Wamiliki wa viwanda Tanzania waokoeni wakulima.

 

You may not change the world today. But we both know you have to power to inspire+uplift+ ENcourage one person today. And when you do--you WILL change the world.

        Why our students relapse into ignorance.

Correspondent GERALD KITABU interviewed Masozi David Nyirenda, a Specialist in Education Planning, Management, Economics of Education and Policy Studies on increasing rate of illiteracy in schools. Excerpts:

QUESTION: I understand that in the past two years there has been public outcry from various education stakeholders on the increasing rate of illiteracy in our schools, especially in primary and secondary schools. What is the level of literacy at present?

ANSWER: Thank you. First of all let us define literacy. According to UNESCO, literacy is defined as the "ability to identify, understand, interpret, create, communicate, compute and use printed and written materials associated with varying contexts. Literacy involves a continuum of learning in enabling individuals to achieve their goals, to develop their knowledge and potential, and to participate fully in their community and wider society." 

Literacy is often measured through two different categories namely, youth literacy (age group 15-24) and through adult literacy (age group 15 and above). 

While the first ratio relates measures more particularly the success of the education policy in terms of school coverage and learning achievement, the second ratio focuses on adults, as citizens and productive member of the workforce. 

Learning to read means learning to decode and, or interpret a written language. The ability to read requires basic reading skills such as: awareness in sounds of the language; awareness of print (letters); and the ability to identify the relationship between the letters and the sounds. 

That is, reading in a language made up of alphabetic letters involves two things:  to relate the sounds to printed or written letters; and to understand the meaning of individual words and printed text.

Adequate mastery of the basic reading skills includes: a lot of practice; exposure to reading instruction; and appropriate strategy and motivation to comprehend the written language. 
The easiest ways to learn to read in different orthographies (alphabetic writing systems) are those which have only one letter for each phoneme (one-to-one or transparent letter-sound correspondence) e.g. Kiswahili, Finnish, Italian. 

Children only need to learn a small set of letter-sound correspondences. They will be able to read all the possible words in that language. The most difficult orthographies are those in which letter-sound correspondences are irregular, inconsistent or ‘opaque’ e.g. English. There are few or none clear rules on how letters and sounds are supposed to be matched.

Q: What does Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) say about literacy? 

A: The Millennium development goals (MDGs) provide international milestones which should be covered by various countries in order to ensure the lives and environment of the citizens of these countries are improved. The two MDG goals that focus education are both relevant to literacy: MDG 2 because it deals with Universal primary education (UPE), the touchstone for youth literacy; and MDG 3 because one of it measures the ratio of literate females to literate males. 

Literacy problem does not face Tanzania only. Estimates show that there are more than 800 million people worldwide who cannot read and write. It is about 64percent among these are women and children. In Africa, about 21 nations have adult literacy rates below 50 percent and overall 4 of every 10 Africans (two-thirds of them women) are illiterate. 

The UNDP Report on illiteracy levels worldwide of 2009, show that most of African countries are ranked below 80. Seychelles which lead among the African countries ranks 87 worldwide with 91.8percent literacy, Zimbabwe follows at rank number 88, with 91.2 percent literacy rate, while the third among African countries is Namibia which ranks 106 with 85.0percent literacy rate. Tanzania ranks at 136 with literacy rate of 69.4percent. 

The rest of African countries are below rank of 100, with countries such as Chad (25.7percent), Mali (24.0percent) and Burkina Faso (23.6percent) takes the three last positions. 
Let us look at the current literacy situation in Tanzania. 

By the mid-1880s, Tanzania was one of the countries with the highest literacy rates in Africa, reaching 98 percent. Tanzania has experienced a 20 per cent drop in literacy rate for the past 30 years, a situation that is deeply worrying education stakeholders in the country.  In the 1980s Tanzania had a literacy rate of over 90 percent but recent studies as compiled by a UN agency showed that this had dropped to 72 perecent (UNESCO, 2012) The current literacy rate of people ages 15 and above who can, with understanding, read and write a short, simple statement on their everyday life is 72.9 (UNESCO, 2009).

