Education in Tanzania
Monday, January 19th, 2009I haven’t explained the education system in Tanzania yet. One word to describe it would be insufficient. Primary school here is mandatory, and it’s ages 5-15. After that, a student can decide to either discontinue their education, or continue on to secondary school. Secondary schools in Tanzania, government or private, all require tuition. Therefore, a lot of kids can’t continue for monetary reasons.
For those that enter secondary school, they attend forms 1 through 6 and are taught in English. At the end of form 4 every one must take a national examination. If you pass, you can go on to form 5. If you fail, you’re done with school forever, goodbye. Most students do not pass. Forms 5 and 6 are small at every school. At the end of form 6, there’s another national exam, and you must do well on it if you want to go to university. Something like 5% of Tanzanian students complete secondary school.
Maasai Girl’s School is a private Lutheran boarding school, and a lot of students here are on scholarships funded by sponsors. The school has more than 300 girls who all live at the school in dorms. Each year, the number of girls that qualify for forms 5 and 6 is increasing, and they’re at the 80th percentile for English.
afretheim