Maoni ya wadau wa Elimu kuhusu Bajeti ya Elimu haya hapa. Kiswahili na Kingereza

Maoni ya Wadau wa Elimu kuhusu Bajeti ya Wizara ya Elimu na Mafunzo ya Ufundi iliosomwa Bungeni 13 Agosti, 2012 - HakiElimu, Dar es Salaam.

HakiElimu inalitazama suala la elimu kwa kila mtu kama haki ya msingi baada ya haki ya kuishi, kwetu sisi elimu ndiyo haki pekee inayoweza kumsaidia mtoto au mwanadamu yoyote aweze kupata haki zake nyingine zote. Kwa sababu hiyo, HakiElimu inaamini kuwa suala la kupambana na changamoto zinazoikabili sekta ya elimu nchini si la kufumbiwa macho na ni jukumu la kila Mtanzania. 

Kama shirika linalojihusisha na utetezi wa haki ya kupata elimu, HakiElimu iliandaa na kufanya mkutano na wadau wa elimu mbalimbali uliyolenga kujadili hali ya elimu nchini, kufuatilia Bajeti ya Wizara ya Elimu na Mafunzo ya Ufundi ya 2012/2013, ikiwasilishwa Bungeni  tarehe 13 Agosti, 2012 na kutoa maoni, mitazamo na ushauri juu ya bajeti hiyo na mwelekeo wa elimu kwa ujumla.

1.      Katika hotuba yake Waziri hajazungumzia kabisa mgomo wa walimu uliofanyika hivi karibuni. Hii inatia shaka kama serikali ina nia ya dhati kushughulikia kero na matatizo ya walimu. Kama serikali inataka kufikia muafaka na walimu na kuboresha ufundishaji ni lazima ikubali kuwa kuna tatizo na isikwepe wala kuona aibu kulijadili suala hili kwa uwazi. Aidha, Bajeti haina mkakati maalumu wa kuongeza ubora wa walimu ambao ni muhimu katika kuleta elimu bora. Serikali imeendelea kupuuza maslahi ya walimu huku ikikataa kukubali kuwa bila kukuboresha maslahi yao hawatafanya kazi kwa moyo.
 

2.      Waziri pia hakugusia vizuri suala la migomo ya wanafunzi vyuo vikuu ambayo mingi husababishwa na matatizo ya Bodi ya Mikopo. Ni muhimu kubadilisha mfumo wa utoaji wa mikopo; Bodi ya Mikopo iwe na matawi mikoani ili kurahisisha utoaji wa mikopo na kupunguza urasimu. Pia, katika kupunguza kero zilizopo kwa wanafunzi wasiokuwa na uwezo wa kujilipia masomo ya juu, Serikali ingekuja na mkakati wa kuwasomesha wanafunzi waliofaulu kwa kiwango cha juu. Hii ingekuwa tumaini kwa watoto wanaotoka kwenye familia masikini.

3.      Bajeti hii haina tofauti yoyote na ile ya mwaka jana kwa maana ya uwezo wa kutatua changamoto za elimu na hatutegemei mapya katika utekelezekaji wake. Bajeti haizungumzii kwa kina jinsi ya kukabiliana na changamoto zilizopo katika sekta ya elimu; haina upembuzi yakinifu wa matatizo na njia za kuyatatua. 

4.      Bajeti bado inatoa kipaumbele katika matumizi ya kawaida na kupuuza uwekezaji wa msingi katika elimu. Mathalani, katika makadirio ya bajeti ya takribani shilingi bilioni 724, ni shilingi bilioni 92.5 tu zilizotengwa kwa ajili ya shughuli za maendeleo katika elimu. Hii ina maana kuwa ni asilimia 13 ya bajeti itaenda kwenye shugghuli za maendeleo na zaidi ya bilioni 630 (87%) zimekwenda katika matumizi ya kawaida!

