Fine, at least in that deciding one way or the other often points to more responsible leadership than does inaction, even if the take for most people may be that it is too little, too late. And we too feel compelled to make our views known.
A minister of state in the Prime Minister’s announced the government’s decision in the National Assembly at the weekend, saying it was based on a preliminary report by a committee formed by Prime Minister Mizengo Pinda to investigate the circumstances of the debacle.
The minister said the committee attributed the poor results to unfair grading of pupils’ performance by the National Examination Council of Tanzania (Necta) and proposed inclusion of new standardisation of the results to reflect the efforts candidates had invested in their studies. Rather tricky!
He said the Cabinet subscribed to the committee’s recommendations wholesale, directing that they should be implemented immediately.
But the reading of the public reaction is that the move is focused on responding to the short-term shock following the release of the results and the stream of questions since made.
Many have suggested that the government’s move leaves in place a lot of the rot that has plagued the education sector.
This step will doubtless help to restore a modicum of confidence in our education system, uplifting the spirits of the many candidates who will now move up the ladder and thus likely qualify for the studies or professional training they had been shut out of.
But as noted by some observers, Necta’s revelations on how some of the candidates answered the examination questions points to a more serious problem that must exercise our minds more fully.
President Jakaya Kikwete has a lead on this. He was last week quoted as calling for approval of the new education policy to allow implementation of further steps to reverse the deterioration in the education sector.
The country is burdened by the huge increase in the number of people enrolling for primary and secondary school education not being matched by an increase in the number of teachers.
From 1961 to 2001 the number of primary school pupils rose from 486,470 to 4,875,764, while for the period between 2001 and 2012 it jumped from 4,875,764 to 8,247,472. The number of secondary school students also rose from 11,832 at independence in 1961 to 289,699 in 2001, and from 289,699 in 2001 to 1,884,270 students last year.
How the environment could remain conducive despite these developments is hard to imagine, and it surely calls for resources which we all concede may not be immediately available.
The government should therefore heed calls by stakeholders that it critically assess the relevance of what is taught – that is, if we really want to come up with human resources that can meaningfully push forward the nation’s development agenda.
It is however important that any discussion of the issue avoid partisan interests and reflect only on national interests, including the need to consolidate our capacity to progress as a nation.
CHANZO:
THE GUARDIAN
