TIME TO ADDRESS SHAME OF FREQUENT EXAM LEAKS
It is unfortunate that public examinations continue to be shrouded in controversy year in, year out.
Lately, diploma examinations for health institutions leaked through social media platforms. Indeed, it is cause for concern, especially considering the sector’s importance to human health.
However, the Health ministry has intervened in this, ordering withholding the results as the authorities delve into the matter.
The ministry’s decision is laudable, as there is a real need to get to the bottom of the issues involved before exam leaks become widespread across all educational levels.
Rapidly-advancing technology is indeed simplifying things in almost all socioeconomic sectors, and can thus be used, abused and otherwise misused for narrower, selfish ends, including leaking examinations.
In this regard, it is imperative that the government matches the pace of technological advances so as to stem the tide of exams leakages, which can only produce otherwise unqualified – and, therefore, incompetent – “graduates.”
The Education and Health ministries should jointly come up with foolproof ways of restoring the integrity of our examinations.
Admittedly, it may be difficult to surmount this to begin with – if only because some unscrupulous examiners and teachers may be using this tactic to make money.
But, examination leaks must not be tolerated at all, and stern penalties should be meted out to the culprits involved to ensure quality educations at all times.
Cancelling dubious exam results will put otherwise innocent examinees into anguish at the prospect of re-sitting new exams for no fault of theirs. It is also unnecessarily costly all-round.
It is indeed time that examination leaks were nipped in the bud, starting with thorough investigations into the leak involving medical diploma exams – and let the chips fall where they may.
Ideally, there should never, ever again, be examination leaks in all the country’s socioeconomic sectors.
WALK THE TALK ON YOUTH
Perhaps for the umpteenth time, successor governments have been pledging privately and publicly to create a functional-cum-friendly environment for our youth to grow up in and socioeconomically develop on a sustainable basis.
The latest such pledge was yet again given by the Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office (Policy, Parliamentary Affairs, Youth, Labour, Employment and Persons with Disabilities), Ms Jenista Mhagama. This was when the minister was officiating at the commemoration of the fifth anniversary of the establishment of the agribusiness-related, youth-focused public limited company Jatu (Jenga Afya, Tokomeza Umaskini).
Jatu Plc is a State-owned company which is engaged in creating employment opportunities in agriculture, industry and marketing, and also empowering Tanzanians in good farming practices.
Starting with Sh1 billion in 2016, Jatu had grown that sum to a goodly Sh14 billion in a mere five years. The Jatu example is only a drop in the ocean of unemployment and other aspects which, if effectively addressed, could functionally contribute to all-inclusive sustainable socioeconomic development at both the family-cum-household and national levels.
Considering that more than 800,000 youth are spilled onto the jobs market in Tanzania annually, the government, development partners and other well-wishers must do better than that if we are to defuse the time bomb of unemployment that is already ticking away in our midst.
