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Govt warns: Two-year Form IV education substandard
2008-04-09 09:31:33
By Felister Peter
The government has warned unregistered education centres that provide secondary education for only two years, saying they violate the country`s Education Act of 1978 that stipulates that such education should be given in four years.
Opening a motivation seminar on distance learning to education stakeholders in Dar es Salaam yesterday, Education and Vocational Training minister Prof. Jumanne Maghembe urged Tanzanians to beware of such unregistered centres that provide substandard education.
``This is completely contrary to national secondary school curricula,`` said Maghembe in a speech read on behalf by the ministry's permanent secretary Oliver Mhaiki.
``As education stakeholders we have to encourage our people to register themselves at the Institute of Adult Education (IAE) for better distance learning for both Ordinary and Advanced level secondary education``, he said.
Maghembe said that IAE provides proper secondary education through its informal system of distance learning, but stressed that it follows formal curricula and its candidates are allowed to sit various national examinations.
The minister insisted that distance learning is the best option for those who cannot afford to pay fees in private secondary schools and those who have missed chances in government schools.
He said the aim of the programme is to reach a total of 50,000 students by 2010. In 2007 IAE registered a total of 16,801 students whereby women were 9205 and men were 7596. This year the centre plans to register 30,000 students countrywide.
In Dar es Salaam the number of students registered with IAE's distance learning programme is very small due to the mushrooming unregistered tuition centres providing secondary education for two years.
The target was to register 2500 students but only 762 were registered.
``Despite its importance in educating Tanzanians, the institute has lost its popularity in the country, hence increasing the number of illiterate adults,`` said IAE deputy director Oswald Matemu.
Matemu explained that in the 1970s IAE was respected and contributed a lot to educating adults whereby 96.4 per cent of adults in Tanzania were literate.
``Since 1992, the problem has been growing at 2 per cent each year, resulting in 31 per cent of the country`s population currently being illiterate``, said Matemu.
He said IAE has established distance learning centres throughout the country, adding that in Dar es Salaam alone it has 13 centres, 78 tutors, 13 coordinators and 762 registered students.
It has also prepared syllabus for seven subjects including geography, history, English, mathematics, Kiswahili, biology and civics.
IAE was established in 1960 as part of Makerere University in Uganda under the supervision of London University.
Its purpose was to prepare students who have completed secondary education to pursue higher studies.
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