Children at age 13 complete primary education without adequate reading and writing skills, e.g. about 5,200 children who had been selected to join secondary education in 2012 were found they could not read or write (MoEVT, 2012).

Research findings about reading situation in primary education in Tanzania, from a national survey with children who had completed standard 7 (Uwezo, 2010) show low performance especially in reading and writing skills as follows: one in five primary school l leavers cannot read standard 2 level Kiswahili; only 3 in 10 standard 3 pupils can read basic Kiswahili story; only 1 in 10 standard 3 pupils can read basic English story; oonly 3 in 10 standard 3 pupils can do basic Mathematics; only 50 percent of the children involved in the study could read the words correctly; about 30 percent  of them did not write any of the words in the test instrument correctly; about 45 percent  of the children identified less than four out of ten sounds in the test instrument; children made errors of omission (e.g. of consonant cluster – ndani written as dani), addition ( of Y – kimbiya - or W – huwona - and substitution of letters – L for R and vice versa. 

Q: Are there any initiatives to enhance learning environment?

A:  According to Dr. Ngorosho of the University of Dar es Salaam, there are a variety of initiatives to enhance the learning environment for reading skills in the primary schools in Tanzania such as: To support the acquisition of basic reading skills of children in Tanzania through a synthetic phonic approach; To use Kiswahili version of the Finnish literate game  (Graphogame); the  Graphogame is a digital game environment for learning basic reading skills; the game focuses on the connections between spoken and written language (i.e. sounds and written language); and importance of early screening of children at risk of reading and writing difficulties.

Also in the list are development of a group-based screening instrument in Kiswahili language for identifying readers at risk of developing reading and writing difficulties (Kalanje, 2011); actions to support the development of children in the risk zone of becoming poor readers; and creation of an intervention programme (Kumburu, 2011).

It is inevitable fact that literacy is a vital ingredient in the fight against poverty. Reading, writing and numeracy skills are increasingly required for even the simplest jobs.

Education for service, not for selfishness.

 

 

On 14th October, 2012, Tanzanians in the country and abroad commemorated Nyerere Day, which is a public holiday, set aside in order to find time to celebrate the life of the first President of Tanzania, Mwalimu Julius Nyerere. A number of symposiums, workshops, public displays and many more were organised worldwide.

In this column, I present an abridged version of an article titled “Mwalimu and the State of Education” written by Chambi Chachage, which appeared in the book named “Nyerere”. The original version appears in the website: http://fahamubooks.org/book. This abridged version has obtained written permission from both the original writer and the publisher.

In the last two weeks I presented two articles based on Nyerere’s speeches on ‘The Power of Teachers’ delivered in 1966, and ‘A Great Urge for Education’ which was delivered in 1954. Today’s article will be the last and is based on Nyerere’s speech on ‘Education for Service and not for Selfishness’.

Mwalimu Nyerere’s 1999 call for ‘Education for Service and Not for Selfishness’ was an attempt to couch his 1967s policy of ‘Education for Self-Reliance’ and 1974’s motto of ‘Education for Liberation’ in “the parlance of today”. As The Open University of Tanzania (1999) reminds us, it was ‘His Last Words on Education’. Therefore we have to pay particular attention to it as it sums up his overall stance on this theme.

He starts by using the Maxim gun as an analogy of education, poetically reminding us that it will be used by those who have it against those who do not. “The instrument of domination of the future”, he aptly predicts, “is going to be education.” He then optimistically assures us that fortunately “in the acquisition of that instrument we can all compete and all win with honour” (Nyerere 1999:3). Unfortunately as the statistics cited above indicate, this is not what we are doing. In fact we have created a system that ensures that there is no ‘place for everyone at the rendezvous of victory’ to use a phrase that popularized by his contemporary, Aimé Césaire.

