Covid-19: Tales of woe by Tanzanian parents children as schools remain closed

Prime Minister Kassim

Dar es Salaam. Parents are currently hard-pressed to try and set up a school-like environment in their homes to support their children in catching up with school work.

This includes setting up quiet spaces, providing equipment such as internet connected computers - and, where possible, temporarily hire tutors, doing so under astute management.

The situation follows the government’s directive announced by Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa that schools, colleges and universities should close for 30 days in efforts to arrest spread of the coronavirus pandemic.

Parents and guardians whospoke to The Citizen said they had made no preparations for the disruption, hence forcing families and school administrators to figure out how to help children learn at home.

“Our house is small, shared by ten family members. I simply can’t concentrate onstudies the way I do in school environment,” says Fatma Moses, 18, a Form Six student who resides at Mawenzi in the city.

“Some of my school colleagues come from well-to-do families. It’s easy for them to access the internet via smartphones or computers - and, yet, we will be sitting for the same exams in May,” she says, somewhat ruefully.

Her father, Mr Moses Abdallah, says providing such facilities for her daughter is an uphill task for him.

“I’ve four daughters. My dream is to provide all of them with good education, but my financial situation is bad - and the coronavirus has complicated matters further for me,” he says - adding that the disruption will definitely affect performance in this year’s exams.

“My daughters were advised to search for content online. I don’t own a smartphone - and don’t know I can help them,” he laments.

Most schools have advised parents to help their children continue studying from home. This has proved another challenge for parents who have never seen inside a classroom.

“All my six children are in secondary school. We all live in a two-bedroom house. So, this house is already congested. It’s not suitable for school work,” says Mwinjuma Solomon, 42, a resident of Buza on the outskirts of Dar es Salaam.

“Encouraging children to complete their homework, yet I don’t know how to read is often difficult,” he says, adding: “managing my daily business which has also been hit as well as family obligations on a tight budget is a nightmare.”

Two of Mr Solomon’s daughters expect to sit for their Advanced Level examinations in May. They are aged 20 and 21 respectively.

“Life expenses are high. I need at least Sh20,000 a day for food and other needs. A martphone, a laptop or even a desktop computer are out of bounds for my family,” he explains.

A similar situation is facing Ms Catherine Msuya, a widow who is based at Mbagala.

Her son, Mathias, 15, a form four student, needs to be online for assignments and he needs guidance from a parent.

“My son told me to help him with some assignments online. How can I do that while I’m not schooled? And, I can’t afford hiring a private tutor for him. So, he struggles on his own,” she says.

“This situation is a real test for some of us,” says Mr Obedi Moshi,42, a parent of Buguruni who didn’t succeed even completing primary education.

“We’re being forced to become both a teacher and a parent. It’s tough especially for some of us who don’t have older children who could help their young brothers and sisters,” he notes.

Consequences for students

A lecturer from the Department of Education at the University of Zanzibar observers that students from low-income households are often at a disadvantage. Financial limitation is always a problem.

“They are more likely to face consequences related to assignment delays, hence losing points,” says Dr Mohammed Ali Abdi.

“If no vaccine if found early to contain Covid-19, it will create a crisis never seen before in all spheres of life, particularly in education,” he warns.

Teachers say there is no option currently other than for parents to help their children learn from home.

“Performance will surely be affected this year, this is especially so for those expected to write their exams in this year,” Mr Renatus Mwenda, headmaster of Marian Boys Secondary School told The Citizen.

Mr Gradius Ndyetabula, the head-teacher of St Anne Marie Academy concurs with Mr Mwenda saying the outcome will among other things impact negatively on academic performance of students.

“At school, we have good and right environment for studying. Now parents and guardians should give both preventive education and remind their children to keep studying,” he says.

“If this disease persists, the government will have to think differently of the fate of students who are to sit for national examinations,’ he adds.