segerea and Peramiho. The seminaries are meant to educate young men who are aspiring to become priests (Diocesan or Religious).
The Conference has four full fledged Universities; Saint Augustine University of Tanzania (SAUT) situated in Mwanza and Catholic University of Health and Allied Sciences (CUHAS), situated at Bugando in Mwanza. Ruaha Catholic University (RUCU), situated in Iringa and Mwenge Catholic University (MWECAU) situated in Moshi Kilimanjaro. SAUT has four centres and six constituent colleges all over the country.

Education Policy Of TEC

To enable the Education Department in supervision and guidance of education services in all the Catholic Dioceses in Tanzania, the Conference saw the importance of having Education Policy that will guide the dioceses, religious congregations and lay people to provide quality and equitable education services to Tanzanians. The Conference established two Education policies, the first one was established in 2005 dealing with education in general (Sera ya Elimu ya Kanisa Katoliki Tanzania); the second one is for higher education(Higher Education Policy of the Catholic Church in Tanzania) and it was established in 2008.

In line with these policies all 34 dioceses in Tanzania are urged to formulate Diocesan Education Policy for effective running of the education institutions owned/managed by the diocese.

The vision and mission statements of the two polices are guided by Christ’s command to His disciples “to proclaim the message of God to all people.” “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me; because he has chosen me to bring good news to the poor, he has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind; to set free the oppressed and announce the time when the Lord will save his people.” Lk. 4:18 -19.

The Church in Tanzania by the mandate, has the rights, obligations and competence to address socio-economic and political issues that are deeply rooted in this principle of Evangelization. Education, at all levels, according to this principle, is part of the Evangelization process and an integral Promotion of the Dignity of a Human Person, both individual and communal. In essence, therefore, the process of education in formal and non-formal systems, in a holistic Catholic context should be part of its pastoral function.

The function, therefore, of managing the education system through policy formulation and planning that are carried out by Catholic Church institutions, should be oriented towards the pastoral goal.

The Vision of the Education Policy of the Catholic Church in Tanzania state that;

Education a means to man’s physical and spiritual salvation (holistic salvation of man).

The mission statement;

Directed by the Holy Spirit the Church will continue to help mankind to reach salvation through education.

The vision of the higher education policy states that;

Provision of quality and integral education to the children of God.

Continuous Quest For Truth Through Research And The Preservation Of Knowledge For The Good Of The Society.

Both education policies of the Catholic Church in Tanzania share the following objectives;

To proclaim Good News of Salvation to all people
To work hand in hand with the Government in realizing the National Education Training Policy
To inculcate principals of ethics, integrity and moral conduct to all.
To create conducive learning and teaching environment in all stages.
To encourage the participation of the Church in the provision of higher education as a means of evangelization
To enhance the Catholic Identity, values, and norms in the higher learning institutions.
To improve the governance of the Catholic institutions of higher learning.
To improve access, equity and sustainability of higher education.
To enhance the coordination of the provision of education in institutions owned by the Catholic Church.
To improve human resources in the Catholic education institutions.