Mtwara eyes increased Form One enrolment

MTWARA District Council has developed strategies aimed at ensuring all the students selected to join Form One in 2023 report and start classes during the first term.

District Executive Director Ms Erica Yegella made the revelation here over the weekend, mentioning some of the strategies as organising meetings involving parents and public leaders and going door to door to identify students who have not reported to school.

“At the meeting to be conducted in every village, we will explain to parents the value of education to their children and the entire family as well as the government’s efforts in ensuring students access to quality education,” she said.

Ms Yegella said 60 per cent of the students who were selected to join form one in 2023 have been enrolled in school.

“By 18th (January) 60 per cent of the Form One students had reported in school,” she said.

She was speaking during a meeting convened to chat out strategic plans to improve school performance in the district.

Ms Yegella said the ward education officers will collaborate with public leaders at the grass roots, go house to house to unearth the students who have not yet reported to school.

“We have agreed to organise meetings, but very necessarily go house by house to unearth students who have not yet reported, our education officers in ward level will talk to parents whose children haven’t reported and get to know the reasons as to why their students are not in school as planned,” she said.

The DED said the government built 26 new classrooms in various secondary schools in Mtwara District Council to accommodate form one students in 2023 academic year.

Meanwhile, the District Council’s management signed an agreement with the head of secondary and primary schools to improve school performance in the area.

Secondary Education Officer in Mtwara District Council Mr Fadhili Mvungi said the contract will ensure all the school teachers in both secondary and primary schools in the area implement various activities to improve academic results in schools.

He mentioned improvement of English-speaking skills in secondary schools, ensuring strict school attendance among students and pupils.