Establishment of the Arusha Technical College (ATC)

The College was established in 1978 jointly by the Governments of the United Republic of Tanzania and Germany also known as FRG-Federal Republic of Germany “West Germany”, under the name of the Technical College Arusha (TCA).The College is located at the Central Business District of the Arusha City which is the Northern Tanzania’s centre of agriculture, commerce, trade and tourism.Arusha City is also the Head Quarter of the East Africa Community and is the central point in Africa between Cape Town and Cairo.It is surrounded by famous mountains such as Mount Kilimanjaro and Mount Meru. In addition, it is the door to the world’s great wildlife refuges including Ngorongoro Crater, Serengeti and Tarangire. All these make the location of the College an ideal place for studying.

Part of the responsibilities of ATC at the time of its inception was to train technicians for three years to the level of the Full Technician Certificate (FTC) in the fields of Automotive Engineering, Civil Engineering, Electrical Engineering,Transport Engineering and Mechanical Engineering. In March 2007, the name changed to the Arusha Technical College (ATC) through the Arusha Technical College Establishment Order No. 78 as enabled by the NACTE Act No. 9 of 1997.This Establishment Order granted autonomy and elevated the status of the College to a higher tertiary education institution. Following elevation of the status of the College to a higher tertiary education institution and grant of autonomy, the College introduced award of the Ordinary Diploma in the above mentioned programmes and introduced more Ordinary Diploma and Certificate awards in various professions namely: Electronics and Telecommunications Engineering; Civil and Irrigation Engineering, Auto electric and Electronics Engineering, Laboratory Sciences and Technology, Lapidary & Jewelry Technology,Computer Science and Information Technology. Moreover, the College also introduced Bachelor’s degree programme in Civil and irrigation engineering.The College is planning to introduce new programmes namely; Bachelor of Engineering in Electrical Engineering, Bachelor of Laboratory Science and Technology and Bachelor of Engineering in Mechatronics. Others are Diploma programmes in Clinical laboratory science technology, Multimedia technology and Heavy Duty Equipment Technology.The College is also planning to establish Diploma in Science with Education.

Legally the College is registered (REG/EOS/004) and accredited by the National Council for Technical Education (NACTE) to train technicians and engineers (NTAs 4-8). The College is also registered by Vocational Education Training Authority (VETA) to train artisans (NVAs 1-3). Currently, the College is undergoing both administrative and Academic transformations to match with its new structure, roles and functions. The expectations and aspirations of Tanzanians towards ATC are very high as expressed in the National Technical Education and Training Policy of 1996, National Higher Education Policy of 1999 and Tanzania Development Vision 2025 of 1999. The ultimate goal is to transform ATC to a centre of excellence that provides a national and international high-level human resource through exemplary competence based Technical Education and Training.

ATC boasts an established reputation as an institution that is widely acclaimed by industry for producing work-ready, competent graduates who can meet the demands of the employers. ATC takes pride in the high employability of her graduates and the appreciations expressed by employers for the excellent quality and relevance of her academic programmes and so ATC seeks to continuously to upgrade support to her students. This Prospectus therefore, describes the main features of the ATC in line with the customers’ and stakeholders’ interest. It provides an Outline of academic programmes. It gives important information on the basic requirements, procedures and regulations to be met for one to get admission and graduate at the College, course programmes,course duration and other necessary information.

The Major Roles and Functions of ATC

The main functions of ATC as stipulated in the Establishment Order No. 78 of March 2007 are as follows:
(a) To provide facilities for study and training in engineering and technology development, and such other related disciplines as the College may from time to time decide;
(b) To conduct training programmes in the disciplines specified in (a) above;
(c) To engage in research and development in the disciplines specified in (a) above and use the results for improving the training programmes of the College;
(d) To provide consultancy services to the Government, Parastatal bodies or industries and the private sector;
(e) To sponsor, arrange or provide facilities for conferences and seminars;
(f) To conduct examinations and grant awards of ATC as approved by the National Council for Technical Education;
(g) To arrange for publication and general dissemination of material produced in connection with the work and activities of the College;
(h) To establish and foster closer cooperation with the universities, technical colleges and other institutions of higher education and to promote international cooperation with similar institutions; and
(i) To do all such acts and things and enter into all such contracts and transactions as are in the opinion of the Governing Board expedient or necessary for the proper and efficient discharge of the functions of the College.