Ban on textbooks faulted
A photo taken on April 23, 2010 shows pupils going through books at the National Library grounds in Dar es Salaam during a reading extravaganza. Some stakeholders have complained that banning private firms from publishing school textbooks is unfair and won’t work. FILE | PHOTO
What you need to know:
- The government decision allegedly came after complaints about poor quality and errors in textbooks published by private firms.
- While some stakeholders who spoke to The Citizen at the weekend expressed disappointment following the government decision saying it would further sink the country’s education sector, others supported the move.
Dar es Salaam. There were mixed reactions from stakeholders at the weekend after the government banned private companies from publishing textbooks for primary and secondary schools.
The government decision allegedly came after complaints about poor quality and errors in textbooks published by private firms.
While some stakeholders who spoke to The Citizen at the weekend expressed disappointment following the government decision saying it would further sink the country’s education sector, others supported the move.
The Publishers Association of Tanzania executive secretary (Pata), Mr Benito Mtulo, said the association “has been saddened by the government’s decision” which was made before consulting them.
HakiElimu research and policy analysis manager Godfrey Bonaventura differed with the other stakeholders, applauding the government’s decision.
“We’ve received the news with sheer delight as the decision would lead to improved quality in the education sector. We hope students will now have textbooks of good quality contrary to what is the case currently,” he said.
However, the director of E&D Vision Publishing, Ms Elieshi Lema, said she had received the news with surprise, saying the government’s decision was in total contradition of reality.
