Njombe orders holiday classes for 3,001 pupils struggling with basics

Njombe. More than 3,000 pupils across councils in Njombe Region, from Standard One to Standard Three, cannot read, write, or perform arithmetic, prompting Regional Commissioner Anthony Mtaka to order special boot camps to teach the children and address the challenge.

Mr Mtaka made the statements on Tuesday, August 11, 2026, when opening a working session preparing for the implementation of the "Jifunze Kijiji Changu" (Learn My Village) project funded by Uwezo Tanzania, held in Njombe Region.

He said council leaders in their respective areas have a duty to ensure they establish special evening classes, as is done for examination classes, to help these pupils acquire reading, writing, and arithmetic skills.

He said according to reports, 3,001 pupils from Standard One to Standard Three in Njombe Region can neither read, write, nor compute, which poses a grave danger to the future of those children.

"Therefore, Regional Education Officer, if it will not inconvenience you, for these children whom I have seen on paper, where 3,001 children in the region cannot read, write, or count, with 1,450 being boys and 1,551 girls, one school should be selected in each council to teach them the 3Rs," said Mr Mtaka.

He said during school holidays, instead of going home to rest, the time should be used in collaboration with parents and guardians to teach these pupils so they gain knowledge and learn to read and write.

He added that parents play a major role in enabling these pupils to master reading and writing by partnering with teachers and the child, making joint efforts imperative to prevent the nation from raising a generation lacking 3R skills.

He requested the Uwezo Tanzania organisation to assist with costs that will enable the Njombe regional administration to organise special classes to support pupils who cannot read, write, or count.

Njombe Regional Education Officer, Mr Nelas Mulungu said the learning project expects to reach not only Standard One to Three pupils, but also out-of-school children residing in respective villages who need to acquire reading, writing, and numeracy skills.

He said the project also aims to reach illiterate adults in Njombe Region, although arithmetic instruction will not apply to them.

He noted that the 3Rs is a national initiative launched by President Samia Suluhu Hassan to ensure all Tanzanians are literate, serving as part of the ruling CCM election manifesto.

"Our colleagues from Uwezo have come to support our regional plans so we can execute this scheme collaboratively," said Mr Mulungu.

An official from Uwezo Tanzania, Ms Judith Kimambo, said they arrived in the region to launch the "Kijiji Changu" project as part of efforts supporting President Hassan's initiative to ensure all Tanzanians master reading, writing, and arithmetic.

She said this is the fourth phase of the project, implemented in Njombe Region due to data presented by Regional Commissioner Anthony Mtaka showing local pupils struggle with basic 3R skills.

"Given the importance of literacy, we deemed it fit to bring this project, which will conduct assessments to identify children struggling with reading, writing, and counting so they can be placed in boot camps for training," said Ms Kimambo.

For his part, Mlangali Primary School early childhood teacher, Mr James Kalembwe, based in Ludewa District, said the "Kijiji Changu" project has yielded significant results compared to the past, as non-literacy levels among pupils have dropped.

"Ludewa is currently performing well academically, and many children know how to read and write compared to before this project was implemented," said Mr Kalembwe.

He thanked the government and Uwezo for delivering such projects, which have largely helped many pupils in Ludewa District learn to read, write, and calculate.