AfricaPress-Tanzania: THE Tanzania Association of Managers and Owners of Non-Government Schools and Colleges (TAMONGSCO) have urged the government to encourage regular school-work related programmes on electronic media, especially in this emergency school holiday.
The move will serve in keeping the children busy for revising what they have been taught in schools, instead of spending much time in watching cartoons and other non-educative programmes on Televisions, TAMONGSCO National Chairperson, Mr Leonard Mao told this paper yesterday.
Again, Mr Mao said the move would help promote equal academic performances between private and government schools.
Some private institutions had started sending revision materials to their children through on-line, thus, media programmes should be especially for those with no access to internet services.
“The Association members have raised this concern in recalling the way such kinds of media programmes were effectively practiced and helpful to children during Mwalimu Nyerere’s era.
We see no difference between the first and this fifth-phase government, in terms of responsiveness, hence, we believe our call will be taken into consideration,” he said, insisting that: The immediate suspension of school and college programmes came in as a preventive measure against the outbreak of Covid-19 whose existence period remains unpredictable; hence, media programmes will play a big role throughout the holiday, especially if extend Mr Mao reiterated that what TAMONGSCO fought for was promoting equal academic performances between private and government schools, adding: “it should be remembered that we (private), are not competitors of the government but development partners.
We want both private and government schools to produce the best competitive products in the employment market everywhere in the world.”
According to him, TAMONGSCO has observed lots of challenges in the education sector, and that it has already sent a request to have an audience with President John Magufuli, and present to him their suggestions on how best to mend the performance gap between public and private schools.
He said the Association requested the Head of State to also invite education stakeholders since they have a lot of things they want to share with the president in line with improving the education sector.
While TAMONGSCO calls on media programmes, the Minister for Education, Science and Technology, Prof Joyce Ndalichako had over the weekend directed regional and district commissioners as well as districts executive directors to take legal actions against those who conduct extra studies (tuition) as the government intensifies measures to contain COVID-19.
“Stern legal and disciplinary measures should be enforced to those who conduct tuition as it is against the government measures to combat the spread of the coronavirus”, she said.
Prof Ndalichako called upon parents to keep close monitoring of the children at this time when the government has banned public gatherings to contain the spread of the disease.
The government suspended learning in the schools for thirty days effective 17th, last month, after the country registered the first confirmed case of the viral disease.
