Improving Education at the District Level

I mentioned a while back that I was going to send a letter with feedback to the District Education Officer in Ngara. I gave him that letter a couple weeks ago, and have yet to receive a response. The letter provided some suggestions about how he might be able to make some changes to improve the quality of education that students receive in Ngara District, recognizing the limitations of being a district official in an educational system that is itself the main impediment to improving the quality of education in Tanzania. Still, there is a lot that could be done at the district level that would probably significantly improve education. Obviously this is specific to my experience, but conversations with other volunteers lead me to believe a lot of these suggestions are applicable to districts across Tanzania.

First, Ngara District officials have a lot of power to positively impact “English only education.” District officials can set an example for all the people working in Secondary Schools across the district by conducting business in English. For example, at a district teachers meeting most of the seminars were conducted in Swahili (despite the fact that one of the sessions was on the importance of “English only education”) and business in the education office office is also conducted in Swahili. If the district set the example of an “English only” office, it could positively impact “English only education.”. As it stands now, teachers do not use English at school, and many even teach their subjects in Swahili, despite the fact that all the national exams are in English. This is partially because teachers are not comfortable using English, and their use of English is not promoted. It is not uncommon to see teachers telling students to use English, while they continue to use Swahili. The students have no example to follow. Indeed, the teachers themselves have no example to follow. If all district education business was conducted in English (except where impossible, as in dealing with new students, parents and the general community), it would set a fantastic example, all the way to the bottom.

Second, district officials have power to ensure that teachers are arriving at school on time, and teaching their classes. Teacher lateness is very common, and many teachers do not teach all their periods. While teachers are supposed to arrive at 7:30, many don’t begin to show up until ten minutes after that, and some consistently show up a full 30 minutes late. Classes begin at 7:40, 10 minutes after teachers are supposed to arrive. It is not uncommon for the headmaster or secondmaster to sign the attendance book, writing “Seen, 7:30.” at 8:00, effectively legitimizing all the teachers who arrive late, yet write “7:30” as their arrival time. An accurate enforcement mechanism could be required by the district office. It is also possible for the district office to request the headmaster or secondmaster do random checks, going to a classroom when a teacher is supposed to be teaching, to ensure that they are actually teaching. Both of these measures would ultimately need to be enforced by the district, but I think they could greatly improve teacher performance.

Third, the district office should work to improve the quality of instruction that students receive. It is not uncommon for me to enter a classroom to find a student writing the notes, from a book, that a teacher has requested the student write during his or her period. This is not teaching, or an acceptable teaching practice. I think the district can play a role in promoting improved teaching methods by not only sending observers to watch classes, but also by creating a teacher quality initiative, where teachers are required to observe their peers, writing feedback for their peers, and evaluations for the district. This too would initially require enforcement, but ultimately could have a very positive impact.

Fourth, classes are consistently, and unnecessarily, canceled for a variety of meetings or special events. It is rare that a week goes by without one (or more) of my classes being canceled for one reason or another. For example, one day some district officials came to Ngara Secondary for a meeting and the first period after tea break was canceled as a result. The topic of the meeting was how to improve Form IV results. One way to improve results is for classes not to be canceled for staff meetings, or for anything that can be scheduled during the many afternoons when classes are not in session (clubs, religion, debate, and sports and games). Since most of these activities are conducted without teacher involvement, it makes a lot of sense to require that meetings and special events be scheduled during these time slots.

Those were my four primary suggestions, at least two of which would be relatively easy to implement. I expect nothing will change (for a variety of reasons), just as I expect the education system will also not change in any fundamental way for the foreseeable future.