The Tanzanian government on Tuesday said it will now offer alternative college admissions to secondary school drop-outs in Tanzania.
This is a part of the country’s new shift away from its controversial policy that had seen pregnant girls expelled from school, with such expulsions increasing under the tenure of maverick President John Magufuli, who died in March.
On resuming office, however, new President Samia Suluhu Hassan, Magufuli’s former deputy, has acted quickly to reverse some of his most controversial policies including his dismissal of the COVID-19 pandemic as a supposed hoax and conspiracy.
Meanwhile, the World Bank says that about 5,500 girls in Tanzania drop out of school every year due to pregnancy.
And regarding the new school policy to address this trend, Leonard Akwilapo, a senior official at Tanzania’s Ministry of Education said the education ministry wants all 54 of its FDC colleges to be able by January next year to provide secondary education to former school dropouts keen to resume their studies.
He said the move was part of Tanzania’s implementation of a $500 million World Bank project launched last year that aims to broaden access to education.
“We are offering an alternative path to education to all children who missed their education for any reason, including those girls who got pregnant while in school, through our Folk Development Colleges (FDCs).”
Leonard Akwilapo
Asked when pregnant girls who were forced to drop out will be allowed to return to mainstream schools, Akwilapo said a decision will be announced after an analysis is completed. However, he did not say how long the analysis would take.
Source Article Written by Omar Mohammed and Edited by Maggie Fick and Mark Heinrich for Reuters.
