DAR ES SALAAM: MINISTER for Education, Science and Technology, Professor Adolph Mkenda, has urged school quality assurers to continue working diligently with determination to enhance the quality of education in the country.
He made the remarks on Friday during a ceremony to hand over vehicles to school quality assurance officers held at the National Council for Technical, Vocational Education and Training (NACTVET) in Dar es salaam.
The vehicles, which were purchased by the government in collaboration with the Global Partnership for Education (GPE), will be used to improving the working environment for school quality assurance officers.
‘The government is committed to improving your working conditions and welfare. President Samia Suluhu Hassan has directed us to enhance the quality of education by ensuring close monitoring, making recommendations and taking appropriate actions.
The Ministry of Education relies on you, wherever you are, work with great determination and efficiency to achieve the best results,” said Prof Mkenda. He underscored the importance of school quality assurers in identifying challenges and providing feedback to leaders to improve education sector.
‘It is your responsibility to observe and report. Be proactive, if you see an issue that needs attention, report it to your supervisor, district commissioner, or relevant authority so that we can find ways to improve,” he said.
ALSO READ: Education project empowers school girls
Prof Mkenda acknowledged the significant contributions of school quality assurers in addressing various challenges within the education sector, pledging to continue enhancing their working conditions.
‘Our ministry benefits from your presence in the field. No incident affecting education in the country goes unnoticed. If I ask the Director of the Quality Assurance Department, I receive a detailed report within a day, including the school, the individuals involved and the actions taken. You are playing a crucial role and now that you have been equipped with essential tools, step up your efforts,” he stressed.
The minister also urged them to embrace technology in their duties in order to facilitate efficient data collection and monitoring, even before visiting schools physically.
Prof Mkenda further highlighted the government’s ongoing efforts to improve the education sector as part of broader economic transformation plans.
He said the investment made had helped in enhancing the education quality by equipping students with skills, knowledge and competencies needed to compete at both national and international levels, ultimately contributing to national development.
On the newly handed-over vehicles, Prof. Mkenda said that they would enable school quality assurers to assess education standards in more schools and provide expert guidance to teachers, leading to improved learning outcomes.
He also commended GPE for partnering with the government in procuring the vehicles, reaffirming the government’s commitment to collaborating with various stakeholders to further strengthen the education sector. O
n his part, the Director of the Quality Assurance Department in the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, Mr Ephraim Simbeye, expressed gratitude to the government’s efforts to improve the education sector, emphasising that the new vehicles would significantly enhance the efficiency of school quality assurers. He pledged that the vehicles would be used effectively to meet their intended purpose.
Representing GPE, Ms Kemi Williams, Development Director at the British High Commission in Tanzania, underscored the importance of investing in education for the nation’s future and economic growth. ‘The youth of Tanzania are the future and the future of Tanzania is education.
Ensuring the quality of education requires many resources and today we have seen some of the efforts being made,” she said. The vehicles were procured as part of the second phase of the government-GPE partnership. In the first phase, 38 vehicles were purchased and distributed to quality assurance offices.
In this second phase, 12 additional vehicles have been acquired, bringing the total to 50. The 12 vehicles, costing approximately 1.7bn/- and will be distributed to 11 districts that previously lacked vehicles, while one vehicle will remain at the ministry for monitoring and coordination of GPE programmes.
The beneficiary districts include Kibondo, Korogwe, Njombe, Tanganyika, Manyoni, Mbozi, Serengeti, Tunduma, Babati, Kahama and Mafia.
