CAUSES OF FAILURE AND SOLUTIONS
. CAUSES OF POOR PERFORMANCE FOR FORM FOUR EXAMINATION.
Any nation in the world is very serious in case of education, simply because for any society to attain development in every field of life, must invest much in education. Good and settle plans are given high priority preferable to the field of education. That is why western countries have succeeded on this. Now, for the case of Tanzania, we may look in deep this situation. The mass failure of students in Tanzania for the year 2012 has been contributed by different factors, namely:
Lack of seriousness among Tanzanians. The kind of seriousness which is discussed here, is that which mean- that majority of Tanzanians, we are not responsible or liable in caring education. Most of people take education in easy manner. We dont consider education as a liberator toward our development. Education is the keyword for every person in order to have an insight on how he/she can deliver well life. Man born with no education, but is the subject of receiving education so as to cope better with daily life. If so, man is need of education, therefore it is responsible for him to secure education in serious way, knowing the fruit of that education.
Admission of disqualified students to secondary education. This has been a great problem to our education, just because of poor educational plans in our nation due to the poor political intolerance. Politics in any country is major and core point of national plans-means every nation decision is made under the umbrella of central government (political). Although, political is much evolved in deciding nation plans, but should not be used indifferently for the sake of cleaning government leaders to be seen better for the citizens. In case of this, the number of pupils joins secondary education unable to count, read and write while taken from primary schools as those passed primary education. This is quite different, and led them to fail in their final secondary exam.
The removal of form two secondary examinations. Examination in education is set for the purpose of measurement of a student to observe whether has understood what he/she taught or not. That is where evaluation is made for further manifestation. In Tanzania, this has been not taken in consideration and left aside. That is why form two examination has been removed. It is dangerous thing in education. To remove form two exam, actually which was giving a picture for form four examination, is the main source of severe failure. Hence, form two exanimation, most of student who settle for form four examination were clean at least to reduce failure (zero score). Though, zeros still were there, but not much as it is today.
The poor relationship between four groups-i.e. students, teachers, parents and government. These groups are not having enough rapport. Nowadays, students have no good relationship with teachers, teachers also have poor rapport with surrounding society (parents) and finally parents together loose satisfactory relation with government. The lack of good relationship among these groups, pave the way in poor performance in all issues concern with education. Finally disunity brings up disparity in working together as coherent in field of education leading poor performance in final examination, the case of candidates.
Wicked setting of educational syllabuses and random changing of national educational curriculum. In Tanzania, the subject syllabuses are not well set indeed of relevance to the environment, also curriculum has been in culture of changing in the short periods of time and find out not proper match to the need of Tanzanian education. Many of the schools run without proper defined curriculum. It is not the problem of the school runners rather is the mistake of government who suppose to identify a specific curriculum to be followed and ensure its implementation, but further to specify the clear stated time for the curriculum to be used indeed. When the syllabuses and curriculum are not well determined to guide in teaching and learning activities, the nation produces inappropriate learners and lead to the poor performance (zero scores).
The problem of teaching-learning language. Tanzania is known as famous country all over the world that uses Kiswahili as medium language for communication in officials. Despite of Kiswahili to be used in most of areas including officials, Kiswahili does not used in teaching for secondary schools, except to be opt as a single unit subject among nine subjects taught in secondary education. The language used in teaching and learning activities in our secondary schools is English for eight subjects and only single subject which is Kiswahili is taught in Kiswahili which is national language, and known by all Tanzanians including teachers and students. A student is taught in Kiswahili all the subjects in kindergarten to primary level, but since there, after attending to secondary school the language changes. So, English is proposed to be used in this level, while is difficult to most of students and teachers because they have no competence in English usage-hence failure in examinations.
Poor management of schools by government and other bodies. By the time of 2000s, secondary schools in Tanzania increased rapidly under government policy of shule za kata. So, the increases of many ward schools, the government have been not succeeded to manage them well. Absence of organized management has taken into the way of producing many failures.
Absence of enough number of teachers and teaching equipments made a great possible to get high number of students graduated for their ordinary education to failure. There is no good number of secondary teachers who suffice with number of students (the number of students is higher compared to teachers). Also teaching equipments like those of science subjects, in case of shule za kata laboratories and libraries so forth, are not available in most secondary schools in Tanzania. Instead, yet, science subjects are not practically conducted rather theoretical. This taken in consideration that, students instead of answering those subjects practically, are answering in theoretically hence failure.
