Ahead of the first international IIT campus to be thrown open in Africa’s Zanzibar, the first woman president of Tanzania, Samia Suluhu Hassan, was conferred an honorary doctorate by the Jawaharlal Lal Nehru University (JNU) in New Delhi on Tuesday for her role in fostering stronger ties between the two countries.
The event saw Union ministers Dharmendra Pradhan (education) and S Jaishankar (external affairs) addressing the Tanzanian delegation as well students who attended it offline and online.
The first offshore campus of any IIT is being set up in Zanzibar, and is scheduled to be inaugurated early November while the classes are set to begin from October 25. The offshore campus is a branch of IIT-Madras.
Pradhan said the institute will prove to be a milestone in educational cooperation between the two nations and continents.
“The support of Tanzania, a key African partner of India, is needed to amplify the aspirations of the Global South, especially on education and human resource development. Skill-focused and market-aligned higher education are to be delivered to the youth of both the countries in a collaborative manner,” said Pradhan.
The African Union was included as a full member of the G20 under India’s presidency this September.
“Tanzania became the preferred destination to set up the first overseas campus of IIT-, Madras in Zanzibar. Classes for the first batch are scheduled to begin this month. The institution has the potential to become the premier centre for technical education for the entire African continent,” said S Jaishankar, who is also an alumnus of JNU.
Hassan was conferred the honorary doctorate by Prof Santishree D Pandit, who is the first woman vice-chancellor of JNU.
She mentioned that JNU has a Centre for African Studies that began in 1969, which, in 2009, became a specialised centre, and the Nelson Mandela Chair, established by the Ministry of External Affairs.
Hassan, who acknowledged herself as a “product of Indian education”, attributing it to her ITEC training at NIRD, Hyderabad, said that India has remained loyal to the cause of global south and the developing countries. “There are many areas where we have been already engaged with India including trade, energy or education. This tie-up with an IIT campus in Zanzibar will take it to new heights,” she said.
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