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Are we on the right path to education?By Serah Naisoi Education in Tanzania, at present, rests squarely in the centre of the overall development agenda. Today education’s influence on poverty reduction, inequality and economic growth is now widely accepted. Everybody knows , just as I do, that greater education for girls and boys has strong positive impacts on health of infants and children, on family nutrition and the next generation’s school attainment. We also know that an educated and skilled workforce is one of the cornerstones for a dynamic knowledge-based economy. Today, we see correlations between general levels of educational attainments, gender parity in education, and good governance. Indeed, sustainable development rests on the base of rising educational attainment. We need to vastly improve the standard of education such that our children can learn and reap the benefits provided by education. Today, in Tanzania education for all is going from a rallying cry to a reality. To achieve better results we must keep two simple facts in mind. First, progress through education comes from improving access and learning outcome for all students at all levels under a well chosen curricula. For example, it is not enough for us to continue to increase enrolment in schools. We also need to increase learning materials to cope with increase in enrolment. It is also not enough for us to be successful at one educational level. We must succeed in all levels. We must aim high, seeking broad gains in access to education for all our children. We must also strive to improve the quality of education at all levels i.e primary, secondary, and university level. Secondly, we must be frank in assessing the effectiveness of our past interventions. This frank assessment must guide our future actions. If it is lack of desks that is keeping our children away from school, surely we need to put the desks in. If it is lack of text books that is keeping our children away from school, surely we must buy the text books for our children. If it is lack of qualified teachers that is lacking, we need to train as many teachers as possible. If it turns out that it is lack of clean water that keeps our children away from school, then pipes with clean water should be put in place. If it is lack of chalk that is keeping our children out of school, surely we need to buy chalk. If it is lack of roads that is keeping our children out of school, we need to put the roads in. If it is lack of space that is keeping our children out of school, surely we need to build more classrooms and houses for our teachers. If it is lack of fees that is keeping our children away from school, surely we need to pay fees for our children. I could go on and on. But what we parents must realise is that improvement in educational standards should not be left in the hands of teachers alone. We must cooperate with teachers if the quality of education has to be improved. We should not see education merely through a sectoral lens. Rather we should, view education as part of a wider set of problems that without systematic change, hampers the capacity of our children to take control oft heir lives, to develop and prosper. Serah Naisoi is a Teacher, Prime Primary school Email: naisoiv@yahoo.com
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