BY WARYOBA YANKAMI
Thousands of land owned by government primary and secondary schools and even colleges may end up being invaded by untrustworthy persons because there are no demarcations and title deeds that guard them.
Speaking during the School Inspection Week in Kisarawe District, Coast Region on Tuesday, Eastern Zone (Coast and Morogoro) Chief School Inspector Vidajoyce Makunda, said most government schools and colleges are constructed on un-surveyed land and hence unscrupulous people may use this vacuum to put up individual structures.
She said the rate of land invasion and disputes is so high in the country and that he fears that unused land belonging to schools may end up falling in the hands of untrustworthy persons.
The Chief Inspector has therefore directed all district councils and education officers to ensure that they plant trees around the schools to act as boundaries.
She said this should be done when they are still waiting for Lands, Housing and Human Settlement Development ministry to survey the school ‘plots’.
According to her, the government took lands from individuals and promised to compensate them but until now it has not honoured its promise.
She said the government might end up paying huge sums of money as compensation since the value for land keep is appreciating.
However, she did not mention where and when the government took the said land.
“Many secondary schools, especially those which were established recently are constructed on wananchi’s land under agreement that they would be compensated or given another land but until now nothing has been done,” she said – probably referring to ward secondary schools.
Eliah Ng’orongo, head-teacher of Chanzige B, one of the inspected schools, told the Chief Inspector that he did not know the boundaries of his school.
The head-teacher said there are two schools on the same piece of land - Chanzige A and B - but the boundaries remain unknown.
This confirms the fears aired by the Chief Inspector that the schools’ land may end up being invaded.
School inspection in Kisarawe started on Tuesday. The inspection was mainly done to see how prepared primary schools were for the Standard Seven national examinations which kicked off yesterday and ended today.
Among others, the inspection established that some of the schools did not have the time table for the examinations.
Other schools were deemed to have poor sitting planning but all the same the exams are coming to an end today.
Among the inspected school included St Dorcus which is private and Chanzige A.
On Sunday, Tanzania Association of Managers and Owners of Non-Government Schools and Colleges (Tamongsco) urged the government to revoke the licences of private schools violating registration requirements.
Tamongsco Secretary General Benjamin Nkonya said in an exclusive telephone interview that the errant schools should not be allowed to continue with their operations “because they are undermining the reputation of others that abide by the country’s laws, rules and regulations”.
He said the association was aware of endless complaints from parents, guardians, students and education stakeholders about schools violating registration requirements with impunity and thus causing inconveniences to students and other members of the public.
“Some of these schools furnished the government with false data during registration, including that they have enough buildings and staff of their own,” noted Nkonya, adding: “Others operate only for a short while after registration merely as a way of obtaining money from unsuspecting students, before cleverly closing shop.”
He also referred to recent media reports about schools fond of transporting students using unauthorised, usually overcrowded, vehicles and therefore seriously endangering the students’ lives.
“There is this notorious tendency of owners of private schools lying that they have buses to move students around when they don’t have such facilities but instead they rely on private cars, mostly hired, which is unacceptable,” he added.
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