A seasoned educator had this to say about such a system: “Tanzania has a deeply unequal, dualistic education system, one for the rich, and one for the poor, with an education system of ‘best’ public schools for the middle classes. This stands in stark contrast to the principles of equity and justice promoted by Mwalimu. The marker of difference is no longer race as it was in the colonial days, but class. We may find, shortly, that class inequalities are far more divisive, bearing within them profound implications for social cohesion in the country (Marjorie Mbilinyi 2004:xvi)”.

It is in this class sense that Nyerere urges us to enter what he refers to as “this honourable competition for knowledge” if “we do not want to be the permanent source of the hewers of wood and drawers of water for the educated of this world” (Nyerere 1999:4). To do so, he reiterates his lifelong position, our primary school education should be universal. As gender conscious as he was when he penned his essay on ‘The Freedom of Women’ in 1944 at Makerere, Mwalimu Nyerere warns us that if this education is not universal “those who will miss out will be mostly girls.” In light of this caution it is worthy to commend the government for allowing pregnant girls to continue with their studies upon giving birth. In this honourable competition, as Mwalimu admonishes us, our education should be of good quality.

His insistence on this attribute is too powerful and still very relevant today therefore it deserves to be quoted in full: “Primary education in particular should be excellent; for this is the only formal education that most Tanzanians are likely to receive. At present the quality of our primary school education is appalling. We must do something about it, as a matter of National urgency. Apart from the fact that it is the education of the vast majority of the citizens of Tanzania, it is also the foundation of the whole of our Education System. Ndiyo Elimu ya Msingi. If it is poor the rest of our Education System is bound to suffer (Nyerere 1999: 4)”.

It is an indisputable fact that our secondary and tertiary education is suffering because of this appalling msingi (foundation). Other statistics, apart from the ones cited above, that prove this are those on the percentage of students passing the Form 4 Examinations. As HakiElimu & IDASA (2009) observed, BEST2009 indicates that even the “only slight improvement from 33.6% in 2006 to 35.7% in 2007” (URT 2007: 30) presented in PHDR2007 did not occur after all. Rather, it was further observed, the rate stagnated at 35.6% for both years and it deteriorated further to 26.7% in 2008. This indicator only includes students who get Division 1 - 3. Ironically, overall, most students get Division 4 which is still not considered as a failure by the Ministry responsible for Education. In fact it was also observed that since 2000 over 50% students have been getting this Division, the peak being 56.9% in 2008. The results for 2009 were not out by the time I, the author of this chapter as well as HakiElimu & IDASA (2009) report, was writing.

Mwalimu also notes that our education should be relevant to our needs. We cannot compete if the majority of our people and their posterity live in villages and yet “we refuse to give those children an education that could help them to improve their own lives in the villages” (Nyerere 1999: 6). It is in this regard that Mwalimu Nyerere advocated for a policy of Education for Self-Reliance which aimed at providing a complete education by the time students completed their primary education. It is also in this regard that Mwalimu Nyerere thus conceptualized Education for Liberation, as quoted here:

“I emphasize this point because of my profound belief in the power of education. For a poor people like us Education should be an instrument of liberation; it should never be so irrelevant or otherworldly as to become an instrument of alienation. Alienation from yourself, because it makes you despise yourself; an alienation from the community in which you live because it purports to make you different without making you useful to anybody, including yourself (Nyerere 1999: 6)”.

