Mwinyi throws weight behind teachers’ welfare
PRESIDENT Hussein Ali Mwinyi on Friday opened a new secondary school here, assuring teachers that his administration is currently making efforts to improve their welfare.
He gave the assurance when he graced the opening of the Kwa-Binti -Amrani Secondary School in Mpendae Constituency.
He renamed the new school ‘Salim Turkey’ to honour the late Turkey who was the MP of the constituency in the Union parliament.
“My administration is currently making efforts to review teachers’ welfare in different areas for better service delivery. I therefore urge all teachers to be dedicated to their work and give students the best that is required to pass,” Dr Mwinyi said.
He said in addition to better welfare teachers must undergo regular training, capacity building, and work in better environment so that they can comfortably teach students for better academic outcomes.
“We target having improved infrastructures- modern buildings with library, computer room, modern Lab, students’ hostels, and teaching materials so that there is no excuse for having poor results in examinations,” Dr Mwinyi emphasised.
Second Vice-President Hemed Suleiman Abdulla praised Dr Mwinyi for his ongoing efforts to improve infrastructure, workforce, including creating conducive environment. “The ball is in your court… students, parents and teachers must now make the best use of the opportunity,” Mr Abdulla said.
Minister for Education and Vocational Training Ms Lela Mohamed Mussa and her Deputy Mr Ali Abdul Ghulam thanked the President for dishing out funds, amounting to more than 84bn/- mainly from the IMF’s Covid-19 relief fund, which has enabled the improvement of education sector in a short period of time.
“We thank the President also for releasing more than 12bn/- for loans to students of higher learning institutions.
More than 4,800 students are benefiting from the loans,” the deputy minister said at the event held as part of the activities to celebrate the 59th anniversary of Zanzibar’s revolution.
Education Principal Secretary (PS) Mr Khamis Abdulla said the new two-storey school has 29 classrooms to accommodate 1,305 students, averaging 45 students per classroom. Dr Mwinyi has been insisting that the number of students in a classroom should not exceed forty-five.
Mpendae Constituency Member of Parliament Mr Tawfiq Salim Turkey joined the chairperson of social welfare committee in the Zanzibar House of Representatives Mr Mohamed Ahmada Salum in commending Dr Mwinyi for his deliberate efforts to improve education in the Isles.
Mr Turkey asked the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training to speed up the process of drafting the new curriculum so that students and teachers can adopt it as quickly as possible.
The new curriculum is expected to include skills and confidence building so that students from Zanzibar are prepared and trained to fit in the competitive free labour market.
