Addis Ababa University (AAU) and University of Dar es Salaam of Tanzania signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to launch Kiswahili language education program in Addis Ababa University at the President’s Office of AAU on the 9^th of February 2022

Professor Tassew Woldehanna, President of AAU and Professor William A. L. Anangisye, the Vice-Chancellor of University of Dar es Salaam, signed the agreement to promote Kiswahili, the most widely spoken language in East Africa, by opening and developing educational & training programs as well as conducting research collaboratively.

Prof. Tassew stated during the agreement that University of Dar es Salaam and AAU are the leading universities in Africa both research universities and members of African research university alliance.

The two universities were ranked as top universities in Africa by 2015 in academic teaching learning, community engagement and research according to the Times Higher Education ranking, Prof. Tassew recalled.

“Today’s collaboration is towards creating a common language in Africa especially in the Eastern region. Having a common language has wider importance on the development of culture, politics and economy as well as for the welfare of the society in the region,” Prof. Tassew insisted.

Kiswahili is a language popularly spoken in East Africa; around 90 million people speak this language; it is an official language for many of the countries of the region including Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and Democratic Republic of Congo, Prof. Tassew said.

As Prof. Tassew stated, AAU’s College of Humanities and Language Studies as well as Ethiopian Academy of Culture and Languages, known for conducting several local and international languages, will turn to African languages and learn a lot from University of Dar es Salaam in introducing the Kiswahili language to make wider economic integration in the region.

Prof. Bonaventure Rutinwa, Deputy Vice Chancellor-Academic of University of Dar es Salaam, on his part said that the University of Dar es Salaam is trying to refocus its internationalization on African universities to design Kiswahili language as one of the academic disciplines.

“We have planned to establish scholarship to be given to African students to study Kiswahili language at Master’s and PhD level at University of Dar es Salaam which is fully sponsored by the University. Presently, we have students from Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda, Ghana and Egypt, and possibility interested students form Ethiopian in the coming,” he added.

Prof. Bonaventure further noted that, in the initiative of taking Kiswahili abroad, it is in the way of collaborating with many African countries to teach the language not only for students but also for anybody who wants to study it.

The agreement has been reached to launch Kiswahili language in Addis Ababa University both in graduate and undergraduate programs. The collaboration further expanded to develop and implement academic and research programs, staff training and joint supervision of students.

Reporter: Tsion Aysheshim

Photo: Firemariam Beyene

Editor: Abraham Girmay