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Education: Equipping schools is top priority
2006-10-09 09:09:44
By Nakaniwa Mchome
How much the government invests for education is translated in what is seen in our schools today.
If a school has enough teaching facilities, it is because funds were injected.
But a school which does not have desks, a library, a dining hall, it means only negligible amounts of funds were pumped into the school.
Similarly, the results and by products that include the general performance of the students and hence the name and credibility of the school will depend on how much was invested.
A school that does not have essential facilities should not be expected to perform well. If it does, then, perhaps a miracle only happened.
If we teach the children the good things of life and equip them well, they will grow up knowing that they are the custodians of the wealth of their country’s resources.
But when no emphasis is laid on both the students and teachers, the entire education system cannot be successful.
Last week the Minister for Education and Culture, Margaret Sitta, toured primary schools in Kinondoni District and saw for herself how children were overcrowded.
Some were even sitting on the floor as the class was full to the brim!
I don’t know that a loving parent would feel happy to hear that his or her child goes to school everyday but he or she does not have a desk.
What kind of education is the child getting? Isn’t sitting on a bare floor a sign of negligence?
How can the children learn about cleanliness and sanitation if they don’t have these facilities?
How much does a desk for three pupils cost? In towns and cities it cannot be more than 30,000/- In rural areas, it is even less.
What then is wrong with Dar es Salaam municipal schools?
Overcrowding limits the ability of a teacher to reach out to the pupils, know their problems and assist them.
Setting and marking exams is done according to the syllabus.
Whether pupils were able to cope in the class or not, they cannot expect mercy from the examiners.
How then do Tanzanian children perform in school given this scenario?
I think the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training cannot avoid our wrath.
We need an improved learning environment for the children.
If the education system must improve, classes, desks, libraries, dining halls and toilets, should be made available to the children.
It’s not difficult to make the children happy. But first, there has to be a will.
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