J624N Team Vista Education Projects

The Situation

The dominant need of the community remains education. Although the government has mandated that children under the age of 14 must attend (free) school, many still do not attend and are not chased up by the local education authorities.

Children in Tanzania undertake a demanding nationwide standard 4 exam. Previously, if they failed this exam they were no longer allowed back to school, however with the new government, students are allowed to continue until they complete another National Exam at the end of Primary school. If they fail, that is the end of their school career. Classrooms remain overcrowded as there are more children going to school thanks to the government’s free education mandate. Teaching is one of the lowest paid employments in the country second only to police force. A high school student can do poorly in their National Exams but still be able to complete a 12 month course to become a Primary School teacher. The current teacher to student ratio is both primary and secondary schools is 1 teacher to 68 students. Many families still struggle to pay for uniform, testing and other required school requirements with many students in schools missing out on a hot school lunch.

Lack of English in the Primary schools (where education is conducted in the local language) is an issue as all students are taught in English once they go into Secondary schools. Students in these Primary schools have little to no English language classes. Most of the teachers are unable to adequately communicate in English. There is also a lack of adequate teacher training in the schools.

The sexual abuse of children has always been a long term problem however there has been more social media outcry concerning these incidents in the Kaloleni/Pasua Wards. This project will continue to address the issues of Child Protection where issues of sexual abuse are now being documented. Prior to this, children would hide the fact that they had been abused, however the joint task force of Child Welfare Agency, Police Women’s and Children’s Agency plus Team Vista, the school children, teachers and staff are being educated in this area with a total of 6 men being successfully prosecuted to date. On-going education is vital and the project will continue to support the development of these programs.

The Objective

1. To contribute to poverty reduction and to improve the welfare of children in the Kaloleni Community - through education, health and community development initiatives