PRESIDENT Samia Suluhu Hassan yesterday inaugurated a secondary school for girls, dedicated to science and technical subjects.

The school, bearing the president’s name, is located in Rwinga, Migerege village of Namtumbo District, Ruvuma Region has capacity to accommodate over 1,000 students pupils from Form One to Form Six, but currently has 548 students enrolled in Forms One and Six.

Addressing the residents, the president stressed the crucial role of education for girls in fostering community and national development, affirming that the school building initiative is meant to increase the number of female experts in science and technology. This will help foster a more inclusive and skilled workforce for the future, she said, asserting that the initiative is part of the government's broader efforts to strengthen education and promote gender equality across the country.

“This school focuses on science and technical subjects, specifically designed to uplift girls. I am delighted to see clean energy being used here. This is one of the projects I initiated to help African women access clean cooking energy, starting with educational institutions so students can see food prepared with gas, which they can also use at home," she told the gathering.

Urging teachers to take care of the students, she reminded them of their responsibility to nurture the still adolescent children.

“Please ensure they learn their subjects, take care of their health and help them understand their identity as women. They should recognise that as women they are just as capable as anyone else and can achieve their dreams,” she emphasised.

“Let there be no cases of students failing to complete their studies due to pregnancy. If that happens, I will hold the teachers accountable. We are aware of the challenges you face, and the government is here to support you,” she said to applause.

Officials noted that 16 primary schools and 14 secondary schools were built in the region last year alone, thus the region has 247 secondary schools where 187 of them are state run.

This illustrates collaboration with the private sector to improve education access for all children, regardless of gender, she said, noting that the government allocated 14.5bn/- for the region to fund free education, resulting in a significant increase in student enrolment.

 In January this year, 49,396 children were registered for early education, an increase of 7,256 from last year," she stated.

Mohamed Mchengerwa, the Regional Administration and Local Governments state minister in the President’s Office (PO-RALG),  said the school used up 108bn/-, and was established to empower girls through education, a campaign that the president initiated.

A total of 4,443 students have already enrolled in the special science education schools nationwide studying from Form One to Form Five so far, he added.