Over 11,000 schoolchildren miss out on first selection to join Form I

Dodoma. At least 11,173 candidates (equivalent to 1.69 per cent), who passed the 2017 Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE), have missed out on the first selection to join secondary education next year due to a shortage of classrooms.

According to minister of State in the President's Office (Regional Administration and Local Government) Selemani Jafo, they will have to wait for the second selection.

He said 650,862 out of 662,035 candidates (equivalent to 98.31 per cent), passed the 2017 PSLE had been selected to join secondary education in the 2018 first selection.

The minister revealed that the number of candidates in the first selection had increased by 124,209 (equivalent to 23.58 percent) compared to 526,653, who were selected to join Form I, this year.

Rukwa leads other regions with 4,091 candidates, who missed out on the first selection followed by Mbeya (3,092), Simiyu (1,576), Manyara (1,268), Katavi (976) and Lindi (170).

At district council level, in Lindi Municipal Council, 170 candidates missed out on the first selection, in Chunya District Council (80), Mbeya District Council (207), Mbarali District Council (1,578) and Kalambo District Council (166). Others are Nkasi (1,318) Sumbawanga District Council (1,054), Babati District Council (581), Hnan’g (687), Mpanda District Council (262), Nsimbo District Council (714) and Busega District Council (1,207).

Mr Jafo assured parents, whose children had missed out on the first selection that the government was working hard to complete the construction of classrooms to ensure they joined secondary school in February (second selection).

He added that all those selected in the first selection had to report to their respective secondary schools by January 8, next year, failure of which their positions would be given to others. “Those to be selected in the second phase,” he said, “would report to their schools by February 15, 2018.”