Efficiency Assessment of the Tanzanian Universities

The purpose of this study is to examine the efficiency and its determinants of the Universities in Tanzania by means of deterministic frontier non-parametric approach. The analysis is based on a sample of 16 colleges and Universities 8 public, and 8 private across time period of 2008 - 2012 panel data. The data obtained from sampled universities, Tanzania Commission for Universities (TCU), Ministry of Education and Vocational Training (MoEVT) and the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) are used. We include three inputs and three outputs in a two-stage data envelopment analysis (Wen-Bin-LIU et al (2013), first evaluating DEA scores and then regress them through Tobit regression model. The findings from the study suggest that there is variability of efficiency among Universities across years. It is revealed from the study that Universities are efficient in generating graduates through available human capital, whereas research publications and consultancy services are influential factors for University efficiency. Majority of University efficiency is observed to be above average. Thus, Universities are recommended to use their input resources for research and consultancy services to improve efficiencies. Other extraneous variables which might have contributed to these findings have not been considered in the study. Keywords: efficiency, Universities, Data envelopment analysis (DEA), Tobit regression Mode