Africa-Press – Tanzania. EDUCATION and Vocational Training Minister Simai Mohamed Said on Monday unveiled his portfolio’s feats, acknowledging however some challenges that need urgent intervention.
He said although the first year of President Hussein Mwinyi in State House has registered admirable achievements, all is not well.
“We have a lot to celebrate, thanks to the impressive implementation of different programmes in education. But we need to work harder to overcome the remaining challenges,” Minister Simai said at a media briefing on the ministry’s performance since Dr Mwinyi assumed office on November 2, 2020.
Simai mentioned that among the achievements of the ministry so far, under President Mwinyi was the increase in student enrolment at all levels of education, providing teachers and students with learning and teaching materials, strengthening teacher training, and reviewing the curriculums.
Improvement of vocational training, strengthened partnerships with various local and foreign education development partners, and good planning for the construction of more buildings to tackle congestion in schools, are other successes in the past one-year, he said.
The ministry has also managed to improve learning environment for students or children with special needs by putting in place ramps in 68 schools and also one hundred ‘hearing Aid equipment’, 65 white cane, 40 braille machines, 40 voice recorders, ten computers, 17 telescopes, wheelchairs, artificial legs, and about 2319 eye glasses for people with visual impairment.
Mr Said mentioned the challenges as students’ dismal performance in national examinations due to poor learning environment, citing congestion in classrooms, shortage of teaching aids especially for science subjects at the preparatory and primary education levels.
“Another challenge is inadequate toilets and sanitary systems at many schools,” the Minister said, promising that the government through the ministry is committed to address all the challenges in the second year of the eighth phase administration.
He said the government’s allocation of 69bn/- from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan as stimulus package is for the improvement of the education sector, in areas impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic in the past two years.
The minister revealed that the money allocated to the education sector will be used to improve school infrastructure and learning environment that include construction or renovating buildings, improving sanitation, toilets and water system as well as improving the welfare of teachers who teach in small islands.
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