Local News

Muslim clerics want probe on NECTA exam marking system

NECTA Secretary General, Dr Joyce Ndalichako.

LEADERS of Muslim organizations have urged the government to form an independent probe team to investigate the National Examination Council of Tanzania (NECTA) marking system.

The request comes few days after Muslims claimed that there were irregularities in the marking and grading of Islamic studies for Muslim students who completed Form Six last year. The Secretary General of the Council of Islamic Organizations, Mr Issa Ponda, said this in Dar es Salaam on Thursday.

He said Muslims would, after 14 days, march to the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training offices to push for their demands. “We want the ministry to form a probe team and we want NECTA’s Secretary General, Dr Joyce Ndalichako to resign within 14 days from now, failure of which we will be forced to march to the ministry to ensure that our demands are met,” he stressed.

Sheikh Ponda said calls for the probe was in good faith as Muslim leaders felt there could be a number of irregularities within NECTA’s marking systems. “Since NECTA had admitted wrong doing in the claims which we came up with and reissued results for Islamic knowledge subject, we feel that this problem could be bigger, hence, the need for the probe team,” he said.

Earlier, the Chairman of Muslim Youths’ Council, Mr Shaaban Mapeyo, said failure by NECTA to issue authentic results caused serious damages to Muslim youths who failed to join tertiary education. Mr Mapeyo further said that by admitting the mess, Dr Ndalichako should step down for failure to prevent such a situation from occurring.

The Minister for Education and Vocational Training, Dr Shukuru Kawamba, was quoted as saying that the previous system used by NECTA was to blame for what happened and that calls for Dr Ndalichako to resign were baseless.

Meanwhile, Muslim leaders have threatened to stage a demonstration in August to contest the move by the government to ignore Muslims’ demand of including religion component in census questionnaires. The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) Executive Director, Dr Albina Chuwa, has said that religion would not be included as it is not a criterion for the government’s development plans.