How inept educators ran Tanzanian schools aground

Dar es Salaam. Appointment of incompetent headmasters for government secondary schools coupled with lack of motivation could be some of the reasons that led to massive failures in the 2012 Form IV national examinations, The Citizen On Saturday has learnt.

Although the government has not yet made public the report of the Commission of Inquiry that investigated the measureless failures, sources privy to the report indicate that most of the headmasters in government secondary schools have not acquired the ABCs of school administration.

There are 4,528 government secondary schools with 3,238 headmasters, and a deficiency of 1,294 headmasters.

“Most of the headmasters in government secondary schools don’t know their roles,” say our sources, adding that they are appointed by regional administrative secretaries.

Unlike in well-performing private secondary schools where headmasters are appointed basing on corporate performance recruitment and appraisal system, say the sources.

“However, some private secondary schools don’t perform well because they fail to recruit outstanding headmasters,” explain the sources.

The sources say in most cases private secondary schools poach outstanding headmasters from government secondary schools and pay them handsome salaries and incentive packages.

“This (the paying of handsome salaries and other incentives by private secondary schools) is not only for headmasters but also to ordinary but competent teachers,” say the sources.

“Lack of motivation for headmasters in government secondary schools frustrate them, making them fail to deliver to their best for the good of the nation,” the sources quote the report as saying.

The environment for school administration in government secondary schools has completely changed from professional to mere position, say our sources.

The sources add that the recruitment of headmasters on permanent arrangements in government secondary schools have made them fail to be innovative in seeking ways and means of improving their schools’ academic performance.

“Headmasters in private secondary schools are employed on contractual arrangements and not on permanent and pensionable arrangements like in government secondary schools,” say the sources.

The sources add that teachers in government secondary schools are crowded making it difficult to control and motivate them.

Meantime, most of the teachers in government secondary schools will retire in the next three years, say the sources.

The sources say the report has appealed to the government to prepare a special programme to train teachers’ tutors in each subject in order to have competent teachers.

Teachers’ training colleges should arrange to convene meetings where they could exchange ideas aimed at improving the development of education in Tanzania.

Meanwhile, most of government secondary schools are in a sorry state of environment, making them unfriendly for learning.

Our sources say most of the schools have shortage of classrooms, forcing students to be crowded in the little available classrooms.

Lack of laboratories and libraries is also affecting the learning process, say the sources, adding that lack of housing for teachers was forcing them to live afar from schools.

According to the sources, the situation is worse in rural areas where teachers with different gender shelter in one room.

“This situation has forced teachers in rural areas to call it quits, something that also affects students,” say the sources.

Some schools have no toilets while others have shortage of dormitories, forcing two students to share one bed.