PM orders proper use of teachers’ funds

DODOMA: PRIME Minister Kassim Majaliwa has instructed executives in all councils across the country to ensure that the funds allocated for teachers’ various entitlements are not channeled towards other uses.

“Teachers should be given their rightful entitlements on time, including paying arrears. This will minimise complaints against the government,” Mr Majaliwa said.

The Premier made the directives during a meeting with education stakeholders in Dodoma Region on Monday.

He also instructed education officers in the country to frequently visit villages and identify challenges in the education sector, instead of staying in the office. Mr Majaliwa said that the education sector is an agent of change in society economically, technologically and culturally in bringing development to the country.

He said that providing quality education to Tanzanians is one of the government’s priorities for the country’s development.

“To achieve this, we need this sector to be better, stronger and one that meets the needs of society by giving young people the knowledge and skills to deal with social, national and international challenges,” he said.

Moreover, he said that President Dr Samia Suluhu Hassan is the number one stakeholder in the education sector and during her three years of leadership, she invested in creating a better environment for education and ensuring that the government continues to implement various development plans in the education sector.

“I believe we are all witnesses of how Dr Samia implemented in practice to ensure quality education is available to all Tanzanian children regardless of gender or economic status,” he added.

The PM further said that some of the areas that President Dr Samia has championed reforms include the improvement of education infrastructure, construction of vocational colleges, an increment of loans for higher education students and a review of education and training policy.

Mr Majaliwa said that Dr Samia also strengthened the management of the education sector by providing means of transport to education supervisors and schools quality assurance.

She also strengthened the use of Information Communication Technology (ICT) in the provision of education and establishing a National Framework for Teachers Continuous Professional Development (NF-TCPD) to ensure that teachers are professionally empowered and supported within the effectively governed system.

For his part, Dodoma Regional Commissioner, Ms Rosemary Senyamule said that during the three years of President Dr Samia, a total of 92.4bn/- has been allocated to education infrastructure in the region.

“The number of government primary schools has increased from 784 to 819 schools in 2023/2024, while secondary schools have increased from 218 to 235 in the same period,” she said.