This incredible job on universal primary education enrollment has been due to the eradication of school fees for primary education in 2000 and primary school enrolment expanded to 95 per cent in 2009. Pre-primary and secondary educations have also achieved steady expansions.
Even though more classrooms have been built and the enrollment number reached 100 per cent, many people claim that the quality of education in primary school is still poor and pupils are not learning fundamental skills they need to prosper in their society and contribute to the national economic development.
Tanzania is the only country in the world that needs to be recognised and is supposed to be in the Guinness book for having two thirds of primary school leavers who are unable to read and write well. They also lack basic numerical skills and 85 percent can neither construct nor speak correct English sentences. Over 80 per sent are selected to join secondary education or any other forms of further education.
Some of challenges to the education system in Tanzania include dilapidated primary schools, inadequate facilities, poor trained and under- motivated teachers, poor working environment, inadequate supplies of teaching-learning materials, and lack of libraries which undermine rather than nourishing the potential of primary education.
In the same vein, a new report has commended the fifth phase government for introducing free secondary education, describing it as a ‘huge step’ towards enhancing access to quality learning despite a few hiccups that need to be addressed.
But the 109-page report points out that despite the move, more than 40 per cent of Tanzanian primary school leavers are still left out of lower secondary school education.
Dubbed ‘I Had a Dream to Finish School’, the report released by the international Human Rights Watch (HRW) organisation says some obstacles rooted in outmoded government policies are preventing more than 1.5 million adolescents from attending secondary school and causing many students to drop out because of poor quality education.
“Tanzania’s abolition of secondary school fees and contributions has been a huge step towards improving access to secondary education, but the government should do more to address the crowded classrooms, discrimination, and abuse that undermine many adolescents’ education,” said HRW children’s rights researcher Elin Martinez, who authored the report.
Some of the obstacles outlined in the report include a shortage of secondary schools in rural areas, primary school examination policy which limits access to secondary education, and a discriminatory government policy to expel pregnant or married female students.
Others include the abolition of school fees which the report said has left significant gaps in school budgets, and sexual harassment and discrimination suffered by girl students at the hands of their teachers.
According to the report, despite the introduction of free lower secondary education, many students face significant financial barriers such as transport to school, uniforms, and additional school materials such as textbooks.
The report recommends that the government should develop concrete plans to tackle these remaining barriers over time by adopting measures - in line with national resources and international financial support - to ensure more children access free secondary education.
It also recommends that the government should increase school budgets for all education matters out of its own pocket, including the construction or renovation of school buildings, teacher housing facilities, and learning and teaching facilities and materials
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