It is thus a saddening fact that a significant number of our students complete their primary, secondary or even tertiary education without the requisite skills for competing in the so-called global village. As HakiElimu’s (2008) What is Quality Education? A Research on Citizens’ Perspectives and Children’s Basic Skills reveals, the overall competency levels in Mathematics – a subject that is the basis of computation – was very low for both primary and secondary school students. It also revealed that their reading skills in English – the so-called ‘Kiswahili of the World’ – were poor developed, especially in primary schools even though they were – and are still – required to be taught in English when they enter secondary schools. Indeed this area of language policy is one of the areas that Mwalimu is said to have regretted for failing to change. It is about time that we rectify this confused language policy if we are to ensure that knowledge is really transferred from the teachers to the students. That can be done through a language that both teachers and students are familiar with. In the case of Tanzania such a language is Kiswahili.

In his conclusion (as quoted below) Mwalimu thus adds another important ingredient that we relatively lack today:

“Finally, our education, especially our higher education, should be socially responsible. Education for Self-Reliance is not Education for Selfishness. Yes, it is for Self-Reliance of the individual, but it is also for the Self-Reliance of our country. I believe that the community has a responsibility to educate its members. The need for individuals to contribute directly to their own education and the education of their children cannot absolve the community as a whole, represented by local and central government, from its duty to assist every Tanzanian to receive a good education. But a poor country like Tanzania cannot afford to educate the selfish. It invests in education in the belief that such investment is good for both the individual concerned and for the community as a whole. In the language of yesterday: Education for Self-Reliance, especially at this higher level, should also be Education for Service. Not all of us will have the same concept of community, but all of us have a need to belong. However socially insensitive we may be, we have a need to belong to a community of fellow human beings. No human can make it alone. Nobody is asking us to love others more than we love ourselves; but those of us who have been lucky enough to receive a good education have a duty also to help to improve the well-being of the community to which we belong: it is part of loving ourselves! (Nyerere 1999: 9-10)”

 

Conclusion

Mwalimu Nyerere’s legacy is tied to the history/herstory of the education sector in Tanzania. His regime produced positive as well as negative results in the education realm. In the case of the former Universal Primary Education (UPE) stands out. I am convinced that in the case of the latter the confused Language of Instruction (LOI) policy stands out. It is in this regard I agree with the assessment that ‘Nyerere’s own views were also contradictory, in that he endorsed both developmentalist and emancipatory ones” whereby the “former prioritized experts, rather than mobilization of the people to organize on their own behalf.” (Mbilinyi 2004: xiii).

However, I do not endorse the assessment that his policy on education was a total failure.

No one is better posed to respond to their historical amnesia than Mwalimu himself. I doubt he had a better response than this. He commented: “At the World Bank the first question they asked me was ‘how did you fail?’ I responded that we took over a country with 85 per cent of its adult population illiterate. The British ruled us for 43 years. When they left, there were 2 trained engineers and 12 doctors. This is the country we inherited. When I stepped down there was 91-per-cent literacy and nearly every child was in school. We trained thousands of engineers and doctors and teachers. In 1988 Tanzania's per-capita income was USD280. Now, in 1998, it is USD140. So I asked the World Bank people what went wrong. Because for the last ten years Tanzania has been signing on the dotted line and doing everything the IMF and the World Bank wanted. Enrolment in school has plummeted to 63 per cent and conditions in health and other social services have deteriorated. I asked them again: ‘what went wrong?’ These people just sat there looking at me. Then they asked what could they do? I told them have some humility. Humility - they are so arrogant! (Nyerere in Bunting 1999)”

Many parents can’t afford schooling. A lot of students are not learning. Let’s have some humility.

 

-------------------------

 

Shocking rate, implications of school girls` pregnancies.

 

The case study of schoolgirl’s pregnancies in Handeni District of Tanga Region is, to put it mildly, too shocking to pass without the strong comments it deserves.

What has been revealed about schoolgirls pregnancies in the area, however, may not be all that new. It is the latest development on initiatives being made top cope with the problem which has spurred a new debate on this issue of national significance we tend to take for granted.

Sobering facts about schoolgirls pregnancies in Handeni are as follows:

We are told that last year 900 girls dropped out of school due to the pregnancy factor alone. It has also been reported that in one school which enrolled 96 boys and 96 girls four years ago, only 26 girls and 76 boys are expected to sit for the Form Four examinations at the end of the year.

