THE Tanzania Commission for Universities (TCU) has suspended admission and registration of first-year students in the Bachelor of Human Medicine programme at Mwanza University (MzU) for this academic year.

Prof. Charles Kihampa, the TCU executive secretary, made this announcement at a press conference here yesterday, stating that Mwanza University admitted far more students than its authorized limit for the human medicine programme, compromising the quality of education.

A preliminary audit conducted by TCU showed that the university had admitted ten times the number of students authorized for the programme, as it was authorized to admit 60 students but admitted 600.

This compelled the drastic measure as the level of admission entailed significant violations of admission procedures, after over-enrollment was found to severely exceed the university’s capacity.

This negatively affected critical infrastructure such as laboratories, lecture halls and staffing levels, despite repeated directives from TCU to rectify the excessive intake. The university administration failed to comply, hence the commission had to take stringent administrative and legal measures, he explained.

The decision to suspend the programme was made during a TCU board session late last week, where it decided to suspend admission license for the first-year programme, while students already enrolled in higher years will pursue their studies as usual, he elaborated.

First-year students already registered at MzU need to apply for transfers to other universities offering the human medicine programme or alternative programmes of their choice, with the university explicitly instructed to fully inform and assist the students to be transferred to accredited institutions with sufficient capacity, he specified.

TCU sought to assure students that the transfer process will be conducted efficiently while prioritizing their welfare and educational progress, with an experts’ committee formed to conduct a thorough investigation into Mwanza University’s academic processes. It starts its work right away after the student transfer process is completed, he affirmed.

TCU will be monitoring the quality of higher education, ensuring that universities strictly adhere to regulations and operational procedures, he stated. Any future breaches of admission protocols will be met with appropriate legal and administrative action to safeguard national and international educational standards for medical education, he added.