New Academic Year 2015/16 officially starts at OUT

The OUT Vice Chancellor Prof. Elifas Tozo Bisanda

The Open University of Tanzania has officially opened the new academic year 2015/16 by conducting orientation sessions to new and continuing students at its various Centres in all Regions of Tanzania mainland and in Zanzibar.

Giving his orientation speech to staff and students on Saturday 7th November 2015, the OUT Vice Chancellor Prof. Elifas Tozo Bisanda started by extending a special welcome to all new students and welcoming back continuing students as well as academic and non-academic staff who joined the OUT community recently.

It was also the first time that the Vice Chancellor spoke to the students since his appointment in July 2015. Prof. Bisanda took the opportunity to assure the staff and students community that his appointment will bring about consolidation of achievements made during the leadership term of the previous Vice Chancellor Prof. Tolly Mbwette, in which he also played an important part as the Deputy Vice Chancellor for Academic. He expressed his vision of leading the university into new and more positive improvements, which will make teaching and learning experiences at OUT more rewarding.

“I must first congratulate you for choosing to study at our university, because this institution represents the future of higher education in the entire world. The open university of Tanzania, is an open and distance learning institution, that provides the learner with a wide choice of programmes, and which allows for a more flexible way of learning,” said Professor Bisanda.

Professor Bisanda informed the new students that unlike most other universities where learning is guided by a fixed programme, a class timetable and is controlled by the tutor, under the open and distance (ODL) mode of learning, it is the student who is in control of the learning pace. OUT programmes are designed in such a way as not to be too restrictive, because most of the learners have other commitments. Some are employed, have families, and are leaders in their communities. It requires great discipline and time management to fulfil both their civil duties and attend their courses at the same time.

A cross-section of OUT students at the Geita Regional Centre during the orientation day, Saturday 7th

November 2015

Meanwhile in the regions, Directors of OUT Regional Centres hosted orientation sessions for their respective students, where students were guided on procedures needed for registering for their courses, paying their fees, registering for their examinations and accessing their learning materials.

Since its establishment in 1992, the Open University of Tanzania has graduated over 22,000 students and has currently over 50,000 active students registered in its five Faculties (Education, Arts & Social Sciences, Laws, Business Management and Science, Technology & Environmental Studies) and two its Institutes (Continuing Education and Educational & Management Technologies). OUT has also opened branches in other African countries of Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Namibia and Malawi.