These are Dar’s worst performing schools

Dar es Salaam. Ilala District produced the highest number of poorly performing schools in the just-announced Form Four results in the country’s commercial hub, data shows.

The National Examinations Council of Tanzania (Necta) classifies examinations centres in accordance with the number of candidates.

For centres (schools) classified as having more than 40 candidates each class, Ilala produced nine on the list of 21 poorly performing schools.

This is equivalent to 42.9 percent of all the 21 schools, according to Necta data as analysed by The Citizen.

Temeke District comes second. It has six schools on the ‘list of shame’, representing 28.6 percent.

Ubungo and Kinondoni districts have contributed three secondary schools each, meaning that each of the two contributed 14.3 percent to the list of poorly performing schools in Dar es Salaam.

Kigamboni District emerged as the odd one out, with no school on the list of bottom 21.

In total, there were 221 secondary schools in Dar es Salaam that had over 40 candidates each in 2021.

The names of secondary schools from Ilala District and the positions each of them held out of 221 in brackets include: Zingiziwa (201); Kivule (204) and Pugu Station (205). Others are; Nyeburu (209), BintiMussa (210); Kisungu (212); Furaha (215); Chanika (216) and Mkera (217).

In Temeke, the list contains: Miburani (200); Malela (203); Kurasini (207); Kijichi (211); Wailesi (214) and Keko (220).

For Ubungo District, the schools are: Mugabe (202); Manzese (219) and Luguruni (221). In Kinondoni, the schools include: Mabwe (206), Turiani (208) and Makumbusho (218).

A total of 6,540 candidates had sat for their Form 4 examinations in the 21 schools but only 27, representing 0.4 percent scored Division 1 (One). Some 194 candidates scored Division 2 (Two), representing about three percent of the 6,540.

A total of 598 candidates scored Division 3 from the 21 schools, representing 9.1 percent while 3,146 more or 48.1 percent scored Division 4. A staggering 2,575 candidates, representing 39.4 percent of the candidates, returned to their parents with nothing to show after they scored Division 0 (Zero).

This means that if you put together the number of students who scored Division 4 and Division Zero, you get 5,721 candidates, representing 87.5 percent of all the students who had sat for their examinations in the aforementioned schools.

Most of the 21 schools have seen massive influx of students especially after the introduction of the Free Education Policy in 2015, which also resulted in a rise in enrolment of pupils in primary schools.

The trend challenged the government to improve learning infrastructures such as construction of classrooms, laboratories, toilets pit, desks as well as to increase the number of teachers.

The way the 21 secondary schools have performed could therefore raise the question of how the issue is quality is administered in the government’s thirst for raising the number of students who make it to secondary school.

Contacted for comments, Ilala City Council director, Mr Jumanne Shauri said experts will investigate to establish challenges facing the schools that performed dismally in the area.

“This is because schools cannot have similar challenges all over the district. That is the reason for the need of scientific investigations,” he said.

He said Covid-19 relief funds from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) provided by the president would end the classroom challenge estimated at 255.

Mr Shauri said his council will collaborate with schools, teachers and students in order to improve the standard and quality of education in the district.

“We will be required to dig deeper and establish what was the actual problem; teachers, students, syllabus or something else. The approach will enable the council to deal with the specific problem,” he said.

He hinted that in the move to address the challenge, the council will meet with teachers from respective schools.

Regarding availability of secondary schools teachers, Mr Shauri said they had enough arts teachers and a slight shortage of science teachers.”

Regarding secondary schools students travelling long distances to and from schools, Mr Shauri said the challenge has been significantly minimised.

“We have built a school at Mchikichini; Uhuru Mchanganyiko; Dar es Salaam Secondary, Buguruni etc where many classrooms have been built. Students are not required now to walk long distances to and from schools,” said Mr Shauri.

He estimated that the council was expected to record better results in the Form Two National Assessment (FTNA) results, next year.

While district executive directors for Kinondoni and Temeke could not be reached yesterday to react on the matter, their Ubungo counterpart, Ms Beatrice Dominic requested more time before responding.

“I haven’t collected enough data after the release of results. Today (yesterday), I have been busy visiting schools after schools that are opening,” she said.

(Reported by Louis Kolumbia, Halili Letea and George Helahela