Prof Mkenda: Religious institutions key to social development

KILIMANJARO: THE Minister for Education, Science and Technology, Prof Adolf Mkenda, said that religious institutions have made significant and sincere contributions to the development of the country’s social sector, including education.

Prof Mkenda made the remarks over the weekend in Moshi District, Kilimanjaro region, during the 25th-anniversary celebration of St Maria Goreti secondary school located in the municipality of Moshi.

In a speech read on his behalf by the Deputy Permanent Secretary in the docket, Dr Wilson Mahera, Prof Mkenda said religious institutions have contributed and continue to contribute to promoting education at all levels, including higher learning institutions.

“Religious institutions have established educational institutions from the nursery level to higher learning institutions, including universities in various parts of the country; these investments complement the government’s efforts to improve the education sector,” he said.

Prof Mkenda praised the management of St Maria Goreti secondary school for establishing the school, which has enabled Tanzanians to address the challenge of sending their children abroad for education.

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“With the establishment of Maria Goreti school, this challenge has been addressed because Tanzanian students can now receive better education within the country, where they can also learn good values and patriotism for their nation,” he said.

During the ceremony, Bishop of Moshi Catholic Diocese, His Eminence Ludovick Joseph Minde, praised the school’s management for organising a Thanksgiving Mass Service to celebrate the anniversary.

The head of the school, Sr Clementina Kachweka, said the school was established in 1999 with the aim of providing Tanzanian children with the opportunity to receive a good education and learn good values and patriotism for their country, which she said is not easy to find when studying in another country.

Speaking on behalf of the school’s alumni, Ms Hilda thanked the school’s founders and other stakeholders for establishing the school, which enabled them to receive a good education.