Higher education faces criticism in Africa and in the West for not being relevant to society. In the West, institutions of higher learning are accused of contributing to ecological and social disasters by sustaining modern crises through their complicity with big corporations in the development of new technologies. In Africa, institutions of higher learning are criticized for perpetuating the colonial legacy of élitism and not addressing issues in the societies they are created to serve. In response to such criticisms, this study sought to place Nyerere's contribution in the perspective of emerging institutions of higher education in Sub-Saharan Africa.
I chose an interdisciplinary approach to investigate Nyerere's vision of higher education in Tanzania. The investigation included library research and interviews with alumni, faculty and friends of the University of Dar es Salaam. Combining description, analysis and interpretation of data with insights from different disciplines allowed an understanding of Nyerere's vision within the context of postcolonial Africa.
The study shows that Nyerere had a powerful vision of higher education for Tanzania. He wanted higher education to produce intellectuals with the ability to reflect critically on daily-life issues in society, to address those issues and to serve the well-being of all. Using African stories to express his educational vision, Nyerere showed that combining African communal values with the critical analytic ability for problem solving would contribute to human development.
National Service and the Development Studies course at the University of Dar es Salaam reflected Nyerere's vision. These were intended to stimulate students to serve their country and to reflect critically on daily-life issues in Tanzania and in Africa. Nyerere has been criticized for contradicting himself on issues such as equality and Elitism in higher education. However, he created opportunities for all capable Tanzanians, women and adults included, to acquire tertiary education on an equal basis, thus challenging the colonial legacy of higher education in Africa. Colonial higher education has been accused of promoting intellectual and social arrogance at the expense of the well-being of many. Nyerere contributed to a remedy for the assumed crisis in higher education both in Africa and in the West.