We note from the above mentioned incident that more than 70 per cent of the girls have prematurely lost their self advancement opportunity due to untimely pregnancies, compared to less than 20 per cent of the boys who, for one reason or another, have also failed to complete their ordinary level studies. The contrast, however, is clearly significant.

The source of concern here is that what is happening in Handeni is not an isolated case. A similar situation prevails in many other districts, especially in rural areas.

Reasons behind this trend, which is not supposed to be entertained in the 21st Century society, are more or less the same and don’t seem to be contained at a desired pace.

At the core of the problem is failure by parents to appreciate and value the importance of education to girls. This is an old mentality, but one fails understand why it is still prevalent among some citizens in many areas of the country, 50 years after independence.

As a result of this attitude, we are told parents of schoolgirls who get impregnated are not upset by the otherwise bad news, but are willing to settle the matter at family level, and where possible, fix quick marriages between their daughters and those responsible for the pregnancies - that is where the latter opt not to be elusive.

As far as such parents are concerned, it is fine for their daughters to get married at the expense of terminating their studies as, after all, one of the life achievements of any woman is to be married and produce children! Behind this mentality, however, is the appetite for getting dowry, which today is paid in cash form - and some parents demand a substantial amount of what is derogatorily also referred to as bride-price. Is living in poverty enough reason to explain or rationalize this kind of behavior? Let sociologists give us some explanation on this one.

The question of moral degeneration is also cited as another reason behind this social problem. Cases of schoolgirls impregnated by randy adults supposed to be their parents are well documented.

The most disturbing trend however, is where the victims are put in this kind of situation by their teachers and close relatives at home, who are expected to play the role of guardians. This scenario simply reflects moral decadence at it worst. Does it not?

As hinted at the beginning, the Handeni case is attracting attention because of the latest developments related to the theme under discussion. A recently appointed District Commissioner, one Muhingo Rweyemamu, is reportedly tackling the problem of schoolgirls’ pregnancies head on.

We are told he has issued an order that school girls proven pregnant be arrested by police and interrogated to ensure they mention the men behind their ordeal, so that the latter can face the long arm of the law. Parents of the compromised girls who prefer to sweep this muck under the carpet are not spared either.

This stance has reportedly earned the DC some enemies and friends, although the number of the latter is said to be on the high side.

Human rights activists, religious leaders, and upright politicians are also giving him a pat on the back. We support him too, much as we recognize the fact that a lone ranger approach rarely solves problems of this nature. We think he needs a constitutional backing by including the right to education in the bill of rights expected to be part and parcel of the new mother law in the making.

Thereafter, a wide range of policies, subsidiary laws and even institutions can be put in place to effectively combat this outdated malpractice.

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When economic growth does not translate into less poverty..

 

 

As the world marks the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty today, the recently released 2011 Poverty and Human Development Report indicates that the high level of economic growth recorded over the last decade has not translated to a significant decrease in the poverty rate.

Basing on key findings on the performance of Mkukuta I, the Tanzanian economy has grown by 7 percent per annum over the last ten years thus achieving the Mkukuta I target of an average annual growth of between 6 and 8 percent. However, this has not translated to significant decrease in poverty.

According to the report released by the Research and Poverty Analysis Working Group of the Mkukuta Monitoring System, economic growth can drive broad based and sustainable development and poverty reduction if productive assets and employment opportunities can be extended to income poor areas.

The report coordinated by Research on Poverty Alleviation (REPOA) as the secretariat to the RAWG calls for a shift from a growth to an inclusive growth paradigm whereby investment is required to create opportunities for people in remote and resource–rich areas so that greater dividends can be realized from agriculture, tourism and trade.

Economic experts argue that poverty eradication must be internally and externally driven and that the poor must be well involved in the whole process of eradicating poverty. The poor should be the key players in the process.

