“ There is nothing new in what the report is saying…so it is surprising
that the government is hesitating to make it public,” Nominated MP James
Mbatia (NCCR - Mageuzi) Dar es Salaam. Education stakeholders appealed yesterday to the government to officially release the report of the commission of inquiry that investigated the 2012 mass failure in Form Four examinations.
In interviews with The Citizen, they said the
state should spearhead national dialogue on the damning findings of the
commission and the obstacles that stand in the way of quality education.
The call came after an exclusive story in The
Citizen on Tuesday on the report of the commission of inquiry chaired by
the current PS for education, Prof Sifuni Mchome.
The report was handed over to Prime Minister
Mizengo Pinda in June but has yet to be released to the public. The
commission was formed after 60 per cent of form four students scored
division ‘0’ in their national examinations.
Yesterday, Prof Mchome said he would not comment
until Prime Minister Mizengo Pinda released the report. Prof Mchome, who
was appointed to his current job soon after heading the commission of
inquiry into the education crisis, added: “We submitted the report to
the PM. Let us give him time to work on it and comment once he makes it
public.”
Among those advocating the immediate release of
the report is University of Dar es Salaam education don, Dr Kitilya
Mkumbo. “Why has the government held on to the report despite the
commission delivering it since June?” he asked.
“We want to know its content, interrogate the findings and give recommendations on how to improve education in this country.”
“We want to know its content, interrogate the findings and give recommendations on how to improve education in this country.”
As a key stakeholder, he added, he was not
impressed by some of the reasons being given for the deterioration of
education standards in Tanzania--such as blaming the syllabus and
examination content.
He dismissed claims that some teachers lacked
professionalism as an insult to teachers and the colleges where they
were trained--considering that there was no clear measure of competence.
Nominated MP James Mbatia told The Citizen over
the phone that what the report describes as the causes of the mass
failure is just a small part of a private members’ motion he tabled in
Parliament but was not discussed.
Mr Mbatia, who turned down a request by the PM to
join the commission of inquiry, said: “There is nothing new in what the
report is saying…so it is surprising that the government is hesitating
to make the report public.”
According to the MP, his motion was meant to
demonstrate the serious challenges in the education sector.
He cited the education policy, lack of official curriculum for secondary and primary education and weaknesses in approving learning and teaching materials for secondary and primary schools as some of the severe shortcomings.
He cited the education policy, lack of official curriculum for secondary and primary education and weaknesses in approving learning and teaching materials for secondary and primary schools as some of the severe shortcomings.
The acting secretary general of Tanzania Teachers
Union (TTU), Mr Ezekiel Oluoch, accused the teachers’ service department
and the quality assurance department in the Ministry of Education of
not doing enough to provide in-service training and seminars so teachers
could update their skills.
Of 65,000 secondary school teachers, he added, only 481 teachers
were trained on the new syllabus. One-third were from private schools
and the rest were government teachers who had not been included in the
training.
Moreover, there is a shortage of 40,000 teachers
in secondary schools countrywide. “Some schools don’t have teachers of
Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Biology and English. “Just imagine, of
the nine core subjects five lack teachers…. what do you expect?”
Many schools in the rural areas are reportedly so
poorly supervised that teachers choose to work at their own pace. Poor
school inspection is also a key element of the problem.
Last year, only nine per cent of Tanzania’s schools were inspected, most of them private. In the circumstances, Mr Oluoch said, mass failure in government schools was inevitable.
Last year, only nine per cent of Tanzania’s schools were inspected, most of them private. In the circumstances, Mr Oluoch said, mass failure in government schools was inevitable.
