Fee-free education curtails school dropouts in Kilombero

BERNARD LUGONGO in Ifakara

SCHOOL dropout due to failure by parents or guardians to pay school charges in Kilombero district is now a thing of the past, thanks to the free education policy.

District Executive Director (DED) Denis Londo said here over the weekend after encountering one poor girl whose education journey was cut off in 2014 over school contributions.

Zainab Darata, a resident of Namwawala ward, found herself missing opportunity to continue with secondary education after dropping out when she was Form One due to failure to contribute 30,000 for school meals at the boarding school. Raised in a poor family, Zainab was living with her grandmother after both her parents died.

But, today, she also feels one of lucky poor girls at Namwawala. Having idling at home since dropping from school, she became among beneficiaries of the free vocational trainings under the ‘Preventing Child Marriage’ project in the district.

“Such cases of dropping out of school over contributions no longer happen...it’s unfortunate that Zainab met that bad experience when free education system was not yet in place,” remarked Mr Londo.

At a graduation ceremony for 80 vulnerable girls who completed different courses, including tailoring and cookery under the project, he said when President John Magufuli introduced the fee-free education some people mocked him.

“But, the initiative has been helpful to poor students in Kilombero like Zainab who dropped out of school due to contributions,” he stated. He said the ‘Preventing Child Marriage’ project which started in 2016 has brought a big impact in supporting the vulnerable girls in the district over a short period.

The project, funded by the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD), is being implemented by the Plan International Tanzania in collaboration with the government and other organisations.

Manager of the Plan International for Kilombero district, Mr Majani Rwambali, noted that the project targets 360 beneficiaries in the district, with over 160 already having benefited so far as the project set to end in December next year.

In their speech to the DED, the graduates said they hope that the skills they have acquired from the trainings will serve as a catalyst to eradicate child pregnancies and marriage in the district.