TANZANIA: Bishop Kassala; Education Sector is Facing Challenges of Lack of Morals
Sarah Pelaji
The Bishop chairman for Education Department at Tanzania Episcopal Conference, TEC, Rt. Rev Flavian Kassala has insisted that Catholic Schools ought to provide integral formation especially on morals. He said this during the meeting of the Secretaries of Education from the various Catholic Dioceses in the country, coordinated by the National Education office in Kurasini, Dar es Salaam.
Bishop Kassala asserts that Catholic schools must continue providing proper education flavoured by the Catholic identity not any other influences including aid from international donors. He explained that the education sector in the country is faced with many challenges including lack of morals arising from the distribution of additional books to primary and secondary schools, some of which are promoting values that are against African morals such as same sex relationship.
Some schools have started to experience deviant behaviour due to the influence by other nations and philanthropists that allow acts such as homosexuality.
“This should not happen to Catholic schools especially because quality of our schools is not determined with beautiful building but wholistic formation that provides the students with the identity of Christ, fear of God and competence. Education is focused not merely on passing on information or training people for employment but the formation of the whole person,” he emphasized.
Bishop Kassala further said that the issue regarding identity is not so much to baptize students who are non-Catholics but to build morals and personality so that the students eventually become good ambassadors in society.
“It is clear that despite these challenges, Catholic schools are also facing internal challenges including a decrease in number of students joining our schools: so, you must discuss in order to find a solution,” he said while adding, “Let’s see if our fees or our prejudice to reject students who don’t have academic abilities are the reason,” he said.
The Bishop Chairman for Education at TEC also informed that the United Republic of Tanzania through the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology has drafted Education improvement policies and curriculum and that Government has shared it with different education stakeholders to gather opinions and feedback before it is sent to the House of Parliament as a bill where it may finally be passed into law.
“So, TEC as one of the major stakeholders of education in the country, I invite you to discuss in detail the draft as expertise in the field for Academic Improvements in the country. I suggest that you look at it again together and make appropriate recommendations because you are the ones who know the real situations in our schools/ universities,” he emphasized.
Among other things, the draft proposes basic education in Tanzania to start from Grade One up to Six and then Form One up to Four. When the pupils reach the sixth grade, they will be divided into two groups, one group taking academic courses while the second group takes technical courses.
“We want to improve the quality of education in the country. However, take note that quality education is not about students passing examinations with high grades but them acquiring integral formation. I insist on this especially to our Catholic Schools,” he said.
On his part, the Secretary General for Tanzania Episcopal Conference Rev. Charles Kitima said that the Catholic Church has been in the forefront of providing non-discriminatory education to the community, and that it still continues to be proud of its fruits, including academic success based on moral foundations. However, he said that currently the Vatican has united the Department of Cultural with Education to ensure that Catholic schools provide the kind of education that builds the students’ ability to recognize and live in a culture that is informed by the Catechism of the Catholic Church, hence the emphasis on teaching religious education in Catholic schools.
According to the Head of Education Department at TEC Sr. Joyce Mboya CDNK, among the things that were discussed were about policy and curriculum improvements, the challenge of the decrease of students joining Catholic schools especially form five and six, the challenges of teachers leaving Catholic schools and the teaching of religious subjects in schools.
In the discussion, the economic instability of some parents, the cancellation of government school fees from primary school and secondary schools have been mentioned as among the reasons.
However, Bishop Kassala is requesting parents to continue to trust Catholic schools based on the quality of education they provide which, despite good performance, it also builds the students in integral formation.
