DAR ES SALAAM, October 5, 2007—Kitunda is a small, lively and peri-urban settlement some 30 kilometers outside of Dar es Salam in the Ilala District. Though it’s described as an unplanned settlement, it has a lot going on – small local businesses, lots of schools and an efficient and reliable water system.
On the sidelines of the Aid-for-Trade Conference in Dar-es-Salaam, October 1-2, World Bank Regional Vice President for Africa, Obiageli Ezekwesili visited Kitunda to make an on-the-ground assessment of the World Bank’s support in the education and water sectors.
Her first stop was at Jitihada Primary School in Kitunda, one of the 100 primary schools in Ilala District. The district also boasts 72 pre-primary schools and 48 secondary schools.
Jitihada is one of the schools supported by a development grant under the government of Tanzania’s Primary Education Development Program launched in 2001. The program is supported by several development partners, including the World Bank.
“Just visiting the school and seeing the boisterousness of those children and to see the passion to learn really makes your heart go soft,” said Ezekwesili. “It shows clearly that the investment of children in Africa is going to be the way that Africa really makes it…having those children have the access to education, which is the basis of knowledge, is a very fantastic thing that the government and the people of Tanzania are doing.”
Ezekwesili speaks with students at the Jitihada Primary School in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
Jitihada opened in 2004 to reduce overcrowding in two other primary schools located on the same compound. The school is led by a head teacher who works with a school committee to provide management oversight. Rehema Kiwalaka, one of the senior teachers at the school, explained that the school has made steady progress.
“We stared with 536 pupils drawn from Kitunda and Kerezange primary schools, which greatly reduced their congestion, in addition to the problem of few teachers,” Kiwalaka said. “Today, we have 10 classrooms and 1,278 pupils of whom 612 are boys and 666 are girls. We also have 23 teachers. This year, with the help of government and parents, we are improving the school and have managed to build two houses for staff.”
All the information Kiwalaka provided about the numbers of students is displayed at the school on what is known as “the talking wall.” Under a government policy aimed at increasing transparency and accountability, the school must display on one of its walls information related to school management: enrolment figures, teachers, financial resources received (such as capitation and development grants), expenditures, teaching timetable, members of the school committee, teachers on duty and prioritized targets to be achieved annually.
Jitihada Primary School students in class.
Despite its success, Jitihada faces some major challenges.The school now faces the same overcrowding problem it was built to solve. The classes each have over 100 students and the teacher to pupil ratio is high. With only 254 desks in the whole school, finding sitting space is also a challenge. Addressing the quality of education also remains a big challenge.
According to Kiwalaka, however, the school is grateful for what it can provide.
“We are grateful to the development partners like the World Bank and the government who have made it possible for us to have schools like this one, which fulfils the dream of Tanzania’s children to have an education.”
A student at the Jitihada Primary School solves a problem on the classroom blackboard.
With an International Development Association (IDA) Adjustment Credit of US$150 million and a grant of US$50 million from the Netherlands, the Primary Education Development Program, which funds Jitihada, is largely meeting its cardinal objectives of expanding school access, and improving education quality and completion.
During her visit, Ezekwesili promised that the Bank would continue to support education in Tanzania.
“The Bank continues to support and to partner with the Government of Tanzania to ensure that education is given the pride of place in its development priorities,” she said.
.gif "A student at the Jitihada Primary School solves a problem on the classroom blackboard.")
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