An expert of Business Strategies and Economics, Dr. Elisante Gabriel says the right way to eradicate poverty is for the poor people themselves to recognize they are the basis in poverty eradication.

“Some leaders mislead people by telling them the government would eradicate poverty…this is wrong because the government is supposed to support the people to eradicate poverty,” says Dr. Gabriel who is also the Director of Youth Development in the Ministry of Information, Youth, Culture and Sport.

He says Tanzanians take poverty as an input instead of an output which affects poverty eradication efforts.

Dr. Gabriel says instead of just coming up with solutions to poverty, the important thing would be finding the root cause of poverty first. Instead of just giving out loans to the poor for example, the best way would be tackling the root cause of their poverty.

He gives an example of education, where many schools have been built but the quality of education provided is poor.

Today we have people completing primary education without mastering how to read and write. “This is a process which is caused by a combination of factors… we also have university graduates who are not employable,” he says.

Dr. Gabriel says focusing on entrepreneurship skills is not a proper way of eradicating poverty. What is important is having entrepreneurship spirit, because even those with entrepreneurship skills are still looking for employment.

He says in order to improve the economic situation of the country three things must be taken into account. These are value chain which requires adding value to services and products, cost chain which requires conducting Cost Benefit Analysis and supply chain specifically on movement of human capital and raw materials.

An Economist at the Institute of Finance Management John Kingu says macroeconomic growth must have a good link with micro level economy for its impact to be felt by poor people.

He says what is currently happening is the absence of a good link between macroeconomic growth and micro level economy which has resulted to the growth of the economy not having a significant impact in eradicating poverty.

Kingu cites the mining sector which he says if well managed could greatly contribute to the growth of the country’s economy.

“This sector is not owned by Tanzanians and so the profit is being expatriated… there is a need for the government to put more efforts in tax collection so as to subsidize the basic needs of the people,” says Kingu

The Poverty and Human Development report says the lack or shortage of food to sustain good health is a clear manifestation of extreme poverty thus food security at the household level is a fundamental goal in achieving sustainable poverty eradication and development.

With respect to national food security, Tanzania has been self-sufficient in food production since 2005 with a peak in 2007 of 112%. However, food shortages continue to be experienced in some regions. The most recent data by World Food Programme indicates that around 23% of all households in rural mainland Tanzania were food-insecure

Households with poor food consumption were most prevalent in Mtwara (20%), Manyara (17.6%) and Arusha (6.8%). The highest prevalence rates of households with border line food consumption were Dodoma (37.8 %), Morogoro (33.8%) and Manyara (42.9%)

Around three-quarters of the population depend on under-developed smallholder primary agricultural production for their livelihoods.

The PHDR says modest improvements have been noted with respect to smallholder participation in out-grower schemes, access to irrigation, and access to credit and diversification into non-farm activities.

The Southern Agricultural Growth Corridor of Tanzania (SAGCOT), a large-scale, public-private partnership to develop the region’s agricultural potential and the Tanzania Agriculture and Food Security Investment Plan are promising developments in the sector. However, there is need to consolidate these initiatives and ensure that more benefits accrue to smallholder farmers and food-insecure households.

The report also suggests that an expanded road infrastructure has the potential to directly contribute to poverty reduction if , building and maintaining rural roads is given a priority as these are essential for market development and exploit labour-based technology, in particular, the employment of local communities in road construction and other public works.

It says a reliable power supply for producers and consumers underpins economic growth, facilitates productive employment and contributes to quality of life but the current power crisis has been a disincentive for investors.

On education the report says substantial progress has been made to increase access to education. The net enrolment rate (NER) in primary schools increased from 66% in 2001 to a peak of 97% in 2007 and 2008. Overall, gender parity in access to primary education has been achieved.

