Adeladius Makwega – Mbagala
Teachers were at school carrying out their duties. The first teacher entered the classroom and taught his lesson until the end. When the bell rang to signal a change of period, the second teacher moved toward his classroom. As she entered, she was greeted by her students, though there was a lot of noise… she responded to the greeting as the noise at the back of the class increased. The teacher asked, Hey, what’s going on with you at the back of the class? An answer came:
“This one climbed on top of the desk and she isn’t wearing underwear…”
As soon as that response was given, excitement in the classroom doubled. These were the usual
“Ngo ngo ngo Hadija yule”
The moments that students enjoyed a lot. The teacher was at the front trying to begin teaching, but the issue of a female student climbing onto a desk without underwear changed the whole classroom atmosphere—students were cheering. The teacher followed up on the matter carefully. She called the girl forward and took her outside. Upon checking, she confirmed it was true—the girl was wearing a skirt and shirt but no underwear underneath. Students said this girl never wore underwear, which gave them the chance to watch a free movie.
“A movie nicknamed Ngo Ngo Ngo Hadija Yule.”
The teacher took her own motorcycle fare—2,000 shillings—and sent another girl to buy underwear for 1,000 shillings and two large safety pins from a nearby shop. When the items arrived, she escorted the girl to the restroom, gave them to her to wear, and where there was a gap at the waist, she used the pins to secure it—protecting the dignity of the teacher, the girl, and all women. They then returned to class, and she continued teaching.The teacher later said:
“I asked the girl’s parent to come to school. The mother didn’t come for a whole week. Later, the girl’s sister came and explained that their mother is very busy—life is very hard at home. She struggles daily to find food, leaving early in the morning and returning late at night.”
That day, the teacher walked home because the 2,000 shillings she had for a motorcycle had been used to protect that girl. Truthfully, many Tanzanians live in deep poverty. Even those who are educated today often come from extremely poor backgrounds. The Ujamaa policy of Julius Nyerere, to a large extent, saved the situation and hid much of the shame in schools.Today, the situation looks like this:
“A student may attend school even if fees are low or free, but gets shoes from an uncle, a shirt from an aunt, notebooks and pens from a grandmother, and a uniform from a neighbor—just to be able to study and graduate.”
That is Tanzania. Some few study through support from religious institutions, while others have parents who can fully provide for them.
“The government of Tanganyika/Tanzania made a significant contribution to education from 1961–1985, when uniforms, shoes, and school supplies like pens, pencils, and notebooks were provided free under Julius Nyerere.”
The question now is: what is the condition of many Tanzanian families today? To answer this, Mwanakwetu shares three cases. The first is the girl who went to school without underwear. The second is this:A teacher was teaching when a visitor arrived, sweating heavily. The teacher asked, ‘What’s the matter?’ The visitor said:
“Sorry teacher, my younger sister is in your class. This morning she left without lunch money, so I came to bring it to her. I knew if I didn’t, she would stay hungry until afternoon. I sold chips this morning to get this money. Sorry for the disturbance.”
The teacher said it was okay. The girl was called, received the money, and returned to class. The teacher explained that this girl is very beautiful. Her parents separated; the mother returned to Morogoro, and the father’s whereabouts are unknown. The brother himself is young and works as a chips vendor. Worse still, the brother and sister live in one room and share the same bed. The teacher is now trying to contact social welfare services.These are just two cases—the third one will conclude the article.
What is Mwanakwetu saying today?
In present-day Tanzania, education policy is handled by the Ministry of Education, while TAMISEMI implements what is in the policy. For example, in the case of ‘Ngo ngo Hadija Yule,’ if there were systems in place for emergency uniforms, shoes, and sanitary supplies in schools, the teacher would not have had to spend her own money and walk home. What if such a caring teacher is not there tomorrow—what will happen to such girls?The same applies to the second case: what is the safety of that girl who shares a room and bed with her brother?
Currently, the Ministry of Education has a female Deputy Minister, Hon. Wanu Ameir. Can she bring solutions to help girls? Is she aware of these realities? Does she have the capacity? Together with her minister and experts, to create effective policies to liberate Tanzanian children? There is public doubt. Some believe the former Deputy Minister, Engineer Kipanga, performed better—especially in overseeing the construction of VETA centers across regions—while Wanu Ameir has only come after the work was already done. Can she prove otherwise? That is the third case in this article.
Mwanakwetu advises the Chief Secretary to carefully consider recommendations made to the President regarding appointments. Also, the government should not avoid responsibility in improving the difficult conditions faced by students, even though parents exist—because their abilities vary, and challenges like divorce and death persist.The government should be close to children in action.To solve this, Mwanakwetu suggests that 1.4 trillion shillings allocated for recurrent expenditure under the President’s Office for Public Service Management and Good Governance be redirected to public schools from primary to secondary level to ease conditions.
Mwanakwetu, Are you there? Remember:
“Hey look at Hadija”
Have a nice day.
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