Prof. Esther Mwaikambo, the TAAS president
The Tanzania Academy of Sciences (TAAS) is devising a project to develop and disseminate two illustrated Kiswahili science dictionaries for primary and secondary schools in order to increase interest and incentive use of science in the society.
Prof. Esther Mwaikambo, the TAAS president, said in an interview that the project is intended to make young people understand the importance of studying science, which would help them to be more innovative in future. Many students do not enjoy reading science subjects because of their limited vocabulary to figure out the objects behind the terms, she said.
TAAS will for the next five years seek to ease the adoption, adaptation and use of scientific knowledge and applications in poverty reduction efforts and wealth creation at homestead level, particularly in the areas of agriculture and health.
She said that they also intend to reduce the communication barrier between teachers and students as it hampers the study of science in Tanzania.
One of the factors contributing to shortage of skills in engineering, medicine and other technological requirements in the country is the poor quality of primary and secondary school education.
Prof. Mwaikambo said the position of tertiary education is no better because the percentage of the age cohort at tertiary level education in years 2000-2010 in Tanzania was 1.4 per cent compared to Kenya and Uganda where it lies at around 4.1 per cent.
The veteran academic administrator mentioned that many scientists in the country tend to be poorly paid and gain little respect for their work because the role of scientific research in policy and decision making is limited.
A chronic lack of funds for research often forces scientists in the country to intellectual isolation, jeopardizing their careers, their institutions and the nation at large.
She urges scientists to come together at national and international level to encourage utilization of science for development.
