SECONDARY SCHOOLS OPENING EFFECTED AFTER PAYMENT TO TENDERERS

BY THE GUARDIAN TEAM

16th April 2015

  Ministry commends headteachers, demands district authorities be tasked.

Shadow Minister for Education and Vocational Training, Suzan Lyimo.

Head teachers from closed secondary schools in at least two regions have agreed to reopen their schools after government officials reassured them of funding to mitigate food shortages that saw them close  their  schools  last week.

Meanwhile, Shadow Minister for Education and Vocational Training, Suzan Lyimo yesterday criticised the government for wanting to take punitive measures against Headmasters who closed their schools.

According to her, it is the government that is responsible for the crisis and as such, it should not blame the school heads.

Lyimo maintained that there is no logic in taking action against teachers but instead, she said it is the district directors who did not send funds to the school that ought to be punished.

 “The school heads were trying to avert a catastrophe…they were protecting the students and I commend all school heads who decided to take preemptive action,” she said.

“I am shocked to hear that those heads of schools are to punished instead of those who failed to deposit the funds...that is unfair,” asserted the Shadow Minister.

 “The government is aware that our children are going to sit for their exams very soon but instead of finding the immediate solution to get food they are complaining and blaming teachers,” she decried. 

In Tabora, an emergency meeting was convened mid this week by the Tabora Regional Education Officer in which he asked them to reopen their school’s on Thursday (today) and guaranteed them funding for food.   

Teachers there and elsewhere in the country refute government’s claim that it has paid food suppliers all their dues up to last month and so there is no food shortage in schools.

 “We are puzzled by the decision of the government to have affected schools re-opened while it is aware of the persisting problem,” a Tabora Girls’ Secondary School teacher who opted for anonymity told this paper.

“We are even forced to take some of the money allocated for academics to purchase food for the remaining Form VI students,” the source revealed.

 “It was resolved at the meeting, the Head teachers will have students return on Thursday (today) and each of the schools will be given money to purchase food,” the source said.

In Tabora Region, four secondary schools had been closed for shortage of food, these are Tabora Boys and Girls, Kazima and Mirambo Boys secondary schools.

Similarly, in Kagera Region, where at least seven schools had been closed, authorities have now ordered them reopen reassuring the Head teachers that monetary differences with food suppliers have been resolved.

Kagera Regional Commissioner John Mongella told reporters yesterday that the decision was made after the regional administration held a lengthy but fruitful discussion with food suppliers.

Affected secondary schools in the region were Rugambwa, Kahororo, Ihungo, Nyakato, Rukore Kabanga and Muyenze.

Mongella patched the government’s debt to food suppliers there at an estimated 900m/- but nonetheless blamed the schools for closing without consulting with the authorities.

The Kagera Regional and District Education Officers Association Chairman, Juma Kaponda, maintained that the government did indeed pay 8.4bn/- to the suppliers last month.

“It is possible that some local authorities delayed allocating the funds to the respective schools and because the schools did not get the funds in time they faced food shortages,” he explained.

However, he offered no details as to punitive measures to be taken against the local authorities that delayed the allocation of funds and caused the schools to close.

On his part, the Tanzania Association of Managers and Owners of Non-Governmental schools and Colleges (Tamongsco) Secretary General, Benjamin Nkonya, has advised the government to seek support from the private sector to finance the education sector and avert such unnecessary interruptions in the education sector.

He said: “The budget for the education sector is insufficient because of the big number of students, and hence the need to seek assistance from the private sector.” 

Tanzania Teachers Union President, Gratian Mkoba, advised the government not to threaten head teachers who closed schools because of the shortage but rather to resolve the food shortage dilemma.

“I have already received calls from some teachers who said they were afraid they might lose their employment,” he said.

“I want to assure them that nothing will happen to them because if there is no food what should teachers give students to eat?” 

Mkoba queried noting that closing the schools was not the decision of individual Head teachers but a consensus of their respective school committees.

On Monday, the Permanent Secretary (PS) in the Prime Minister’s Office - Regional Administration and Local Government (Tamisemi), Jumanne Sagini, directed all DED to take stern measures against school heads for closing their schools without government authority.

He maintained that no student should be sent home because of the food shortage but did not give any details as to how the shortage will be resolved. 

However, as stated, the Shadow Minister for Education and Vocational Training, Suzan Lyimo yesterday criticized this order as illogical and demanded local government authorities that failed to disburse the funds be put to task.

SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN