As the year draws to a close, Success gives you glimpses of what happened in education circles throughout 2014.
Four students killed in road accident
January 23, 2014
The year somewhat began on a sad note following the death of four students of Mustapha Sabodo High School in Mtwara after being knocked down by a vehicle.
The Mercedes Benz travelling from Mtwara town to Lindi ran over a group of students who were jogging along the road, leaving many others seriously injured.
Over 50 per cent of students missing in Kigoma schools
February 12, 2014
It proved not to be a good beginning in the education sector with reports of students failing to join schools in the western region.
According to Kigoma Regional Commissioner Issa Machibya, over half of the students selected to join Form One in the region had failed to report to their respective schools.
Mr Machibya noted that the figure was the biggest ever in the region, pledging to take stern measures against parents who were preventing their children from joining secondary schools.
Improved results at Form Four
February 22, 2014
Following dismal performance registered by Form Four students in 2013 results, there was a slight improvement in the results released this year.
According to the National Examinations Council of Tanzania (Necta), the general performance of candidates improved by 15 per cent in 2013 compared to 2012. The results had it that a total of 235,227 students which is equal to 58.25 per cent of the candidates who sat their exams in November last year passed, compared to 185,940 or 43.08 in 2012.
Although boys with 53 per cent were ahead of the girls with 46 per cent in general results, girls by far outshined boys in the national top ranking of individuals, taking seven places in top ten of the best students.
PM: Tanzania has scarcity of 1.4 million desks for primary schools
May 4, 2014
Prime Minister Mizengo Pinda could not hide his shock over revelations that the country was actually facing a shortage of about 1.4 million desks.
He had to offer a directive to the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training to do whatever it can to address the problem that affects academic performance of students.
According to the premier, if the government decided to make 100,000 desks at Sh12 billion, it would take it 15 years to end the problem.
2,600 enrolled for Standard One, Form One students fail to show up
May 5, 2014
From the western part of the country to further north, another 600 children had failed to show up at their respective schools. Arumeru District Commissioner Nyirembe Munassa said they could not establish the whereabouts of 2,600 youngsters who were expected to join primary and secondary schools in the area this year.
UN report paints negative picture on literacy levels in Tanzania
May 16, 2014
A new report released mid this year by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco) indicated that more Tanzanians were slipping into illiteracy.
The UN agency had it that 14 million out of 45 million Tanzanians could not read, count and write.
EA sends to varsity only 4pc of youth
May 20, 2014
In spite of the high number of students finishing high school in the region, East Africa still had the lowest university enrolment in the world, a situation which, a leading lecturer warned, could retard development of the education sector in the region.
Only 4.2 per cent of the 18 to 25 age group had access to university education while those for the wider higher education, the situation is no better with only 6.4 per cent enrolled in non-university training institutions.
“These enrolment rates are not only the lowest in Africa but in the world,” Prof Mayunga Nkunya noted.
Over 50pc of EA graduates half-baked
June 11, 2014
The Inter-University Council for East Africa (IUCEA) had it on their survey that at least half of graduates produced by East African universities lacked employability skills, technical mastery and basic work-related capabilities.
According to IUCEA, which is a body created to regulate higher education in the region, the situation simply confirmed the concerns among employers that most graduates were not fully prepared for the job market. The report, which was polled by employers said all the five countries making up the region lack the skills needed to drive growth.
The study showed that Uganda had the worst record, with at least 63 per cent of graduates found to lack job market skills followed closely by Tanzania where 61 per cent of graduates are ill-equiped.
JK orders construction of science labs in schools
July 11, 2014
Mid this year, President Jakaya Kikwete directed regional and district leaders to work with school managements and parents to ensure that by November this year, every secondary school had a fully furnished science laboratory.
The President issued the directive while on an official tour of Tanga.
Ever since the order was made, every region in the country had been struggling to meet the deadline.
Almost 100 per cent pass Form Six exam
July 17, 2014
To the surprise of many, nondescript secondary schools in far-flung regions surged into top rankings in the 2014 Advanced Certificate of Secondary Education (ACSEE).
