| CROSSROADS: More must be done to improve education system | Send to a friend |
| Saturday, 14 January 2012 20:17 |
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The Father of the Nation, Mwalimu Julius Nyerere was fond of saying education was for life. It was a pet theme throughout his presidency and thereafter. For sure, its absence or presence has a significant impact in the quality of our existence. Both formal and informal education matters for individual and national development, and is a very critical factor for success. Education as an acquiring knowledge starts shortly after birth and continues so long as one has working mind. Thanks to successive governments’ efforts, majority Tanzanians know the value of formal education. The purpose of formal education in any system is to lead those who take it to a better quality life through application of learnt knowledge, skills and experiences. The measure of success is not the number of degrees acquired but how well what is learnt is applied in solving personal and societal problems. For example, a standard seven leaver, with no opportunity to advance his/her formal education but applying the knowledge obtained to better life is better off than a university graduate who has been waiting for manna of jobs to fall from heaven, while doing nothing useful, just because s/he has good certificates! Useful formal education should build up learners to use ideas, theories and apply skills in everyday life. However, to reach that benchmark there are a number of components that create the synergy- government, teachers, parents, students, learning environment and the community at large. The components constitute what we call the education sector, and when one fails the rest are adversely affected. Our education system needs to change - be more practical than theoretical oriented as it is now, this will also create a good opportunity for graduates to employ themselves. It must also be flexible enough to changing demands of not only Tanzania but the world market as well. To prevent massive failures like those experienced in 2010 Form Four leavers, the government has from 2012 reintroduced Form Two national examination, which had been cancelled in 2008 so as to filter out those who couldn’t make it. Unfortunately, this action alone will not change the situation. The problem starts right from primary school, after the Standard Seven national examinations. The candidates do their national exams early in September. What does the government expect those kids to be doing the larger part of September, October, November and December? The almost four months they are out of school make them lose the momentum. Some education entrepreneurs have taken advantage to use that time for what they call pre-form one, but only the well to do families are able to afford that. Then we have the issues of teachers in primary and secondary schools that are disappointed lot. Lowly paid, their allowances are routinely delayed and provision of teaching aids is never guaranteed. There are many other woes afflicting the education system and contributes greatly to mass failures. When we come to education system in our motherland, some people at the government who oversee the sector have been sleeping on their job. No wonder graduate teachers will only take teaching posts in secondary schools as a last resort. For primary education it is worse, those with least grades and are unable to find anything to do, opt for education colleges, ending up as horrible teachers. Teaching as a profession is no longer something our youths look at for bettering their lives. The job environment is no longer attractive. For students from poor families Sh35, 000 examination fee may mean the end of their educational dream. Is the government ready to address all this challenges? I am not so sure. Saumu Jumanne is an Assistant Lecturer, Dar es Salaam University College of Education (DUCE) Add this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites           |
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