[Printer Friendly Version]   [How to E-mail This Article to A Friend]

AROUND THE WORLD 4: Tanzanian Leader Back at School

In the east African country of Tanzania, one governmental-hopeful is making higher-education a top priority in his campaign--literally. Augustine Mrema, a former teacher and intelligence officer who is the leader of Tanzania’s Labour party, is returning to college at the age of 60 to make sure he can run for president of the country in next year’s general election.

Mrema is returning to school under the assumption that the government’s proposed bill that requires all presidential candidates to hold a university degree will be ratified into a law before the 2005 election. Much like any other college student, now that Mrema has made the decision to attend college, he has to figure out how to pay for it. He has asked the government for a loan to help finance the $4,500 cost of a correspondence course in political science from Pacific Western University in Los Angeles. “I have also asked my party (the Labour party) to help out and, of course, I will dig into my own pocket,” he told news agencies on Wednesday.

He added that university officials have told him he should be able to complete the course in 18 months if he is diligent.

Mrema finished third in Tanzania's last presidential election in 2000 with seven percent of the vote. He said requiring candidates to have a degree was unfair and would deter some of them from seeking the office. Current president Benjamin Mkapa, who has a degree in English from Uganda's Makerere University, is required by the constitution to step down next year after two five-year terms.

Comparatively, nine U.S. President did not attend college. They are Grover Cleveland, Millard Filmore, Andrew Jackson, Andrew Johnson, Abraham Lincoln, Zachary Taylor, Martin Van Buren, Harry Truman and George Washington. Harry Truman was the only president or vice president in the twentieth century who did not graduate from college, although he spent two years in a Kansas law school. More U.S. Presidents (7) attended Harvard than any other university.

--Written by Hillary Rouse

Write your own story telling us what you think about this article!

Read AROUND THE WORLD 1: Child Soldiers Released