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Tabora girls school model should be applied countrywide

The World Friends Korea volunteers with their hosts, Tabora Girls Secondary School officials.

IMAGINE if you are living in some remote regions and you have to send your kids to school, the first thing you would think of is whether the school has facilities or not. This includes library, electricity, water and toilets.

But who should we hold responsible for the provision of such facilities. Is it the ministry of education, local governments, school administration or parents?I remember when my son was selected to join a government school, as a parent I was asked to report at the school.I was then given a list of items that I should buy for my son. In addition the school wanted me to contribute for desks procurement.

I did comply and paid the money on time. I was upset to find that after three months of making that payment, my son was still sitting on the floor.I had to take action. It was not realistic to see that the school administration had pocketed the money and did nothing to purchase the most wanted desks.

It is often sad that the schools keep asking for more money but do less for the students. Some people will argue that it is not all schools which conduct such a thing. Nevertheless many are notorious over such malpractice.However the recent development in Tabora where the World Friends Korea volunteers programme has helped the local communities to improve the learning environment cannot go without my commendation.

According to the founder of the project, Heesu Yang, the World Friends Korea Volunteers Programme under Korea International Cooperation Agency has sponsored the repair works for old electric system and rehabilitation of the Library in Tabora girl's secondary school (TGSS).
The project was initiated by the volunteer who is serving at the school as a biology teacher.

The students are overwhelmed that their library has been renovated and stable electricity supplied to the whole area of the school, which they believe will bring a new dimension in their studies.The official opening ceremony of the project was attended by the deputy representative, KOICA, Jinyoung Kim and Tabora regional educational officer, M. P Makungu.

According to the deputy representative besides boosting education, the project would also develop students' reading habit by creating an enabling studying environment.Before KOICA's support, TGSS students did not have any additional study materials to complement what they got from their teachers.

"Their performance has been low since the establishment of the school fifty five years ago," said the education officer, adding that the school can use electricity the whole day so that students can achieve academic excellence."WFK volunteers said that in addition to providing a safe place to study, the school also can prevent crime at night.

The education officer promised that the education authorities will make sure the building and electricity will continue to run in good condition.
The World Friends Korea Volunteers Programme, has been supporting small-scale volunteer projects to facilitate their activities and encourage capacity building of the host organization.

Currently, there are 79 volunteers serving in Tanzania in various fields. Other KOICA programmes include training programme whereby over 500 Tanzanians have participated in the training and development projects especially in agriculture, healthcare and education.We all realize that electricity and a library are very crucial in our schools. It is sad to know that the schools continue to suffer from lack of electricity and libraries.

But how long will this go on. Should we remain passive in terms of better planning for our schools.It is important to start reading clubs in our schools. These should go hand in hand with debate clubs so that students can find platforms where they can share knowledge generated by reading books.

The model that was used to rehabilitate the electricity system and the library at the school should be used by the ministry to improve the existing education infrastructure countrywide. If we count the number of schools scattered all over the country, which altogether face lack of facilities, our conscience will always tell us that we need a marshall plan to solve this chronic problem.