Doubts linger as school inspection week opens

[BabuK]

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TAMONGSCO Secretary General, Benjamin Nkonya
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A countrywide School Inspection Week kicks off today, with the Tanzania Association of Managers and Owners of Non-Government Schools and Colleges (TAMONGSCO) urging the government to revoke the licences of private schools violating registration requirements.

Tamongsco Secretary General Benjamin Nkonya said in an exclusive telephone interview yesterday that the errant schools should not be allowed to continue with their operations "because they are undermining the reputation of others that abide by the country's laws, rules and regulations".

He said the association knows of endless complaints from parents, guardians, students and education stakeholders about schools violating registration requirements with impunity and thus causing inconveniences to students and other members of the public.

"Some of these schools furnished the government with false information and data during registration, including that they have enough buildings and staff of their own," noted Nkonya, adding: "Others operate only for a short while after registration merely as a way of obtaining money from unsuspecting students, before cleverly closing shop."

He also referred to recent media reports about schools fond of transporting students using unauthorised, usually overcrowded, vehicles and therefore seriously endangering the students' lives.

"There is this notorious tendency of owners of private schools lying that they have buses to move students around when they don't have such facilities but instead they rely on private cars, mostly hired, which is unacceptable," he added.

Nkonya explained that, while standing regulations stipulate that school buses must be painted yellow, many of the so-called of those we see on the streets do
not bear that colour.

"Tamongsco is more than ready and willing to collaborate with the government in ensuring that there is full compliance with existing instructions," he said, noting: "However, it is the government that is responsible for ensuring that any school it has registered observes existing laws and regulations or risk deregistration or else nullify its registration.

He said the association has been every now and then alerting the government on schools not abiding abide by registration requirements "but, for all we know, no action has so far been taken against them".

"We have been notifying the government whenever our members go against to registration requirements but, again, the no really stern measures have been taken against the defaulters," he added, suggesting that this could be due to the fact that because some of the errant schools are owned by "influential people in government circles".

The five-day countrywide School Inspection Week will be overseen by the Education and Vocational Training ministry, the thrust being on influencing education stakeholders and members of the public to throw their weight behind the national Big Results Now (BRN) initiative.

Marystella Wassena, director of the school inspection department in the ministry, said they will spend much of the week "advertise school inspection activities to education stakeholders and members of the public so as to bring positive results in BRN".

SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN