Smatta
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- Nov 5, 2008
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Nyie pigeni kelele.. nadhani hii ita wa interest.
allAfrica.com: Tanzania: Failures - Parents in the Firing Line
It is often said that for effective learning to take place, schools must provide an environment that is conducive to learning. Experts argue that students learn better where the surroundings are serene, far from the madding crowd.
It also makes it easier for teachers to deliver effectively without too many distractions. But is this all there is to make learning easier for pupils?
A recent random survey Success reveals that teachers and pupils themselves believe most parents contribute significantly to the poor performance of their children at school. And the majority of parents who spoke to Success exposed their lack of involvement and knowledge about their children's education or the environment in which they learn at school.
Some of the basic questions over 20 parents failed to answer included information about the names of their children's teachers; when they last visited the school to discuss their children's performance, and how they helped their children study or do assignments at home.
Others were about the school environment: whether or not there were enough textbooks, desks and chairs for students at their children's school; and the sanitation and hygiene situation.
Too many gaps to fill
"There are too many gaps in our education system, which cause students to perform badly, and to come out of this situation, there is need for concerted efforts by the government and parents," says Salum Mnjagila, the director for adult education in the ministry of Education and Vocational Training.
But how far should parents go to create the ideal learning for their children?
Abigaili Ishinde, 37, is a single mother of three. A customer care officer with a mobile provider, she confesses to be "in the dark" when it comes to her children's schoolwork.
"Don't I look like a fool now?" she asks herself in a recent interview, after scratching her head to answer questions about her children's school life.
"It does not mean that I do not care about how my children perform at school," she says, adding, "It is just that sometimes the work that we do as single mothers, taking care of the children can be overwhelming."
The last time Ishinde remembers asking her children for their examination reports was when they had come asking for her to buy them new books for another grade. And she is not alone in this.Aisha Ramadhani, a Standard Six pupil at Mtambani Primary School, says her parents are "usually busy", therefore, they cannot check her exercise books, let alone regularly visit her at school.â-¨"I don't recall the last time my father or mother attended the parent-teacher meetings where important matters are discussed," she says.
And it is not just in urban areas where parents pay fees and then leave everything else to the teachers. Reagan Apolinary, 12, a Standard Five pupil at Boma Primary School in Rombo District, Kilimanjaro Region, goes to school with unkempt hair, his uniform unwashed for most part of the week.
At his school, Success talked to the young boy and his head teacher during a recent visit to the district. "He has not been doing well for a while now; his mother is sick and the father is rarely home in the afternoon," said the school's head teacher.
Reagan corroborates. He adds that even when everyone is at home and feeling well, nobody pays attention to his schoolwork. "They (his parents) wouldn't care less about my performance because they don't even check my exercise books," he told Success.
An annual learning assessment by Uwezo Tanzania shows that one in every five primary school leavers in Tanzania cannot read Standard Two level Kiswahili, and half the children, who complete primary school cannot read English.
The assessment done in 1,140 villages in 38 districts, sampled a total of 42,033 children aged between five and 16 in 22,800 households. Though dismissed by the government as not representative enough, the report has been cited as an indicator of the real situation on the ground.
"The situation is like this because parents send their children to school but do not bother to follow up on their performance," says Mnjagila, commenting on the report.
A teacher at Huruma Primary School in Rombo District, Sylvia Moshi notes that with parents' lack of concern about what goes on at school, pupils lack focus.
"It's easy to separate a pupil whose parents are concerned and one with careless parents," she says.
"There are parents at our school who have not paid a single cent in four to five years, they give little value to education."
Wake up to reality
Mwafulila Kembe, academic master at Kawe Primary School, says that pupils often take advantage of their parents' lack of regular follow-up and involvement in what goes on at school to lie and forge exam results.
"It is time parents woke up to this reality because we face the danger of churning out failures and liars," he says.
Shaban Urio, a father of two, works in Dar es Salaam while his wife and children live in Arusha. "I go there once a month and stay for only two days. How possible is it for me to pay regular visits to my children's school?" he queries.