5.      Aidha, suala lingine lililojitokeza ni utegemezi mkubwa wa Serikali kwa fedha za wahisani katika kutekeleza miradi yake ya maendeleo. Katika Bajeti hii kati ya shilingi bilioni 92.5 zilizotengwa kwa ajili ya miradi ya maendeleo, ni shilingi bilioni 18.5 (asilimia 20) tu ndizo zitatoka katika vyanzo vya ndani wakati shilingi bilioni 74 (asilimia 80) zinatarajiwa kutoka kwa wahisani! Utegemezi kwa wahisani wa kiwango kikubwa hivi ni hatari kwa maendeleo ya nchi yetu kwani kama wahisani hao watakwama kutoa misaada yao basi mipango yetu ya maendeleo  nayo itakwama 

6.    Tumemsikia Waziri wa Elimu na Mafunzo ya Ufundi akisema uwiano wa mwalimu kwa wanafunzi umeboreshwa kutoka 1 kwa 48 hadi 1 kwa 46. Kwa juu juu, inaonekana tumefanya vizuri, kwani lengo letu ni kufikia uwiano wa 1 kwa 45. Lakini kuna angalizo; huu ni wastani na unaficha ukweli kwamba katika maeneo mengi watoto wanaweza kuzidi 50, 60 au 70 kwa mwalimu mmoja. Bajeti ikijaa maelezo yanayojikita kwenye kutoa wastani bila ufananuzi kuhusu hali halisi ni hatari sana kwani haitoi taswira halisi ya ama kukua,  kudumaa au hata kudorora kwa elimu nchini.

7.      Waziri ameahidi kwamba katika kipindi cha 2012/13, Wizara yake itaifanyia kazi sera mpya ya elimu; lakini, hajasema ni lini sera hiyo itakuwa tayari. Tunasistiza umuhimu wa kutimiza ahadi hii mapema kwani sera hii ndiyo itaongoza utoaji wa elimu Tanzania. Sera ya 1995 imepitwa na wakati na sasa ni serikali inapaswa  ije na sera mpya inayozingatia mabadiliko ya kiuchumi na dira ya maendeleo.

8.      Serikali imeendelea kutoa ahadi juu ya mpango mpya wa maendeleo ya elimu ya msingi awamu ya tatu baada ya ule wa awamu ya pili kumalizika 2010, lakini haielezi maandalizi yamefikia hatua gani na lini utakuwa tayari. Ni vema serikali ikaharakisha mpango huo ili kutoa dira kwa watekelezaji wa sera na bajeti za kila mwaka.

9.      Hotuba ya Waziri imeendelea kupuuza matatizo katika shule za kata hasa suala la kutokuwa na mabweni. Kuna athari nyingi sana za kuwa na shule umbali mkubwa kutoka makazi ya wanafunzi. Hii ni pamoja na wasichana kuwa hatarini kupata mimba n.k. Serikali haijasema wala kuonesha mkakati madhubuti wa kuyafanyia kazi matatizo kama haya.

10.  Alipokuwa akiongelea suala la ubora, Waziri alijikita zaidi katika kuongelea namna Wizara ilivyoboresha matokeo katika mtihani wa kuhitimu shule ya msingi, kutoka asilimia 53.5 hadi 58.3. Wakati kweli hili ni ongezeko, bado haliridhishi. Aidha, kumekuwa kuna tatizo kubwa sana kwenye ufaulu wa mtihani wa kuhitimu kidato cha nne kwani asilimia 90 ya waliofanya mtihani huu mwaka jana walipata div 4 au 0. Utoaji wa elimu bora ya sekondari utaisadia sana Tanzania kufikia malengo yake ya maendeleo kwani mwananchi anayeipata atakuwa na uwezo mkubwa wa kulinda afya yake, kujiendeleza kiuchumi na kujitambua. Hivyo, tunashangazwa na kushtushwa na ukimya wa Waziri kuhusu suala hili.

11.  Wakati tunatarajia kuandaa sera mpya ya elimu ni vema pia tukatafakari kuhusu suala la lugha ya kufundishia. Wakati ni muhimu kwa Mtanzania wa karne hii kukijua Kiingereza na ufundishaji wa lugha hii lazima uboreshwe, ni muhimu zaidi kuwafundisha watoto kwa lugha ambayo wanaielewa ili wapate ujuzi.

12.  Mwisho, wakati Wizara inapanga mikakati yake, ni muhimu kuwa na mpango madhubuti kuhusu wahitimu kwani kundi hili likikata tamaa kutokana na kushindwa kupata ajira n.k., linaweza kuleta mtikisiko mkubwa katika taifa.

Kingereza

Education stakeholders’ response to the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training budget reading on 13^th August 2012 – HakiElimu, Dar es Salaam.

HakiElimu’s vision is to see an open, just and democratic Tanzania, where all people enjoy the right to education that promotes equity, creativity and critical thinking. We believe that for this to happen, people need to be involved in shaping the country’s public education system at all levels.

