EdUKaid

The educational system in Tanzania is roughly similar to European systems. Primary school is for seven years and each school should have two years of Pre-Primary but this is rarely provided. Primary schools are free at source and so attendance is very high but the schools suffer from a considerable lack of classrooms, textbooks, teachers and other resources. A wide selection of subjects are taught, all of them in Swahili. One of the main differences is that pupils sit examinations each year, if they pass they move up a year, if they feel they retake the year but a second failure results in the pupils automatically moving up a year. This means that a bright pupil can finish primary school in seven years and a less intelligent one in fourteen years leading to a wide age gap in pupils in a given class.

Secondary school comprises four years and then a possible Advanced level of two further years. The number of Secondary schools is increasing rapidly but unfortunately the number of teachers and the amount of resources for the schools has not kept up and so there are huge shortages. One of the biggest problems with Secondary school is that all of the subjects are taught in English and most students’ level of English is not good enough for them to successfully undertake their studies.

At all levels there are huge material problems. There are not enough classrooms, desks or chairs with many pupils crammed together or working on the floor. Very few schools have electricity, a water supply or adequate sanitary facilities. There are nowhere near enough text books and virtually no teaching resources, display material or scientific equipment. Also there is a lack of teachers and generally their standard of education and training is quite low which is exacerbated by relatively poor motivation and morale. In short the problems with the educational system are immense and the challenge facing EdUKaid and its supporters is huge.

School Links

Linking allows Primary and Secondary schools in the West and in Tanzania to learn and share about the other’s culture, lifestyle and education. It is also a way for the Western schools to support education in Tanzania by fundraising for the schools they are linked to. EdUKaid supports the transfer of letters, photos, artwork and thoughts between the two schools and encourage the schools to develop their own ideas for their particular link. Each of our schools in Tanzania has its own website and blog. Please visit the links page to view these.

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