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.
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