School to honour fallen Magufuli with tower

Sengerema. In honouring the fallen fifth President, Dr John Magufuli, Sengerema Secondary School administration plans to build a tower at the school bearing the ex-president’s image.

President John Magufuli taught at the school in 1982 and 1983, which was his first recruitment in the public service, as a teacher.

The school also has pledged to emulate the ex-president’s hardworking spirit in order to produce many youth with characters of the fallen Tanzanian leader.

Speaking to Mwananchi Digital from the school yesterday, the school’s headmaster, Mr Zacharia Kahema, said the late Dr Magufuli left a record of hard working and integrity.

“When he was teaching here, Dr Magufuli used to collect exercise books for negligent students and ensured that they quickly changed and improved their performance in class.

He spent most of his time in the school laboratory doing scientific experiments,” he said.

According to him, Dr Magufuli instilled discipline and accountability in the public service where Tanzanians have now become hard workers.

“Being the first place to have worked in the public service, we have decided to build a tower at the school in his honour and keep it as a record for the current and future generations that he worked at this school,” he said.

According to him, the Dr Magufuli’s leadership provided Sh1.028 billion for rehabilitation of school buildings, the first since its establishment in 1972.

He said a total of Sh1.7 billion was required in order to upgrade all buildings including teacher’s houses.

“The Tanzania Education Authority (TEA) is now mobilizing funds for implementation of the phase two of the project where teacher’s houses will be upgraded after rehabilitation of administration bloc, dormitories, dinning hall and laboratories during the phase one,” he said.

He said the school is scheduled to mark the Golden Jubilee next year, adding that Dr Magufuli will be hanoured through advocating hardworking and accountability.

He named some students who were taught by Dr Magufuli and now holding senior government positions as Attorney General (AG) Ardeladus Killangi, ex-Home Affairs minister Kangi Lugola and many others.

“The fallen president pledged to provide the school with a car in order to improve provision of services to students. However, he has died without fulfilling the promise,” he said, adding.

“Despite his death, I still have confidence and great expectations with his successor, President Samia Suluhu Hassan that her leadership will fulfil the promise.”

He called on teachers and public servant countrywide to honour the fallen leader through hardworking. Teachers should abide ethics, accountability and integrity in order to produce more school leavers resembling Dr Magufuli.”

School academic performance

He said last year the school that has 1,233 high school students and 49 teachers had its students passed by percent a 100 percent.

“The school’s performance has gradually improved since 2012 when 70 students scored Division zero.” he said mentioning that insufficient number of science and advanced mathematics teachers remained a huge challenge to the school.

A Form V student taking History, Geography and Economics Christopher Matiku told Mwananchi Digital that he had just completed drawing Dr Magufuli’s picture when news of his death was broken.

“I planned to handover the picture to the guest of honour during this year’s Form Six graduation ceremony in order to hand it over to the fallen Head of State as being my gift to him,” said the talented student.

“Unfortunately, the-then Vice President, Samia Suluhu Hassan, was on television announcing Dr Magufuli’s death a few hours after the drawings were completed,” he added.

Speaking to Mwananchi Digital, Mr Levi Ng’weli said he knew the late Dr Magufuli since 1974 when he was working at the Lake Nyanza as an accountant.

“I became Dr Magufuli’s Master of Ceremony (MC) during his marriage to Janeth and later worked with him at Nyanza when he joined the Nyanza Cooperative as a factory chemist,” he said.

He had been closely communicating with the fallen leader until January this year when he promised the elders in Sengerema that he would provide them with something that would lessen life’s hardships.

“However, he gave Sh6 million to Mr Matola, a former cook at the Sengerema Secondary School, with which to secure a plot of land on which he would build a house for him,” he said.