Most of the district secondary schools edged out the traditional pacesetters and well-established schools in such regions as Dar es Salaam, Arusha, Mbeya and Coast.
Overall, though, the nearly 42,000 candidates who sat the national examinations in May improved slightly over the 2013 exams while the individual subject performance also rose. The trend was encouraging and the country witnessed an overall improvement in subject performances across the board, according to NECTA Executive Secretary, Charles Msonde.
40,000 varsity slots vacant in spite of Form 6 exam pass
July 22, 2014
Despite the high performance rate recorded in this year’s Form Six results at least 40,000 vacancies may remain unoccupied in universities countrywide.
According to Tanzania Commission for Universities (TCU) director for Accreditation and Quality Assurance, Dr Savinus Maronga, with the country’s universities enrolment capacity of 80,000 vacancies for degree, diploma and certificate courses, this year only 38,000 students met the requirements. Requirements included attaining at least two points, which implies two D grades in Form Six examinations for one to apply.
Pregnancies push 2,425 out of school
August 12, 2014
Country’s efforts of boosting literacy levels were dealt a blow following reports that more than 2,400 schoolgirls enrolled for secondary school education in Butiama District in the last three years got discontinued due to pregnancy.
According to Butiama District Commissioner Angeline Mabula, the matter had reached a critical level requiring serious action from local community and the leadership.
The DC said a total of 2,425 school girls were forced to suspend their studies after falling pregnant in 2011, 2012 and 2013. Butiama has 34 secondary schools, with an enrollment of girls of up to 4,702 (2011), 2,195 (2012) and 2,374 (2013).
Malala wins Nobel Prize
October 10,2014
A young Pakistani child education activist Malala Yousafzai, 17, was awarded the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize on Friday, October 10. She is the youngest Nobel prize winner.
Teacher shortage hurting Tanzania
October 14, 2014
Tanzania is one of the top ten countries globally with the highest projection of total number of teachers who have to be recruited by 2030.
According to a report released by the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) and the Education for All Global Monitoring Report on World Teachers’ Day, Tanzania needs to recruit at least 406,600 new teachers by 2030.
However, lack of funding and low production of teachers from higher learning institutions, among other reasons, is cited as major challenges facing the teaching profession. In Tanzania, training a teacher from nursery to university costs Sh100 million. The country has a shortage of 26,000 teachers, according to the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training.
Loans board paid Sh214m to ghost students
October 22, 2014
About Sh214.5 million was disbursed by the Higher Education Students Loans Board (HESLB) to discontinued students and those who had postponed their studies in 2012/2013 financial year.
According to the deputy Controller and Auditor General, Mr Benja Majura, the disbursement was against HESLB’s Lending Manual and Financial Regulations.
According to the manual, HESLB is required to consider students’ examination results before releasing the loans. The acting CAG warned that the trend, if left unchecked, might fuel misuse of funds by universities and loss of public funds due to failure by the Board to recover the money from beneficiaries.
Rakesh goes global, gets top post in the US
October 22, 2014
He gave hope to street children when no one cared about them. Then he became a prominent civil society leader. And now, two decades after he took up advocating social justice, Mr Rakesh Rajani is taking on the biggest challenge yet—as director of Democratic Participation and Governance for the US-based Ford Foundation.
It has been a long journey, but those who know him knew it was just a matter of time before Rakesh made it big time.
From a humble beginning working with street children in Mwanza in 1991 shortly after graduating from Brandeis University in the US, Mr Rajani will, come January 2015, join the league of Tanzanians who have taken on international leadership.
Govt commits to equip newly constructed labs
December 19, 2014
This might have come as relief to municipal councils and head teachers as the government has assured on the plans to enable newly constructed laboratories in secondary schools to acquire required equipment. The Deputy minister for Regional Administration and Local Government (Education), Mr Kassim Majaliwa, said under such plans the government has started disbursing Sh15 million to each school to purchase equipment.
According to Mr Majaliwa, a total of 75 schools had already received the money during the first phase of the programme. The other 75 secondary schools will receive the same amount each during the second phase that will start next January.
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