SPECIAL REPORT : Why Mtwara schools dominated the bottom list in Form 4 exams

Mtwara. As the dust from the poor performance of public schools in last year’s Certificate of Secondary Education Examination (CSEE) settles, questions linger in the region, with education stakeholders still scratching their heads on what could have gone so wrong to have nine local schools on the list of 10 worst-performers at the national level.

Mtwara is still smarting from the embarrassment that was the results of the Form 4 national examinations. Across the region, the shockwaves have been felt by schools, parents and local government authorities. But it has also jolted regional authorities into action.

Immediately after the National Examination Council of Tanzania (Necta) released the results at the end of last year, local authorities launched a survey with the quest to understand the main factors that led to the unprecedented poor performance by the region at the national level.

As the authorities conducted their survey, this reporter also went around seeking comments from key stakeholders on why Mtwara recorded such a dismal performance in the Necta exam.

The survey has established quite a number of telling factors.

‘Quality’ of students

The Citizen on Sunday interviewed many teachers who shared the same concern about the calibre of students who are cleared for Form 1 places in public schools. The teachers said it has become a trend that at the time of joining secondary school, a significant number of primary school leavers find themselves still unable to read, count and write – basic skills needed for a learner at that stage.

Because of this, teachers are forced to start all over again, from point zero, to impart these three basic skills. Crucial time is wasted over a four-year period trying to do the near-impossible: getting these “unfit” students to the secondary education level.

Mr Rajab Nampoto, a headmaster at Naputa Secondary School, says the selection of students who proceed to Form 1 remains the biggest hurdle in their quest to be among the top performers.

“The fact is that these students found a way to our school and we have had to deal with them. We cannot send them back home; it falls on the teachers seek ways of helping them acquire reading, writing and counting skills,” he says.

With regards to this particular group whose results Necta recently released, the headmaster says everything was done to help the students.

“We put them through a special programme called pre-Form One. When they got to Form Two, 110 students registered for the national exam; 108 sat the test, but only 42 passed, 66 failed.”

“While some failed due to lack of knowledge, for others it was because of truancy. There is a student who attempted only half of the examinations because he wasn’t coming to school,” says the school head.

Ms Fatuma Hussein, a teacher at Chingungwe Secondary, corroborates. She recalls how the situation forced her to start teaching her Form 1 class basic reading, writing and counting after realising that they lacked these skills.

“Just imagine, you start teaching a Form 1 student a e i o u. And it has been like this for many years now,” she says. “For example, we currently have a Form 2 student who does not know how to read. Others have decided to drop out of school altogether.”

Blame it on multiple-choice exam

Mr Denis Siliako, a teacher at Lukokoda Secondary, is not surprised to have many students with good passes in the Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE), yet unable to read, write and count.

“Even a pupil who does not know how to read and write can attempt and pass multiple choice questions. No wonder we have Form 1 students who are basically semi-literate,” he says.

Truancy

In Tandahimba District, almost every teacher who talked to The Citizen on Sunday during the recent survey decried the high truancy levels in the entire region. In some extreme cases, students abscond national exams after registering.

A headmaster at Lukokoda Secondary, Mr Azizi Ndimbe, says of the 44 students who registered for the Form 2 examinations, only 38 showed up.

“Truancy is a serious problem. Out of the six who did not come during exams, one of them was already pregnant. We have been asking parents to come and discuss this problem with teachers, but most of them seem not to understand the importance of their children attending school,” he says.

Ms Betina Pascal, a teacher at the school, notes that parents have a major role to play in addressing truancy. She says while distance is the biggest single factor fuelling truancy, in many cases parents collude with their children.

“Most of our students use bicycles to come to school, so they have an excuse in the event of a breakdown. But we have parents who come here seeking permission for their children’s absence on flimsy grounds,” she says.

“In many cases, they tell school authorities their children are sick, but it’s not true; they want help on the farms or to have someone selling groundnuts. Some parents simply decide to marry off their daughters before they complete their studies.”

Initiation and early pregnancies

At Mr Ndimbe’s school, two students got pregnant in 2015, a Form 3 and 4. And of the 57 students who registered for last year’s exams at Salama Secondary School, one got pregnant before writing.

For the young girls of the region, it appears traditional practices have had a major negative impact on their academic performance too. Initiation is one of the commonest traditions in the southern regions of Mtwara and Lindi.

Many parents here send their daughters out to perform these rituals during which “lessons” on how to behave like an adult are taught. It is widely believed that these teachings, known locally as ‘kuchivelevele’ or ‘unyago’, are crucial for the teen girls as they prepare for marriage.

