Tanzania to investigate same sex content claims in schools
Dr. Francis Michael, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology. PHOTO | COURTESY
What you need to know:
- There has recently been a proliferation of books on social media that demonstrate and imply that some primary school students are being taught about same sex relationships.
Dar es Salaam. The government has outlined the numerous measures it is taking to address the erosion of morals in educational institutions in the country, including the formation of a team to look into claims that some textbooks promote same sex.
There has recently been a proliferation of books on social media that demonstrate and imply that some primary school students are being taught about same sex relationships. However, even though the books appear to be from abroad, the government says it is still investigating to determine if there have been such books in schools and to take appropriate action.
Also recently, some media outlets have reported (allegations) about some schools teaching children sodomy, something that sparked debate from various stakeholders.
Yesterday, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, Dr Francis Michael, met with representatives of education officers and quality controllers to set a strategy to deal with the situation.
“We want, through our education officers and quality controllers, to find out where the flaw is and set a strategy to strengthen quality control by examining all the books that students use in schools,” explained Dr Machael while speaking to journalists in the city yesterday.
“This strategy goes hand in hand with the team led by the commissioner for education that is already present in the regions and continues to investigate these reported matters. We want these education officers at all levels to work with social welfare officers to determine this nuisance,” he added.
Dr Michael wanted the leadership of all the schools to cooperate when the team arrives to conduct an investigation, including reviewing all the books that are used as well as interviewing the students about the training they are given.
“I call on the leaders of all schools, including private schools, to cooperate with the investigation team so that we can reach the goal that will help find a solution to this intolerable issue in our society and our education sector,” he pointed out.
