ALMOST a week after school re-opening, the government has said that enrolment has increased with the target expected at 88.5 per cent, thanks to the State’s 1.3tri/- funds injected in different sectors including education.
Speaking to reporters yesterday, the Chief Government Spokesperson, Gerson Msigwa, who is also the Director of Information Services said that this year, the number of pupils registered for Standard One stood at 1,446,067, including 2,942 pupils with special needs.
The number, he said, was equivalent to 88.48 per cent of the expected to be registered in this year, which stands at 1,634,365.
On Secondary Education, Mr Msigwa said the number of students who reported for Form One had of yesterday reached 354,277 including those with special needs, who had reached 697.
“The number is equivalent to 33 per cent of the target which is 1,070,941 that were selected to join Form One,” he added.
At the media conference, the Chief Government Spokesperson also took time to explain the progress of the Julius Nyerere Hydro Power Project (JNHPP), saying that the water depth in the Dam had increased and reached 111 metres above sea level (ASL) by the end of this week.
Mr Msigwa said that in general, the implementation of the construction of the JNHPP had reached 80 per cent.
“Until the end of this week, the depth of water that continues to fill our Dam had reached 111 metres above sea level,” said Mr Msigwa.
The construction of JNHPP went a notch higher last month after President Samia Suluhu Hassan officiated the opening of the diversion channel that will direct water into the dam for generation of electricity.
The diversion is crucial because the volume of water diverted into the reservoir is crucial for the generation of electricity.
“We thank God that the rains that continue to pound various parts of the country have continued to fill water into the Dam. Water level is increasing significantly and the implementation of other construction works is proceeding well,” he said.
Msigwa also said that if the government plans go well, by June 2024, the country will start getting electricity from the 2,115 megawatts project, which is being built at the cost of 6.55tri/-.
He added that currently, the ongoing work is the construction of Cooling Power Stations as well as Electricity Transmission Lines, so as to connect electricity to the national grid directly by the time production starts.
The government spokesperson also said that currently, the state of access to electricity in the country is good because the continuing rains have strengthened power production.
“Supply of electricity is in good state now, there are few areas that are still facing some challenges but it is because of the ongoing work of infrastructure maintenance and not due to poor and inadequate production,” said Msigwa.
“I believe many of you will be the witnesses that even in the last year’s holiday season things were good, there was no load shedding,” he added.