The Tandahimba District Commissioner, Mr Sebastian Waryuba, says that local authorities have generally agreed to stop the practice, seeing how it has diverting the girls’ attention from school matters to marriage.

“We don’t want students to skip their studies for ‘unyago’ activities. I am not against traditional practices, but customs that negatively affect our communities should not be entertained,” Mr waryuba said recently when announcing the ban.

While ‘unyago’ is usually conducted during the holidays, the heavy socialising that is involved creates so much excitement among young girls that a significant number of them end up pregnant.

The headmistress at Chingungwe Secondary School, Ms Hawa Ismail, believes that one of the things that has contributed to underperforming are love relationships between students themselves, and those involving older members of the community.

She notes: “This is a serious problem that has been compounded by the advent of mobile phones, which many students now have. Once a student starts indulging himself or herself in love relationships, it becomes impossible for him or her to concentrate on their studies.”

Ms Ismail told The Citizen on Sunday many girls in the region have developed a negative attitude towards school because of love affairs, and now face a high risk of early pregnancy.

“The kind of messages I have found in some students’ mobile phones shocked me. In one case, I called the parents who promised to work with us in this problem, but I later discovered that they (parents) were not keen. There is a tendency by parents to defend their girls in these matters,” she said.

Mr Hamidu Mnomba, the deputy headmaster at Salama Secondary School, explains that the attitude among many students and parents in the region that formal education is pastime – not a priority.

“There is very little awareness on the importance of education; the communities don’t place much value to it. So, in class there is a tendency by students to think they are just passing time. No wonder they fail in such shocking numbers,” he says.

Shortage of teachers and lack of books

The region is also not spared by the crippling shortage of teachers, and lack of books across the country. Many schools here have had to go for over four years without qualified mathematics and science teachers. But students were still writing exams, and expected to shine.

At Salama Secondary, the deputy headmaster notes that it’s a tall order getting Maths, Physics, Biology and Chemistry teachers. “Since the establishment of the school in 2007, we have never had a mathematics teacher. We once had physics and biology teachers, but left,” says Mr Mnomba.

Towards final exams, he says, there is firefighting, with teachers who have no business teaching mathematics and sciences taking up classes to fill the gap. “At one point, we had a teacher taking up 57 sessions per week from Form 1 to 4.

Books too, are any issue, according to Ms Fatuma Hussein, a teacher at Chingungwe Secondary. Her school struggles to share the little resources there is, especially for arts subjects.

Parents, everyone must change

After the release of the Form 4 results at the end of last year, the Regional Commissioner, Ms Halima Dendego, was quoted as saying parents were not taking the education of their children seriously.

But she also said, generally, there is need for change of attitude among local government institutions and organs whose duty is to promote education. The RC noted, for instance, that education budgets at the council in the region were now being taken for granted.

Yet it seems parents are the most-wanting.

In interviews after Necta announced the results, some students who passed the examination said it would be difficult for students to take their studies serious when parents didn’t believe it was important.

Mfaume Hashim, a Form 4 student at Chingungwe Secondary School, suggests that parents can be a big let-down. “Education stakeholders, and especially the government, must focus on educating parents on the importance of education,” he says.

“Many students try, but their parents don’t understand. For instance, when you return from school, instead of giving you time to study, they bombard you with domestic chores so much so that you don’t find time for revision.”

A parent from Lukokoda Village, Mr Ismail Bure, does not deny the accusations. He says there is generally, “very little interest” in education among Mtwara parents.

He is one of the few parents who find value in education.

“When my child finished primary school he passed. I waited to see what he would decide on next; I was happy when he came to me saying he wanted to study all the way up to university. So, I sent him to school where he is doing fine,” he said.

But another parent, Ms Tabia Joram, a resident of Chingungwe Village, says it is not wise forcing children to go to school. “There are many reasons for this hatred of school. Forcing children won’t help; if you do, you may just be wasting money,” she says.

Improve teachers’ welfare

While in some areas, teachers have been at the receiving end because of the poor results, some parents in Mtwara insist that the discussion point should be the hostile working environments in schools.

According to Mr Shaban Mfaume, due to lack of accommodation, teachers are forced to walk for hours daily to their work stations, which reduces their concentration levels.

Witchcraft?

Astonishing revelations about witchcraft and how it demoralises teachers in some parts of Mtwara also came out.

The board chairman of Lukokoda Secondary School in Tandahimba District, Mr Abas Membe, says that teachers in some areas have been complaining about witchcraft.

“I can’t exactly confirm that it is witchcraft, but we have had complaints over weird things happening at the teachers’ houses. We have since taken steps to correct that.”