However, since 2008, the NER has steadily declined to 94% in 2011, a trend that must be turned around. In 2011, it is estimated that nearly half a million 7 to 13 year-olds did not enroll in school.

The transition rate from primary to secondary schools also rose dramatically from 12% in 2002 to 60% in 2006, but has since fallen to 45% in 2010. The NER in secondary schools has steadily increased from 6% in 2002 to 35% in 2011 – an impressive achievement – but the rate falls short of the MKUKUTA target of 50%.

The report however noted that the analysis of learning outcomes, paints a worrying picture of the quality of education received by Tanzanian children.

A large-scale national survey conducted in 2011 revealed alarmingly poor numeracy and literacy skills among primary-aged children.

The findings indicate an urgent need to improve the quality of tuition, which in turn, will depend on the increased and equitable deployment of qualified teachers and resources to all areas of the country.

The significant decline in students passing Form Four examinations further points to the need to address educational quality.

Madarasa ya elimu ya awali bado kizungumkuti 

Hili ni darasa la awali lililopo katika kijiji cha Mkali B, kilichopo wilaya ya Nyasa, mkoani Ruvuma. 

Niache Nisome; kampeni ya kuwakomboa wasichana kielimu Handeni.

 

TAFITI kadhaa na hata uzoefu vinaonyesha kuwapo kwa idadi kubwa ya watoto wa kike wanaokosa fursa za elimu nchini.
Sababu zinazochangia hali hiyo ni nyingi, lakini zilizo maarufu ni pamoja na wazazi kukataa makusudi kusomesha wasichana kwa madai kuwa hawana tija hata wakisoma, wasichana kulazimishwa kuolewa wakiwa wagali wadogo na kupata ujauzito.
Kwa mfano, utafiti wa masuala ya demografia wa mwaka 2005, unaonyesha kuwa asilimia 30 ya watoto wenye umri wa miaka 15 hadi 18 wameolewa nchini, ikilinganishwa na asilimia 0.9 ya wanaume wenye umri huo waliooa.

Aidha, takwimu kutoka Wizara ya Elimu na Mafunzo ya Amali Zanzibar, zinasema  mwaka 2011 pekee, kesi za wanafunzi kulazimishwa kuolewa katika visiwa vya Unguja na Pemba zilikuwa 32.
Takwimu hizo ni za sehemu moja tu katika nchi inayotajwa kuwa na idadi kubwa ya watoto wa kike wanaokosa fursa za kielimu kwa sababu na visingizio mbalimbali.
Hata hivyo, wapo wadau wa elimu walioamua kulivalia njuga suala hili, kwa lengo la kuhakikisha watoto wa kike nchini wanasoma, kuelimika na hatimaye kujikomboa kimaisha.

Mfano mzuri ni wadau wa elimu katika wilaya ya Handeni, mojawapo ya maeneo yanayotajwa kuwa na idadi kubwa ya watoto wa kike wanaokosa fursa za kielimu kwa sababu kadhaa, ikiwamo ndoa za utotoni na kupata mimba.

Kuhusu mimba, Jeshi la Polisi wilayani humo linasema tatizo ni kubwa na limekuwa likiwaathiri wanafunzi wengi hasa katika maeneo yenye idadi kubwa ya  watu kama vile vijiji vya Kwachanga, Misima, Kabuku, Mkata na Chanika.
“Kwa mujibu wa kesi zilizoripotiwa katika vituo vya Polisi vya Mkata, Kabuku na Handeni, tatizo la mimba kwa wanafunzi wa kike ni kubwa zaidi kwa wanafunzi wa sekondari kuliko wa shule za msingi,’’anasema Mkuu wa Upelelezi wa Handeni, J. Jumanne.

