Samia urges scholars to apply skills for development

DAR ES SALAAM: PRESIDENT Dr Samia Suluhu Hassan has called on Tanzanian students benefiting from the Samia Scholarship Extended Programme to seize the opportunity, excel in their studies and return home armed with the knowledge, skills and expertise needed to drive national development.

President Dr Samia made the call on Friday at the State House in Dar es Salaam when she met and bid farewell to 34 high-performing students who are set to pursue undergraduate studies in Data Science, Artificial Intelligence and other specialised fields in Ireland.

She reminded the students of the late Mwalimu Julius Nyerere’s message that those who receive education have a responsibility to repay the sacrifice made by others to enable them to study.

“I remind you of the message from the Father of the Nation, the late Mwalimu Julius Nyerere, that those who are fortunate enough to receive education have a responsibility to repay the sacrifice others have made for them to study,” President Samia said.

She likened the responsibility to a person given all the food in a village to gain strength for a long journey and later return with food for fellow villagers.

The President wished the students success in their studies, urging them to remain focused and make good use of the opportunity provided by the government.

The 34 students are part of an initial group of 50 beneficiaries selected to pursue specialised studies abroad, with 16 already in South Africa undertaking similar technology-related programmes.

Meanwhile, speaking during the farewell ceremony at the airport in Dar es Salaam, Director of Higher Education in the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology Professor Stephen Maluka said the students heading to Ireland were selected after recording outstanding results in the Form Six examinations.

“These are students who achieved the highest results in the Form Six examinations. Before going to pursue their undergraduate degrees, they underwent a bootcamp for about 10 months and are now ready to begin their studies in Ireland,” he said.

Prof Maluka said the Samia Scholarship has been supporting students pursuing sciencerelated studies in Tanzania since the 2022/23 academic year, with about 1,000 students currently benefiting from the programme.

He said the government had expanded the initiative to provide outstanding students with opportunities to pursue specialised studies abroad.

“This is a continuous programme and it will continue. The students going abroad are those who performed best in the Form Six examinations,” he said.

He added that students who completed Form Six this year and performed exceptionally well have already been selected and would begin a bootcamp at the Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and Technology in Arusha on September 14, 2026, before being sent to leading European universities the following year.

Director of Communications in the ministry, Ms Sylvia Lupembe, said the overseas scholarship programme was part of efforts to prepare young Tanzanians for a labour market increasingly shaped by technological advancement.

“Our goal is to prepare highly skilled professionals in these areas so that they can contribute to development across different sectors. Every sector needs technology,” she said.

She said the students would study at institutions including the University of Limerick in fields such as Data Science, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Mathematical Sciences and Immersive Software Engineering.

The universities were selected for their academic excellence and links with major technology companies, providing students with opportunities for practical experience alongside their studies.

Ms Lupembe added that the government also secured opportunities for 10 students pursuing master’s degrees, who would soon travel to Russia.

One of the beneficiaries, Ms Angela Hector Mmongi, a former St Mary’s Mazinde Juu student in Tanga, said she was grateful for the opportunity to pursue a Bachelor of Science in Mathematical Sciences at the University of Limerick.

“We are going there to learn great things that will help our country move forward. We promise that we will work hard and return to contribute to the development of our country,” she said.

Another beneficiary, Mr Rogers Richard, a former Marian Boys Mbingoni student, said the scholarship had given him an opportunity to achieve his academic ambitions.

He will pursue a Bachelor of Science in Immersive Software Engineering at the University of Limerick.

“I would like to encourage students and young people who are still studying to pursue this opportunity because the programme is beneficial to them, their families and the entire nation,” he said

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