This is why on August 13, 2012, HakiElimu brought together various stakeholders to discuss the state of education, listen to the reading of the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training 2012/2013 budget and discuss how effectively it addressed their varying concerns. The meeting was held on the premises of REPOA in Dar es Salaam and culminated in the following recommendations and concerns:

1.      It was surprising that the Minister made no mention of the teacher’s strike. For many around the country, this was one of the most significant events in the education sector this year. By not speaking about it, the Ministry and Government gave the public the impression that they are not interested in improving teachers’ welfare. If the Ministry hopes to improve learner outcomes, it must be open and transparent in dealing with teachers’ concerns and these must be prioritised in the quest for quality education.

2.      The minister’s budget speech failed to highlight enduring strikes by students in higher learning institutions as a challenge. These strikes are most often caused by students’ dissatisfaction with the higher learning loans system and might be significantly reduced if the system was decentralized so that the Loans Board worked through offices at regional level. Government should introduce a scholarship system so that students who distinguish themselves through their performance are assured that their studies will be paid for.  This avenue would provide hope to students from poor families.

3.      This budget is no different than last year’s budget in terms of how it will address current challenges in the education sector; we don’t expect anything new as a result of its implementation. The budget does not discuss at length strategies that will be used to address education sector challenges, it does not critically analyse underlining issues and concerns.

4.      This year’s budget continues to privilege recurrent over development expenditures thus neglecting the opportunity, yet again, to invest in education. Out of an estimated expenditure of approximately 724 billion shillings, just 92.5 billion has been budgeted for development efforts. In contrast, over 630 billion shillings has been allocated for recurrent expenditures.

5.      Another issue that emerged had to do with the Ministry’s dependency on funds from development partners in order to implement development projects. In this year’s budget, out of the 92.5 billion shillings allocated to development projects, just 18.5 billion or 20 per cent will be generated from internal or local revenue sources. The rest, which is 74 billion shillings or 80 per cent of the development budget, is expected to be financed by development partners. This level of dependency on external sources is worrying given  that development partners sometimes renege on commitments to make funds available.

6.      In his speech the Minister of Education and Vocational Training mentioned the improvement in teacher-pupil ratio, from 1 to 48 to 1 to 46. On the surface, it would appear we have done well in this area, given that our objective is to have at least 1 teacher to 45 pupils. But in reality, the figure given is an average and across the country there are classrooms with over 50, 60 and even 70 pupils to one teacher. The use of averages in presentations such as this one without further explanation is misleading and consequently fails to provide the public with a real picture of what is going on in education.

7.      The Ministry expects to finalise the new education policy document during this financial year, although it has not said specifically when. We would like to urge the Ministry to make sure that this happens because the 1995 education and training policy is out of date. It is important that the government finally releases a new policy that takes into account changes in the economic context and development vision of the country.

8.      The Government, through the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training, committed itself to implementing a third phase of the primary education development programme, after the second phase came to an end in 2010. We urge the Government to ensure that this programme is ready for implementation and that it carries a vision for the positive transformation of primary education in Tanzania.

9.      The budget speech continued in the tradition of underestimating the challenges that community secondary schools are facing, and particularly the lack of hostels at these schools. There are several cons to having schools located at a long distance from where learners and their communities live; it is particularly dangerous for girls and increases the incidence of schoolgirl pregnancies and other undesirable situations. The Ministry failed to clearly explain how it will work to address challenges such as these in the coming financial year.

10.  When discussing the issue of education quality, the Minister focused on how the Ministry had successfully raised the primary school pass rate from 53.5 to 58.3 per cent. While this is indeed an improvement, it is still not satisfactory and more needs to be done to improve learner outcomes. This is particularly urgent at secondary school level, where in the most recent form four exams, 90 per cent of the examination candidates record a dismal performance of division four or zero. The provision of quality secondary education is fundamental to the development of this country because of its potential impact on human development and particularly in the areas of health and citizen agency. We are shocked and surprised that the Minister failed to mention this.

11.  While the Ministry undertakes to finalise and release a new education policy, it is important that the issue of language of instruction is finally addressed. While it is important for Tanzania’s to become competent users of the English language, and teaching of this language in our schools must improve, our priority should lie in ensuring that learners are taught in a language that they understand and that can impart them with the skills they need.

12.  Finally, as the Ministry develops its plans and strategies, it is important that it comes up with a strategy for addressing the high levels of youth unemployment as if the current situation  continues unchecked, it could lead to civil disturbance and unrest.