Dar es Salaam. The Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority (NCAA) and the Higher Education Students’ Loans Board (HESLB) have demonstrated how public institutions can partner to expand access to university education through targeted scholarships for financially disadvantaged students.
The two institutions jointly established the Ngorongoro Scholarship Fund, which has awarded scholarships to its first 14 beneficiaries, selected from 26 applicants seeking financial support to pursue higher education.
The beneficiaries were recognised on November 7, 2026, with the scheme allocating Sh70.6 million of its Sh100 million budget to finance their studies.
The students are pursuing courses in wildlife management, tourism, hospitality and other fields relevant to conservation and the development of the Ngorongoro area.
Speaking during the event, HESLB Executive Director Dr Bill Kiwia said the scholarship demonstrated the value of collective efforts in widening access to higher education, urging government institutions, companies, banks, organisations and individuals to establish similar initiatives.
He said financing university education should not be left to the government alone, particularly as demand for student loans and grants continues to increase.
‘Education is a long-term investment. When we enable one young person to get an education, we invest in their life, their family, their community and the future of our nation,’ he said.
Dr Kiwia challenged individuals to consider sponsoring at least three students annually, saying HESLB was ready to establish arrangements through which sponsors could finance beneficiaries and monitor their academic progress.
His appeal comes amid rising government expenditure on higher education loans and grants, with allocations increasing from Sh570 billion in the 2021/22 academic year, when 177,925 students benefited, to Sh787.4 billion in 2024/25, supporting 248,331 students.
The allocation subsequently rose to Sh916.7 billion in 2025/26 before reaching a record Sh1.06 trillion for the 2026/27 academic year, targeting 292,463 students.
While the growing allocations reflect government efforts to widen access to university education, the increasing number of beneficiaries also points to the need for complementary funding arrangements, including scholarships supported by public institutions and private organisations.
For students from disadvantaged communities, the challenge often goes beyond securing university admission, as financial constraints can prevent them from progressing beyond secondary education.
One of the scholarship beneficiaries, Pilangayo Kumiponye, who is pursuing Tourism Management and Hospitality at St Augustine University of Arusha, said financial difficulties had prevented many girls in her community from continuing their education after Form Four.
‘After Form Four, we remain at home because our parents do not have the money. Some of us end up getting married, not because that is what we want, but because life becomes difficult,’ she said, calling for similar scholarship opportunities to be extended to more girls.
Another beneficiary, Aden Mollel, who is studying Wildlife Management at Sokoine University of Agriculture, said the scholarship would enable students to acquire knowledge and skills that could contribute to wildlife conservation.
Ngorongoro Commissioner Dr Abdul-Razaq Badru said the scholarship reflected the authority’s responsibility to support conservation, tourism and the development of communities living within the protected area.
He said education was increasingly important in helping residents diversify their livelihoods, noting that livestock keeping alone could no longer provide a sufficient economic foundation for the community.
The Ngorongoro initiative offers a potential model for other public institutions, private companies and organisations to establish scholarships targeting students pursuing courses relevant to their operations and national development priorities.
Individual sponsors could also expand such opportunities by undertaking to finance one or more students annually, creating additional pathways for young people who might otherwise struggle to meet the costs of university education.
Such scholarships would complement government loans and grants by bringing additional resources into the higher education financing system and widening opportunities for students from financially disadvantaged backgrounds.
For Dr Kiwia, the Ngorongoro scheme should go beyond supporting its first group of beneficiaries and demonstrate how shared responsibility can help prepare the next generation through education.
One editorial distinction is worth preserving: a scholarship is not the same as a student loan. The Ngorongoro scheme should consistently be described as a scholarship fund or scholarship programme, while HESLB’s wider financing arrangements should retain their appropriate terminology.