EDITORIAL: Salvage our education sector before it sinks

In yesterday’s issue of The Citizen, it was reported that the Mbarali District Council in Mbeya Region was to investigate claims that 300 out of the 536 Standard Seven pupils who were pronounced as having ‘passed’ their qualifying exams were downright illiterate. Yet, they were formally selected to join secondary education!

How on Earth could pupils with seven years of primary schooling be unable to read and write – and yet be officially selected to join secondary school? Whichever way one looks at it, this is wrong!

Indeed, education is not just a matter of passing school exams. Generally, education is an enlightening experience principally through the acquisition of knowledge, skills and values.

Therefore, for so many pupils to still be unable to read and write after seven relatively-long years in school – let alone acquire an inkling of mathematics – is ample testimony to grave weaknesses in our education system. And, for such exam failures to be shoved up the education ladder to secondary school (and, possibly, higher) is disgraceful. In our editorial yesterday, we urged the authorities – including the government – to heed the Tanzania Centre for Democracy chairman, Mr James Mbatia, on education.

This was especially regarding the decidedly poor quality of the education that continues to be dispensed in Tanzania.

It is basically the result of lack of enough numbers of fully-qualified teachers and other professionals in the education sector; sufficient numbers of schools or classrooms; adequately-equipped laboratories and libraries, as well as adequate teaching and learning equipment as well as materials of the right quality.

This is to say nothing of well-remunerated, properly-equipped teachers and other education personnel; the right incentives and friendly working environments – among others.

Let us salvage our education before it sinks.