OVER 105bn/- has been allocated by the government under the Higher Education for Economic Transformation (HEET) programme to construct the Mwalimu Nyerere University of Technology and Agriculture in Butiama district in Mara.
Deputy Minister for Education Science and Technology, Omary Kipanga announced on Wednesday in the National Assembly as he responded to a question by Butiama legislator Abdallah Sagini (CCM) who wanted to know when the government will officially start construction work on the institution.
The minister said preparations are in top gear including acquiring a title deed for 573.5 hectares of land, preparation of a master plan, Environmental and Social Impact Assessment and designs.
According to the minister, the programme is being implemented by the government through the ministry of education in collaboration with the World Bank since September this year.
He added that the remaining process was to search for a consulting engineer who will now advise on the designs and prepare points of reference before the actual construction begins.
However, the MP further queried delays in the beginning of the university with the deputy minister assuring the MP that the processes will end by February next year.
The government established Mwalimu Julius Nyerere University of Agriculture and Technology (MJNUAT) some few years ago with an aim of making it the centre stage of agricultural transformation in Tanzania, and a regional and global player in innovative and societal responsive Agricultural Education and Training (AET).
The University seeks to further consolidate transition in agribusiness by mounting business mentorship schemes for start-up agri-ventures supported by innovative linkages with financial institutions services in providing pro-poor credit support for start-up agribusiness ventures for young graduate farmers.
The institution also aims at mounting vocational and life skills to youths and women groups, to catalyze their participation in agribusiness, thereby reducing unemployment rate among youths in the country.