Classroom shortage cited as big free education drawback
Classroom shortage cited as big free education drawback
What you need to know:
The shortage means that over 300, 000 primary school pupils and 32,000 secondary school students cannot be accommodated in classrooms if the student to classroom ratio for primary school is 45:1 and 40:1 for secondary schools.
Dar es Salaam. The government’s grand plan of providing free education is facing yet another test following reports that regions are facing a shortage of 7,514 classrooms in primary schools and 803 in secondary schools.
The shortage means that over 300, 000 primary school pupils and 32,000 secondary school students cannot be accommodated in classrooms if the student to classroom ratio for primary school is 45:1 and 40:1 for secondary schools.
Further analysis indicates that Sh141.5 billion would be required to construct required classrooms using Force Accounts in school committees at an estimated cost of Sh17 million per classroom , Sh207.9 billion would be required for the same purpose using other contractors at an estimated cost of Sh25 million per classroom.
Speaking during the swearing in ceremony for new district commissioners of the five Dar es Salaam districts, Regional Commissioner Paul Makonda directed them ,among other things, to address shortage in their respective areas of jurisdictions.
“Ensure the government’s pledge to provide free and quality education to our children is implemented through construction of new classrooms to address the 7,514 shortage for primary schools and 803 for secondary schools in the region,” he said.
Speaking to The Citizen in a telephone interview, Dar es Salaam Regional Education Officer, Mr Raymond Mapunda, said the challenge was even serious because the region had no spare land on which to build classrooms.
He remarked: “Where do you build classrooms in areas like Tandale for instance or Maji Matitu on the outskirts of the city? The remaining option we have is to construct storeyed buildings, but this is very expensive.”
According to regional statistics, while Temeke requires 2,810 new classrooms for primary schools, Ilala needs 2,450 and Kinondoni 2,253. Kinondoni requires 345 new secondary school classrooms, Temeke 269 and Ilala 189. In January this year, primary schools across the country were reported to be overwhelmed by pupils following increased number of pupils enrolled for Standard One after the government has started implementing its pledge to provide free education.
