Stakeholders perception towards cost sharing in higher learning institution: a case study of Sokoine and Tumaini universities in Tanzania
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Date
2010
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Sokoine University of Agriculture
Abstract
Tanzania has for long time been experiencing problems that are related to the funding of
higher education students. Cost - sharing in education was introduced in 1992 following
a government’s decision for the public to contribute toward the running cost of social
services. Since then, there have been different reactions from stakeholders about cost
sharing in higher learning institutions. The general objective of this research was to
investigate stakeholders perception towards cost sharing in higher learning institutions
and how it affects higher education enrollment.
The research specific objectives
included to find loan criteria acceptance, advantages and challenges of students’ loan
scheme. Other objectives included to examine the loan provision and repayment trend
from 2004/05-2007/08 and collecting views on how loan provision can be improved. It
was found out that most stakeholders were aware of cost sharing in higher education.
They were also aware that cost sharing increased access to university and promoted
expansion of private universities. Stakeholders support cost sharing because, it increases
opportunity for more students to be enrolled and because higher education is expensive to
be handled by government alone. On the other hand the study found that reasons for
rejecting cost sharing in higher education are, poverty among disadvantaged people who
are not able to meet cost sharing requirement. However, students loan scheme criteria
accepted include, disadvantaged group/orphans, economic level as well as wealth/assert
owned by parents. Conversely, means testing is disapproved for its subjectivity. The
study also found that among the challenges facing loan provision process include, lack of
correlation between institution time table and HESLB loans provision time,
misplacement/loss of students record forms, loan repayment rate and unclear cost sharing
policy implementation strategies. The study recommends for HESLB decentralization,
exclusion of means testing during field practical and staff empowerment through
managerial skills.
Description
Dissertation
Keywords
Cost sharing-higher learning institution, Sokoine university, Tumaini university, Tanzania