tanzania – Page 2

2011-01-26

Form IV 2010 Results

Form Four results from 2010 have been posted.

This is the first group of students who got a free pass through their Form II national exams on to Form III. The results are about what would be expected. Whereas previously, the Form II national exams weeded out the less serious students, now they continue on until their Form IV exams and fail there.

In those areas where TETEA works, the need for improved education for the rural youth is shown like never before.

Many rural schools had upwards of 70% of their students failing. Prospects look rather dismal in rural areas, with few rural students making the marks they need to go on to Form V or even Teacher’s Training College. The new ward schools (often just one building with maybe one teacher) made up the worst performing. One such school in Mtwara region had 50 out of 52 students receiving F’s in all of their subjects! Clearly, the expansion of physical school buildings through the Secondary Education Development Program still needs to be complemented with teachers, as well as learning and teaching materials. Nationwide only 50.4% of students taking the exam managed to pass (the pass mark being receiving a D or higher in two subjects out of seven core subjects). For more discussion of the nation-wide results, an article in The Citizen has a pretty good breakdown of the performance.

Another article about the exam results states that the percentage of students passing dropped an astounding 22% since 2009

2010-06-24

Tanzania Teacher Shortage

“Government Moves to Ease Shortage of Teachers” This article discusses the shortage of teachers that is being experienced in Tanzania. A major factor in the shortage at the secondary school level is the rapid increase in enrollment that has taken place over the last few years. The article reports that the number of students entering Form I has increased from 134,964 students in 2005 to 477,554 students in 2009. This rapid increase is due to the addition of many new schools and expanded enrollment in existing schools. It would be interesting to see these numbers for previous years as well. In 2004 Hagati Secondary, where I taught, expanded the number of Form I students from 80 to 120. In addition to this, the government built or took over three or four more schools in the area from which Hagati had formerly drawn students. So I imagine that 2004 saw a great increase in enrollment as well. The increased number of students at secondary schools isn’t even fully captured by numbers given. In 2008, I believe, the government abolished the rule that students had to pass an examination in Form II to continue to study. As a result the number of students in Forms III and IV have likely increased by an even greater percentage. While expanding access to education is wonderful, it would be nice if during such expansions as much effort was put into increasing the number of teachers as in increasing the number of students. If the number of Teachers’ Training Colleges were similarly expanded at the same time as, or, better yet, prior to, the secondary school expansion, then perhaps the shortage of teachers would not be so great. Instead an already existing shortage of teachers was greatly exacerbated. I only hope that the quality of education has not diminished too much as a result. Full article available on The Citizen Website

2010-06-19

Ruvuma Math/Science Teacher Shortage

“Defiant Science Teachers Weaken Education” http://allafrica.com/stories/201006160976.html This is a good article on the shortage of Ruvuma math and science teachers. Newly assigned teachers tend to ignore their placement to the region and end up at other, more developed, areas. What makes this article unique is it quantifies many of the losses.

2010-05-14

Library Project Continues

Thanks to our donors, work has begun on our library project. They have been plastering the walls, have put in the door and window frames, and are planning to pour the floor soon. Pictures of the work in progress are up on the Library Project page. Thank you to everyone who gave to make it possible to start this project. We are still nearly $8,000 short of our goal for the project, however. You can help by donating online.

2010-05-02

A-Level Results

Form Six results have been released for 2010. Available either on the Ministry of Education website or here:

http://www.tetea.org/alevel.htm

Also of note, examination fees for all Tanzanian students have been waived in 2010 for Form II, Form IV, and Form VI exams. Seen largely as a popular move in an election year, it does reduce the burden on families, as examination fees are equivalent to a year’s school fees in a government day school.