Why Kawambwa should go

Dar es Salaam. Whether he would become a sacrificial lamb, orchestrated by a government desperate to recover lost public confidence, or pay a deserved price for administrative ineptitude is purely academic; what’s almost certain is that, education minister Shukuru Kawambwa is likely to lose his job.

That would be the latest development – considered by observers as imminent, save for a miracle – in the drama connected to the most controversial in Tanzania’s education sector over the country’s 50 plus years’ history: cancellation and review of 2012 form four examination results.

Highly placed sources have confided to The Citizen on Sunday that pressure was mounting for the minister to resign, but this newspaper’s spirited week-long efforts to contact him for comments on the issue didn’t pay off.

The review of the results, whose 60 per cent failure rate had shocked the nation, reduced it by about 10 per cent, but huge damage had been done in terms of emotional anguish by candidates .

While the fresh ratings may have provided some relief to the candidates, the damage occasioned by suicideof two boys who had secured division zero, is irreparable.

Dr Kawambwa, who had in the past dismissed calls for him to resign over mismanagement of the docket that is arguably the most strongly criticised, had reportedly endorsed the new grading system that produced the disastrous outcome, and the results’ release.

Our source says the move was in defiance of the view by Cabinet colleagues who had proposed suspension of the move, fearing a backlash if the advice had been ignored.

Besides poor exam performance, teachers’ go-slows stemming from low morale and maladministration, are behind the mounting pressure by education sector stakeholders and politicians that the minister must go – either on his own accord, or removal by the appointing authority.

Tanzania Teachers Union (TTU) President Gratian Mukoba, University of Dar es Salaam lecturer Prof Gaudence Mpangala and nominated MP and NCCR-Mageuzi chairman James Mbatia are united in their conviction that Dr Kawambwa cannot escape accountability.

Mr Mbatia says Mr Kawambwa should have resigned immediately after the releasing of the results.

“If I were in his shoes I would have resigned immediately. I presented in parliament the core challenges in our education system and proposed the way forward but to my surprise Dr Kawambwa trashed them,” he lamented.

“Every minister of education comes with his or her own system with no clear curriculum. The recent standardisation of results is pure nonsense. The minister does not even recall that some students took their lives after he announced the 2012 Form Four results,” said Mbatia.

Prof Gaudence Mpangala, senior lecturer in Political Science and Public Administration at the University of Dar es Salaam concurs with Mr Mbatia. “Any leader who underperforms must resign,” he said emphatically, stressing that the appointing authority must take decisive action against him.

“It is not that Dr Kawambwa caused the massive failure but so long as he is the minister of education, he cannot wish away accountability, but resign as a honourable gesture,” he told this reporter over the phone.

Prof Mpangala attributes the poor results to low salaries of teachers as well as disregard of their welfare. He noted: “Teachers are among the lowest paid civil servants, and yet they are the most important. But over the years, the government has done little to address their plight.”

“I`m hard pressed to comment on whether or not Dr Kawambwa should quit; it is only the one who hired him who has the mandate to fire him,” said Mukoba.

“It is very hard for a leader to resign once it becomes apparent that the department that one is leading has failed to deliver efficiently. This has evolved into the leadership in this country.

When the results were released in March Dr Kawambwa dismissed resignation calls, arguing that the move would not solve problems facing the education sector.

He claimed that those who pressured him to step down were political populists.

But Mr Mukoba says the minister claiming that he found the education system in a shambles upon taking office was not an excuse for the massive failure for he ought to have made improvements.

Shadow minister for education MP Susan Lyimo (Chadema) strongly suggests that Kawambwa resigns.

“Since independence we have never had such poor O-Level results as last year’s. Since he (Dr Kawambwa) took office in 2010 the results have not been improving. This indicates that he has failed,” sshe said.

She, however, agrees that poor remuneration of teachers is also highly to blame for the recent poor examination results.

“The government has been increasing the number of schools and classrooms thinking that is the best way to increase educational standards while forgetting that satisfactory teachers’ welfare is one of the most important aspects,” she said.