Councils awant more time on school labs

Plate Number · 2014-12-03T05:29:57+00:00

Several district councils in the country say they have failed to abide by October last years directive by President Jakaya Kikwete on the construction of science laboratories in all public schools by the end of last month largely because of the tight timeframe. Interviews conducted by The Guardian with various regional and district government authorities further show that financial constraints also contributed to the failure to beat the deadline. Arusha Regional Education Officer Nestory Mloka explained that they did the most they humanly could not to default on the presidential order but we still have failed to complete even a single laboratory. He said they have been making frantic efforts to make sure they beat the deadline but things have not gone as planned, adding: To be honest, not a single laboratory is 100 per cent completed although schools have been trying their best to implement the directive. Morogoro Municipal Council Mayor Amir Nondo said they too have failed to meet the deadline owing to limited funding and the fact that the timeframe could not allow it. But construction is still in progress and has reached various stages, he said, adding: Some laboratories are almost complete and others are in advanced stages of construction. In Dar es Salaam, Temeke Municipal Council Mayor Maabad Hoja maintained that it was difficult for all regions to complete the construction of laboratories owing to unavoidable reasons such as shortage of funds and materials. We are happy to say that our municipal has managed to finish construction of some laboratories and others are at 80 per cent completion level, he said, adding: Although we have failed to meet the deadline, we have done better than many other municipalities. Meanwhile, Mbeya Regional Commissioner Abbas Kandoro said construction of laboratories there was roundabout 90 per cent complete by mid last month. Reports on the entire construction process will be released soon. We are still compiling information from all districts before we release the report on the implementation of the project since the deadline has just expired, he said. For his part, Kilimanjaro Regional Commissioner Leonidas Gama admitted: The project has not been implemented as fully as directed but most districts are well on their way to completion. He too said he would release an official report on the issue soon. During a tour at Kisarawe District last year, President Kikwete directed district councils across Tanzania to make sure that all areas under their jurisdiction had public school laboratories by the end of last month. He explained that without laboratories, all that students would get was theoretical instruction and they would miss out on hands-on practical applications that are an integral part of the learning process. We are giving our children half-baked education when they only learn theory in science subjects, said the president, adding that the government would provide the necessary equipment and supplies once the laboratories were in place. More than 3,000 ward secondary schools have been built across the country but most are faced with daunting challenges, among them lack of teachers quarters and laboratories.

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Start date Dec 3, 2014

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Councils awant more time on school labs

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