UTAFITI NOTES
     Early in the academic year, Mwalimu Nyerere in his capacity as Chan-
 cellor of the University visited the campus to speak to all members of the
 University community. This visit was most welcome in view of the events
 on the main campus towards the end of the 1977/78 academic year - the
  students' unauthorized demonstration culminating into a clash with the
 police, the "death" of the DUSO government and its replacement by the
 CCMYouth League, the suspension of 367 students and final expulsion
 of 40 students.    These events somewhat left the campus puzzled and
 perplexed.
     In a meeting with the University Communityin the Nkrumah Hall and its
  grounds, in a question-and-answer     dialogue,   Mwalimu covered a number of
 questions, ranging from International affairs,     national affairs to matters
  specifically related to the University.   His replies to campus matters helped
 to clear some tensions which were clearly evident on the campus.         Comment-
 ing on events leading to the expulsion of the students and the controversy
  surrounding the students' government, he believed that the students had
 virtually abdicated their responsibilities   and rights to elect their govern-
 ment and the governmenthad no alternative      but call on the CCM Youth
 League to fill the "power" vacuum.
     On alleged fevers of "victimizatioo" among students and staff, Mwalimu
 assured his audience that as Chancellor,     he would do all he could to ensure
 that the University performed its traditional    functions as a University to do
 research,   teach and "argue".    Educated in the bourgeois democratic liberal
 tradition, he was for a situation in which all contending academic viewpoints
 had a fair hearing.
     As part of an effort to establish legitimate extra- bureaucratic    channels
of communicationsbetween academic members of staff on the one hand and
the administration and government on the University proposals for a draft
constitution to establish an. Academic Assembly, a kind of staff association,
has been widely discussed in the faculties.     The proposed draft constitution
envisages a Chairman assisted by an Executive Committee and elected repre-
sentatives to various organs of the University,      all the way to the council.
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    Iddi Amin's invasion of Tanzanian territory  in West Lake Region took
the Communityby surprise.    The members have done all they can to contri-
bute to the war effort materially and morally.   However, the whole situation
has been received with calculated maturity characteristic   of the Tanzanian
political environment.
    The Faculty has responded to the University's    concern about "1' ee.ching
- Learning effectiveness" by assisting to launch the CommunicationSkills
Project and the Staff/Student Evaluation Programme, the Departrrlent of
Foreign Languages and Linguistics has hosted a new Unit consisting of
three Staff members, in the first instance.   The task of the Unit is to plan
andteach courses in Communicationskills for students in different Facul-
ties.  This has been planned in response to the concern expressed generally
as to the degree to which students may be hampered in their studies by
linguistic problems. It is hoped to develop course materials which will be
of maximumrelevance to the students' work .in their different disciplines.
    Pilot courses started in the second term of the 1978/79 academic year
with the first year and the responses have clearly indicated that their is
need for such a programme.
    Individual Departments are administering questionnaires to undergradua-
tes with a view to finding out the degree of communicationbetween teachers
 and students, the way courses are organised with particular reference to
reading materials,   and the extent to which courses are integrated.    It is
hoped reports coming out of the exercise will help to bring to light such
 problems as may require the immediate and long term attention of the depart-
 ments and the Faculty.    The responses of the teachers and students are so
 far encouraging.
    The departments continue with their long tradition of vigorous seminars
 whichfor one new to the "tradition" are a little too serious,  but highly re-
 warding academically. In the department of Politi<;.alScience, amongthose
whopresented papers were professors       Takeshi Ishida (Tokyo University)
 Margaret Bates (University of South Florida), R.I. Retberg (MIT). In the
Department of History the seminars mainly focussed on the peasantry and
proletariat in Tanzania.   Also of interest were Prof. Dan Nabudere' s paper
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 on Closer Union of East Africa; and "Womenin production",          jointly given
 by Prof. MbilinyiandMrs.       D. Brycesson.
     On the research front, the Department of Political Science continues
 with the Decentralization Project started in 1976.       The project mainly
 concerned with three themes - effectiveness,     popular participation    and
 socio-economic changes arising out of the implementation of the Policy
 Of Decentralization in Tanzania.    Data have been collected computerized
 and are at the analysis stage.
     The Department of Geography will be working on "The Rufiji Basin
 Multipurpose Project" for the next three years.      It is converned with
 population and settlement in Rufiji Basin, the market system, and agro-
 climatic conditions fof' ct'op production.   The Economic Research       Bureau
 has launched the "Rural insentive Project" which may go on for about a
 year, covering three regions.
     The first International Seminar of Kiswahili writers     was held at the
 Institute of Kiswahili on the 16th Sept. - 7th October,     1978.   Sponsored
 by UNESCO, the conference was attended by experts from a number of
 African countries.    The major concern of the conference was to work out
 ways of promoting the Kiswahili language as it has all the potentials for
 ~eing a lin~a franca in Africa.
     To reinforce the international reality of swahili an Association of
 swahili writers was proposed which would help members share re.search
 findings and know whohas doing what.
     Withthe collapse of the East African Literature     Bureau, the Faculty
is facing some problems in producing some of its    1  by now famous, publi-
cations but every effort is bei'!lgmade to keep them afloat.     Among them are
the African Review, ~,           Umma, and Taamuli.     The University    autho-
rities are in the process of establishing a 'University Press      which, we
believe, will go a long way 1:0 lignten our publication problems.       Otherwise
departments have continued with their mimeographs.
    Departments have continued with contacts with collegues abroad through
international conferences.      The Department of Political Science is the Sec-
retariat for the African Association of Political Scientists.      It is organismg
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the fourth biennial conference in Maputo from April, 't9th - April 12th, 1979.
The theme is "Liberation and Development", Participants    will be mainly from
Africa, outsiders have been invited.   The Department of Geography recently
took part in the Regional Conference of the International Geographical Union
held at the Universities of Lagos and Ahmadu Bello in Nigeria.
    The Department of History has revised some aspects of its Syllabi intro-
ducing some new courses - "capitalism and imperialism"     "The Philosophy
and Method of History",    "Socialist Revolutions and Neocolonialism".
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