Misbehaving of the students and failure to prevent immorality of the students as well as teachers. Todays life have been changed a great in our societies, whichever, the increase of science and technology together with globalization through mass medias, made tolerance of western behaviors which actually, doe not cope with Tanzania or African traditional in the field of teaching-learning setting. Students truancy takes roots in secondary schools with no one cares on that, neither teachers nor parents. Punishment is avoided to those evil doers in schools, therefore no concentration on learning and teaching; which, its results is what we experience today.
Bad teaching environment and low salaries/allowances given to the teachers. Teachers does not considered as the professionals who need to be cared compared to others professionals. Teachers are the ones who receive low salaries and allowances and working in poor environment compared to other professional. Under this circumstance, teachers lack encouragement, and feel inferior to their field, something push them to drop down in teaching. Moreover, sometimes teachers leave at school before appropriate time and go to look for alternatives to increase their income. On other side, teachers do not attend effectively to schools just because of the factor identified.
The culture of forcing, every pupil who complete preliminary education, to join secondary education. This has been the problem to Tanzanian education and results to bad failure of the students in their exams; due to the reason behind that, not every student is interested in secondary education. Any person is capable of something which he masters according to his natural talent. Even sustaining in formal secondary academic is also a personal talent. So, man is intelligent, but not in every sphere of life; in that sense, the severe failure of form four students, is caused by dumping many student in secondary schools rather than considering the level of intelligence among students. Others may be blessed on other field and interested in, for instance, carpentry, artist (singers), fine arts so on. It could be good, to give the students chance to opt in which field wishes to go. By doing so, we may produce many experts in their fields rather than dumping them in academics.
Last but not least, the influence of the external donor to our system of education. This rushed Tanzanian education system from its originality to copy on western system that which is different to our traditional system we experienced. When we depend on outside aids, they enforce the government to draft the curriculum and syllabuses by including western contents than basing on our contents that are relevant to students and teachers in which become easy to present material in good manner since students capture and understand what are taught. Also is the source of our student to fail.
As has been discovered above, the results of the factors described is what now, most of Tanzanians we cries on- that- bad failure of form four students in the examination. It seems that, no direction to our education process and plans imposed toward education mission as the entirely nations. We have no responsibility, we dont care about education and not much seriousness we pose to our education. Further serious damage to this results is lack of experts special in their areas of their inquiry, and lack of professionals who latter could contribute a bit to the development of nation. Also our nation will still on dependence of external-that-neo colonialism.
POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS TO BE TAKEN TO REDUCE/ERADICATE THE EXISTING PROBLEM.
Everything that occurs must be proportional to its cause(s), and decrease in quality for Tanzanian secondary education has been actively proven by poor performance of students I 2012; whereby, every Tanzanian has been shocked of it. And many factors have described. Strictly speaking and manifesting on addressing its solution, we must be probity to praxis inculcating suitable measures that keen our education for the future betterment of our societies and nation at large. To escape from the damage of exhausting Tanzanian education, the following should be practiced seriously:
Every citizen of Tanzania must bear himself/herself seriousness on activating enough for the contribution of rising our entirely education. For every person should put in mind that, it is his/her responsibility to improve education by any means so as to create the fruitful nation with clean elites. Each educational stakeholder and stake share is liable to exhibit the best means to the success of our education, either by imposing new plans for teaching-learning or school management. Children have to know their responsibility; teachers teach effectively, parents must take their responsible indeed the government have to exercise effort to lead educational institutions in proper way.
Ministry of education and vocational training should be careful on admitting students to secondary schools. This will reduce admission of several disqualified students who taken in secondary education. Because is the government vision to make sure that millennium goal is every Tanzanian access to secondary education. Actually, this is poor vision toward education. Something to understand is that, not everyone necessarily to acquire secondary education instead primary education. By so doing, secondary school will receive the clean children who are able to compete on getting sufficient education in secondary schools.
Form two examination must be given high priority. Government have to make sure that form two national examination is turned over to schools, and pose out strategic ways to make sure that every student who sit for final form four examination is able to tackle properly questions. Furthermore, every class since form one to form four must have an effective exam before entering to next class. But not only exam, also at least a student must acquire grade C to jump for next class in order to have the good competent students and finally zero scores at the end of form four will be reduced.
Creation of good rapport among education stakeholders and stake shares i.e. teachers, students, parents (society) and government. By building good relationship among these groups will bring up cooperation in working together and unify them. For this sense, teachers will care children in teaching by dealing them perpendicularly, parents will participate also in caring student development at schools by accompanying teachers; the government also will make nearby effective inspection at schools and providing teaching equipment at large.