"I tend to believe that my responsibility as a father is to pay school fees, bring food home. I don't think not knowing who the academic teacher, or how many toilets the school has is such a big deal."
allAfrica.com: Tanzania: Failures - Parents in the Firing Line
It is often said that for effective learning to take place, schools must provide an environment that is conducive to learning. Experts argue that students learn better where the surroundings are serene, far from the madding crowd.
It also makes it easier for teachers to deliver effectively without too many distractions. But is this all there is to make learning easier for pupils?
A recent random survey Success reveals that teachers and pupils themselves believe most parents contribute significantly to the poor performance of their children at school. And the majority of parents who spoke to Success exposed their lack of involvement and knowledge about their children's education or the environment in which they learn at school.
Some of the basic questions over 20 parents failed to answer included information about the names of their children's teachers; when they last visited the school to discuss their children's performance, and how they helped their children study or do assignments at home.
Others were about the school environment: whether or not there were enough textbooks, desks and chairs for students at their children's school; and the sanitation and hygiene situation.
Too many gaps to fill
"There are too many gaps in our education system, which cause students to perform badly, and to come out of this situation, there is need for concerted efforts by the government and parents," says Salum Mnjagila, the director for adult education in the ministry of Education and Vocational Training.
But how far should parents go to create the ideal learning for their children?
Abigaili Ishinde, 37, is a single mother of three. A customer care officer with a mobile provider, she confesses to be "in the dark" when it comes to her children's schoolwork.
"Don't I look like a fool now?" she asks herself in a recent interview, after scratching her head to answer questions about her children's school life.
"It does not mean that I do not care about how my children perform at school," she says, adding, "It is just that sometimes the work that we do as single mothers, taking care of the children can be overwhelming."
The last time Ishinde remembers asking her children for their examination reports was when they had come asking for her to buy them new books for another grade. And she is not alone in this.Aisha Ramadhani, a Standard Six pupil at Mtambani Primary School, says her parents are "usually busy", therefore, they cannot check her exercise books, let alone regularly visit her at school.â-¨"I don't recall the last time my father or mother attended the parent-teacher meetings where important matters are discussed," she says.
And it is not just in urban areas where parents pay fees and then leave everything else to the teachers. Reagan Apolinary, 12, a Standard Five pupil at Boma Primary School in Rombo District, Kilimanjaro Region, goes to school with unkempt hair, his uniform unwashed for most part of the week.
At his school, Success talked to the young boy and his head teacher during a recent visit to the district. "He has not been doing well for a while now; his mother is sick and the father is rarely home in the afternoon," said the school's head teacher.
Reagan corroborates. He adds that even when everyone is at home and feeling well, nobody pays attention to his schoolwork. "They (his parents) wouldn't care less about my performance because they don't even check my exercise books," he told Success.
An annual learning assessment by Uwezo Tanzania shows that one in every five primary school leavers in Tanzania cannot read Standard Two level Kiswahili, and half the children, who complete primary school cannot read English.
The assessment done in 1,140 villages in 38 districts, sampled a total of 42,033 children aged between five and 16 in 22,800 households. Though dismissed by the government as not representative enough, the report has been cited as an indicator of the real situation on the ground.
"The situation is like this because parents send their children to school but do not bother to follow up on their performance," says Mnjagila, commenting on the report.
A teacher at Huruma Primary School in Rombo District, Sylvia Moshi notes that with parents' lack of concern about what goes on at school, pupils lack focus.
"It's easy to separate a pupil whose parents are concerned and one with careless parents," she says.
"There are parents at our school who have not paid a single cent in four to five years, they give little value to education."
Wake up to reality
Mwafulila Kembe, academic master at Kawe Primary School, says that pupils often take advantage of their parents' lack of regular follow-up and involvement in what goes on at school to lie and forge exam results.
"It is time parents woke up to this reality because we face the danger of churning out failures and liars," he says.
Shaban Urio, a father of two, works in Dar es Salaam while his wife and children live in Arusha. "I go there once a month and stay for only two days. How possible is it for me to pay regular visits to my children's school?" he queries.
"I tend to believe that my responsibility as a father is to pay school fees, bring food home. I don't think not knowing who the academic teacher, or how many toilets the school has is such a big deal."
