Twaweza Programe Officer, Richard Temu.
Despite efforts by the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training Authority research reports by education stakeholders still indicate a decline in literacy standards.
A new report by Uwezo at Twaweza launched last Wednesday at the National Museum hall titled ‘Are our Children Learning? Literacy and Numeracy in Tanzania’ shows that there are still too many challenges that affect the learning process in primary schools.
Commenting on the research findings education stakeholders have said that, it is time for everyone together to bring change.
The report was conducted in 2013 whereby Uwezo partners tested over 100,000 children, aged seven to 16, from 131 districts in all 25 regions in Tanzania.
It is expected that 100 per cent of children in Standard Three should be able to read basic English and Kiswahili and do simple Mathematics of Class Two level , a new report reveals that very few pupils are able to do that.
Presenting the findings Twaweza Programe Officer Richard Temu ,says that, in Kiswahili fewer than half of Standard Three children can read a Standard Two Kiswahili story. And four out of five children in Standard Seven can read a Standard Two Kiswahili story, meaning that 20 per cent of pupils complete Standard Seven without having mastered basic literacy skills in Kiswahili.
Talking about English language Temu says that, just two out of 10 pupils in Standard Three can read a Standard Two level English story. In Standard Seven, fewer than six out of 10 pupils can read a Standard Two English story. Almost half of Standard Seven pupils are illiterate in English, which is the language of instruction in secondary school.
Adding to that he said, just three out of 10 pupils in Standard Three can solve a Standard Two multiplication problem. By the time they reach Standard Seven, about three out of seven 10 cannot solve Standard Two multiplication.
Commenting on the report, Ezekiah Oluoch, the Secretary General of the Tanzania Teachers Union (TTU) says: “There is a lot that should be done to make sure education standards are improving but the government needs to be very careful with what they invest in Early Childhood Education given the fact that the budget is never enough as it caters for all ministries that will require trainings including lecturers’ scholarships.”
Adding to that he said, Tanzania only invests 1.4 of the Growth Domestic Product (GDP) towards the education sector. In order for a country to develop it needs to spend not less that 20 per cent of its budget to fully support basic education. And 5 per cent of its GDP should also go straight to basic education.
He further illustrated that, Kenya spends 7.5 per cent, Uganda 4.8 per cent and Burundi 3.2. Tanzania should expect a lot more of such reports if partners in the education failed to play their part.
Aidan Eyakuze, executive director of Twaweza East Africa, says that, none of the stakeholders will be happy with the research findings adding that it was the right time for everyone to join hands and help the nation’s children learn at their level.
“Parents, teachers, pupils, education stakeholders as well as the government should stand as one and make sure we do our part to support the education standards in the country,” says Eyakuze.
Part of the report reads that, more than nine out of 10 teachers (95 per cent) who were interviewed attained Form Four level of education and 86 per cent held a certificate, which is the minimum required qualification according to the Education Training Policy of 1995. When responding to questions soon after the report’s launch, Zaida Mgalla, manager at Uwezo asked if the invited guests from the ministry of Education attended the launch to respond to the questions that were to be answered by government officials, but none had attended.
Mgalla also commented on the fact that children who have mothers with formal education perform better: “Children in Standards Three and Four almost three out of four children whose mothers have post secondary education passed the Kiswahili test compared with less than four out of 10 children whose mothers had not attended school.”
Pupils whose mothers have post secondary education passed by 73 per cent, pupils whose mothers have primary/secondary education passed by 54 per cent and pupils whose mothers are not educated passed by 48 percent.
The report further shows that, teacher absenteeism reduces teaching contact hours which affects the learning process.
The survey found that, the average teacher attendance rate nationally was 75 per cent. In other words, one out of every four teachers was absent on the day of the Uwezo assessment.
Regions whose teachers seem to be more absent include Mwanza, Coast, Manyara, Rukwa, Morogoro, Mara, Shinyanga nad Mbeya. And regions whose teachers seem to attend classes are Kilimanjaro, Arusha, Kagera, Iringa Ruvuma, Tanga and Tabora.
Commenting on teachers’ absenteeism Mr Oluoch said that, some teachers leave school for further studies without formal acceptance by the head teachers after spending years at school without being considered for further education.
The Uwezo assessment concludes by stating that while most children are going to school, too many are not acquiring basic skills in numeracy and literacy. The data indicates that learning outcomes have not improved since 2010.
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