TANZANIA has hailed the Republic of Korea for its support in promoting Information Communication Technology(ICT) education in the country.

Inaugurating the Korea-Funded ICT Center at the College of Engineering and Technology(CoET) of the University of Dar es Salaam(UDSM), the Minister for Education and Vocational Training, Prof. Jumanne Maghembe, said that the Center would go a long way in tackling the ICT challenges facing this country.

"This is an important milestone not only for the University of Dar es Salaam's Institutional Transformation Programme but also for the whole nation as it addresses development challenges at the beginning of the 21st Century,"Prof. Magembe said. The Minister said that the UDSM had experienced a great increase in the nember of students and student activities but that the institution had remained technologically the same over the past 30 years.

He said that the Korean ICT support would facilitate a smooth implementation of the 2025 Millennium Development Goals(MDG's) objectives which largely require the availability of human capital and ICT engineering infrastucture.

Prof. Maghembe commented that the support had come at the right time following the call by President Jakaya Kikwete when he addressed engineers at the annual engineer's day on September 15, this year

He said President Kikwete had then challenged engineering training institutions in the country to come up with a plan to increase the annual graduate output from the current 500 to 1000 engineers.

"The inauguration of these facilities will surely facilitate increased enrolment and,  therefore, contribute to the development of the insitution," he emphasized.

Prof. Maghembe challenged the engineers at CoET to effectively utilize the facilities by making sure that the wider community of Tanzania benefits.

He elaborated that in order to ensure full benefit to the community, engineers from CoET should carry out training programmes in educational institutions including those in remote areas.

Meanwhile, the Ambassador of Korea to Tanzania, Mr Youngjun Kim, said that the Republic of Korea allocated 2 million US dollars to support the project.

Mr Kim said that the project involved the renovation of two ICT centres, one at the former Tanzania Telecommunications Company Ltd(TTCL) Staff College for the Faculty of Electrical and Computer Systems Engineering and another at the main campus of the University for the Faculty of Mechanical and Chemical Engineering and Building Environment.

"After the renovation, the centres are now equipped with desirable labs for study," he said.

The Ambassador also said the inaugurated project was a collaborative effort beween the Korea International Cooperation Agency(KOICA) and UDSM.

Mr.Kim said the main objective was to increase the ICT education capability of Tanzania by improving educational infrastructure and supporting human resources development at CoET.

He further said KOICA has also financed an ICT training programme in Korea for 13 managers and lecturers from CoET, including dispatching Koream experts to Tanzania to transfer know-how in ICT education.

The event encompassed the inauguration of CoET's Kijitonyama Campus of which Mr Kim said would develop into a hub for advanced ICT education in Africa.