One of Macleans Geo-JaJa’s professional goals is for Africa to fully realize its rights in education. For Geo-JaJa these rights include not only the right of all Africans to be able to attend school, but also their right to high quality schooling.  As a newly appointed Fulbright Specialist, Geo-JaJa (EDLF) is eligible over the next five years to be invited to implement his program for improved education in Africa and other international locations. He will go to Tanzania in February 2013 to initiate his work as a Specialist.

To be placed on the Fulbright Specialist Roster, applicants go through a rigorous competition centered on a program they have created. After a submission process that includes peer reviews and a review by the Council for International Exchange of Scholars, only 100 scholars nationwide are accepted. Scholars who are accepted are officially entered into a pool of experts on various subjects, eligible to be selected by institutions across the world to implement their program on site.

Professor Geo-JaJa explains his motivation to become a Fulbright Specialist. “After visiting University of Tanzania and Zanzibar University, I was shocked at the lack of manpower and the economy of their education,” said Geo-JaJa, “It informed my desire to get a Fulbright that could take me there, to address this problem.” According to Geo-JaJa, the University of Tanzania has shown particular interest in utilizing his program to improve education. “There’s a shortage in the capacity that African scholars ought to have,” he said, “My goal is to increase the capacity for education in these countries.” Geo-JaJa adds that while excited about the appointment he is also awed “by feelings of responsibility” to contribute his knowledge to the international community.

Geo-JaJa’s multi-faceted program involves wide-scale work like raising awareness in policy makers to place more emphasis on individuals and individual schools: for example, helping with exam questions, course designs, and curricula. Geo-JaJa will be in the Fulbright Specialist pool for five years, during which time he hopes to work extensively outside the U.S., improving education on a global scale.

June 26, 2012