New report reveals woes haunting free education in Tanzania

Dar es Salaam. Over 40 per cent of Tanzania’s adolescents miss out on secondary education even as the service is being offered for free in the country, according to a new report released yesterday by the Human Rights Watch (HRW).

In the report ‘I Had a Dream to Finish School’, WHR notes that shortage of secondary schools in rural areas, pre-entry exams, brutal punishments and government policy to expel pregnant or married girls from school as the key obstacles facing free education policy.

According to the 109-page report, the factors have prevented around 1.5 million adolescents from attending secondary schools and cause others to drop out.

Presenting findings of the study yesterday in Dar es Salaam, HRWs’ children’s rights researcher Ellin Martinez said many children were barred because they failed in the compulsory primary school leaving examinations, and the fact that they cannot reseat the exam.

The report is based on research conducted between January and November last year in the districts of Mwanza, Shinyanga and Tabora regins as well as two districts of Dar es Salaam.

According to her, government should also prohibit corporal punishments in schools and create confidence reporting systems so that students feel comfortable reporting abuse.

“The government should also investigate allegations of sexual abuse by teachers and prosecute the abusers, as it was also established among factors contributing to the dropout of many students,” she said.

“Tanzania’s abolition of school fees and contributions has been a huge step toward improving access to secondary education, but the government should do more to address the crowded classrooms, discrimination and abuse that undermine many adolescents,” she urged.

Ms Martinez said, the government has repeatedly committed to ensuring secondary education for all became possible. According to her, the study found school officials conducting regular compulsory pregnancy tests, an abusive and discriminatory practice saying in most cases, girls were not allowed to re-enroll after giving birth or unable to because of a lack of community support.

On the corporal punishment, the report also shows that they were brutal and humiliating, and affected student’s attendance. The report went on to explain corporal punishment as lawful in Tanzania in violation of its inrternatonal obligation and happens at alarmingly high rates.