I was recently reading an article on the website of a
Nigerian newspaper and was amazed by a recent news item in that country.
Apparently, the
minister of information, an Al-hajj said in part and I quote, “..the federal
government made cash recoveries totaling N78,325,354,631.82; US
$185,119,584.61; 3,508,355.46 pounds sterling and 11,250 euros from 29th May
2015 to 25th May 2016. I can tell you that this is just a tip of the
iceberg...” Recovered means the money was lost, right?
Maybe it
accidentally fell from government coffers to unknown accounts in foreign or
local banks and deposit boxes. And maybe Prezzo Buhari came to power and
created a lost and found deposit box so now whenever the current government
finds ‘lost money’ it automatically lands there.
Perhaps the 78.3
billion naira were recovered locally while the $185 million was found in
America and the 3.5 million pounds were lying somewhere in the now disunited
kingdom that is trying to exit the European Union.
This is big money
and if we are to believe the words of his Excellency Lai Mohammed, a lot more
public money is still lost and awaiting recovery. It just goes to show that the
bigger the national cake, the larger the slices that can magically disappear.
Imagine what
Tanzania’s Magufuli can do with such money in the education sector. He has
gained quite a following in Nigeria. And he can do quite a bit if we in
Tanzania manage to recover lost monies in Swiss, British, American or other
currency. Currently we are caught up in the government budget season, with all
kinds of people weighing in regarding what the government should fund in education.
As if the
government of the day is Santa Claus and Christmas came early. We are also in
the month of Ramadan. Let us take to our hearts some spiritual lessons of the
month such as being frugal, helping the ones in need and fostering the spirit
of togetherness and brotherhood. Is this not the spirit that compels fasting
folks to invite people of other faiths to share in the iftar? Some wealthier
folks also organise and finance evening breakfast for those less endowed.
When I lived in
Pakistan, I was invited to quite a few iftar gatherings. I must have added a
few pounds of fat during the Ramadan over the years. Alas, my Tanzanian Muslim
friends have not been as readily welcoming as my Pakistani hosts of yester
years. Back to education.
Prophet Mohammad, PBUH,
put a lot of emphasis on the importance of education, urging his daughters to
seek knowledge even if that meant going to China for it. I believe any good
moumeen would do whatever it takes to ensure his children receive the best
education they can.
Perhaps in this
holy month, clerics can urge their flock especially in peripheral provinces
such as Mtwara, Lindi and Kigoma to ensure their children both male and female,
go to school.
No government can
drag your children to school even an overzealous provincial commissioner was to
personally whip parents of truant kids or the police regularly arrest guardians
of children sent to herd cattle and lamb. Is sending kids to school enough?
Absolutely not.
There is a lot individuals and communities can do. When I was in junior primary
school, the government abolished middle schools and expanded lower primary
schools to accommodate more pupils and higher classes.
Did the Wachagga
wait for government to build new classrooms? Not really. Even us pupils
participated in collecting building materials such as sand and gravel from
river Karanga for making bricks.
The wananchi
provided the labour and materials like timber and cement. Now that education is
free again, a few hundred thousand children who had previously been hidden from
view, have shown up at school premises.
Existing
structures cannot accommodate. It is time for whole villages to chip in. Those
villages being served by a particular school must be mobilised to build more
classrooms and toilet facilities.
As citizens we
should not be waiting for government to do everything. We are part of
governance. We have a wealth of retired civil servants with excellent
knowledge, skills and patience to teach, especially in secondary and tertiary
schools. When will the minister of education think outside the box of
recruiting teachers from training colleges and education faculties?
I know I can teach
and I am certain there are a few thousand Tanzanians like me who can lend their
skills for the good of present and future generations of Watanzania.
Please create a
formal mechanism that will allow district authorities and school leaders to
recruit retired persons from near their schools. Recruiting temp teachers from
neighbourhoods means the transport and accommodation issues will not be an
issue for them.
This is something
us citizens can do for education in Tanzania. Another teacher solution is to
invite teachers from Kenya, Uganda, Malawi or even Zimbabwe to come and teach
in Tanzania at local salaries. We are in the 21st century where goods and
services are exchanged easily across borders.
If we keep crash
training of more teachers to cover existing teacher shortages, we will end up
with many who do not like teaching but are doing it as duty. We can train
people to become teachers, but we cannot make them good teachers by more
training.
The best teachers
enjoy their work, they love teaching. Any of us can remember such teachers in
each of our schools. Parents would know if their son or daughter loves teaching
and/or has the ability to teach others.
If we love our
Tanzania, we should encourage our bright kids to become teachers. Teaching is a
noble and well respected profession. At least it used to be, not because
teachers were highly paid, but because teachers moulded society by producing
engineers, medics, soldiers and all other professionals.
It is time for
every Tanzanian to invest in education. Our time, our money, our timber and
bricks and our sons and daughters. God bless Tanzania.
