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Govt yet to give schools subsidy - headmasters
2007-08-20 08:50:11
By Emmanuel Chacha, Mwanza
The government is yet to subsidise public secondary schools after the implementation last year of its decision to cut by half the fee schools used to charge, it has been revealed.
This is according to remarks made here at the weekend by the chairperson of the Lake Victoria zone chapter of the Tanzania Heads of Secondary School Association (Tahossa), Laurent Mwita.
Mwita, who was speaking at a meeting for secondary school heads from the zone`s Kagera, Mara and Mwanza regions, said the government`s failure to cough up the amount due had adversely affected schools` budgets – and hence running costs and development projects.
`The government affirmed boldly that it would cut the annual school fees from 40,000/- to 20,000/- per student, promising to cover the difference by extending subsidy straight to the schools concerned. However, the promise has not been kept and the schools are still eagerly waiting for the amount promised since last year so that they can remain afloat,` he said.
Delegates to the meeting also wanted the government to reintroduce teaching allowance amounting to half one’s salary as proposed by what they referred to as the Makwetta Commission `as an incentive to teachers`.
They noted that despite the salary rise effected under the government`s budget for the 2007/2008 financial year, the pay teachers and most other public servants get is still insufficient.
The meeting made an in-depth analysis of an array of problems and challenges commonly facing teachers, the most serious including falling levels of discipline among students and a perceived drop in academic performance.
Commenting on the issue of reimbursement on school fees, Education and Vocational Training deputy minister Mwantumu Mahiza admitted that it was indeed a pending problem, adding: `It is the government which has not paid the subsidy for this year because the National Assembly`s budget meeting has just ended and time is needed for things to get going.
Procedures to get money from Treasury to deal with the matter are under way and we will allocate the requisite funds to the respective schools once things are ready.`
Elaborating that her ministry was waiting for the said funds for onward distribution to schools, she said the ministry would first have to collect data to establish the number of students countrywide in respect of whom the fees apply.
`This is not a simple task. We need to get accurate data on students in public secondary schools countrywide, including the newly established ward-level ones. We will then take the data to the Treasury, complete with the total subsidy needed,` she explained.
The deputy minister said it was quite possible for the Treasury to have released the money ready for dispatch to the schools any time next month, adding that the government is keen on enabling students from poor families to afford pursue studies in public secondary schools without any major hitch.
At least 480 heads of secondary schools attended the week-long meeting, which ended yesterday.
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