Niache Nisome

Bila shaka kushamiri kwa matukio ya mimba Handeni na ongezeko la wasichana wanaoacha masomo, kumewastua wadau ambao kwa kupitia ofisi ya wilaya, wameamua kuanzisha kampeni maalumu ijulikanayo kwa jina la ‘’Niache Nisome inayopigia chapuo uboreshaji wa mazingira ya elimu kwa watoto wa kike.
Mkuu wa Wilaya ya Handeni na kinara wa  kampeni hiyo, Muhingo Rweyemamu, anasema kampeni ya Niache nisome inabeba ujumbe wa kuwatia ujasiri wanafunzi wa kike kuweza kuwa na sauti ya kishujaa yenye lengo la kumkomboa kielimu.

Aidha, ujumbe huo anasema unamwezesha  mtoto wa kike kujitetea mwenyewe ili kuweza kufikia malengo aliyojiwekea.

Anaeleza kuwa kampeni hiyo ambayo pia inahusu jamii kwa jumla inalenga kumwezesha mtoto wa kike
 kufikia malengo yanayomhusu kimaendeleo kama mwanadamu.

“ Kampeni inapanga kuweka bayana matatizo ya uwiano wa kijinsia na ukiukwaji haki za mtoto wa kike kwa kutumia mbinu za kujithamini…’’anasema Muhingo ambaye tangu achaguliwe kuiongoza wilaya hiyo amejipambanua kama mpiganaji wa haki za wasichana kielimu.

Kwa mujibu wa Rweyemamu, tatizo la watoto kukatisha masomo kwa sababu ya ujauzito ni kubwa, na kama halitotafutiwa ufumbuzi itakuwa muhali kuvunja anachokiita mduara wa umaskini kwa watoto wenyewe, familia, jamii na taifa kwa jumla.
Kuhusu shughuli zitakazoipamba kampeni hiyo, anaeleza kuwa ni pamoja na kuboresha mazingira, kuendesha vipindi vya malezi, kuandaa vitini vya taarifa kuhusu ukuaji, utetezi, ushauri-nasihi na kuendesha majukwa ya wasichana na wavulana.
Mbali ya kuwa na jamii yenye mtazamo chanya kuhusu suala la elimu kwa mtoto wa kike na hatimaye kumpa ulinzi na utetezi, kampeni hiyo anasema itawawezesha walengwa kujiamini, kuwa na uwezo wa kujitetea, kuthamini na kuimiliki miili yao na kuwa na uwezo wa kufanya uamuzi sahihi.

Wadau wakutana

Kuonyesha dhamira yao ya kumkomboa mtoto wa kike, wadau mbalimbali wa elimu wilayani humo walikutana Oktoba 11 kujadili mustakbali wa elimu kwa wasichana wa Handeni.
Akifungua majadiliano ya wadau hao yaliyofanyika sambamba na maadhimisho ya Siku ya Kimataifa ya Mtoto wa Kike, Mkuu wa Mkoa wa Tanga, Chiku Galawa alisema ni muhimu kuwapa watoto wa kike elimu, kwa kuwa ndio chanzo cha maendeleo ambayo aghlabu huanzia katika ngazi ya familia.
“ Wazazi waelimishwe kuhusu athari za kuzuia watoto kusoma, bila elimu hatuwezi kujitambua,’’alisema na kuongeza:

“Rasilimali za Handeni zinahitaji watu walioelimika, wakiwamo wanawake watakaoelimika kupitia kusoma. Bila elimu rasilimali hizo zitachezewa.’’
Katika mkutano huo wa majadiliano, wadau pamoja na mambo mengine walishauri kufanyika kwa mazoezi ya upimaji mimba shuleni mara kwa mara na kuendelea kuhamasisha jamii kuthamini elimu kwa mtoto wa kike.
Ukitoa ofisi ya Mkuu wa Wilaya inayoratibu kampeni, mdau mwingine mkuu wa kampeni hiyo ni shirika la Elimu Duniani maarufu kwa kifupi cha WEI, kupitia mradi wa Pamoja tuwalee unaofadhiliwa na Shirika la Misaada la Marekani (USAID).