AfricaPress-Tanzania: THE government has appreciated the decision by the World Bank (WB) to dish out over US dollars 500million (over 1.15tr/-) to boost the education sector, stressing that adolescent mothers and pregnant girls would have the right to secure their right to education from alternative learning opportunities.
Chief government spokesperson, Dr Hassan Abbasi, made the revelation yesterday, noting that through the policy, the State had all along put in place alternative learning opportunities for adolescent mothers to continue with education.
“The question of letting pregnant school girls and teenager mothers continue with education is a matter that has been documented for a long time by the government and alternative ways for ensuring pregnant girls accessed the right to education were also explored years and years ago,” he said.
According to Dr Abbasi, adolescent mothers and pregnant girls would have the right to secure their right to education from alternative learning opportunities such as public vocational training institutes in the country.
Dr Abbasi who doubles as the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Information, Culture, Arts and Sports, made the statement during a TV interview on the 500 million US dollars approved by the World Bank to improve secondary schools’ education quality and infrastructures.
He said part of the funds from the WB would be channeled to vocational training institutes to improve the quality of education and infrastructure and thus provide a better learning environment for the victims of teenage pregnancies.
“Part of the funds in the WB Support in the Secondary Education Quality Improvement Project (SEQUIP) is to improve some of the vocational training institutes in order to improve the alternative learning system and put in place a good learning environment for school girls who become pregnant in public schools,” he said.
Other funds, according to Dr Abbasi, will be spent on improving education quality by constructing school infrastructures such as dormitories that will accommodate girls currently at risk of being trapped in pregnancy cycles as they walk for long distances to and from schools.
On the other hand, Dr Abbasi rubbished a statement by ACT Wazalendo that WB delayed releasing the funds over fears that they would be spent on the general election process by the ruling party (CCM).
He stressed that WB fund support was released according to the bank’s principles and not in accordance with the letter by ACT Wazalendo and Civil Society Organisations to the WB to block the release of the funds.
Dr Abbasi said that all funds released by WB to support the intended activities were strictly monitored by WB to ensure every single cent was spent on the intended activities and not otherwise.
