More schools close, but govt says no food shortage.

The Minister of State in the Prime Minister�s Office (Regional Administration and Local Government) Hawa Ghasia.

 More public boarding secondary schools are closing prematurely on account of food shortage. However, the government maintained yesterday that none has sent home students on account of the said problem.

 

Instead, authorities have ordered all District Directors to take stern measures against school heads that have closed their schools without government authorisation. 

 

The government statement comes only days after numerous schools indefinitely sent home their students last week on account of food shortages and even yesterday, at least five schools in Kagera Region sent home their students after their food suppliers suspended services demanding payment of outstanding dues. 

 

However, speaking to journalists yesterday in Dar es Salaam, Permanent Secretary (PS) in the Prime Minister Office - Regional Administration and Local Government (Tamisemi) Jumanne Sagini maintained that, as of July last year through to March this year, the government has consistently paid the suppliers every month without fail.

 

In fact, according to him, last month alone, the government paid a total of 8.4bn/- to the food suppliers.

 

"I was shocked to hear that there are schools which have been closed due to shortage of food,” the Permanent Secretary said.

 

“This is so shameful because the money has been deposited in the councils’ accounts to pay the suppliers,” he claimed.

 

According to the PS, after getting news of the closure, he communicated with the concerned District Directors to get clarification on the matter and the feedback he got was that the Head teachers made the decision to close their schools on their own without consultation with their respective councils.

 

The PS stressed that Heads of schools do not have the authority to close the schools short of authorisation from either the District Directors or Tamisemi.

 

As such, the PS said the Head teachers went against set regulations by closing the schools without permission.

 

He mentioned the schools which have been reported closed as Rugamwa, Kahororo, Nyakato secondary schools (Kilimanjaro Region), Ihungo (Kagera) Mpwapwa, Abeid Aman Karume (Dodoma) Kazima, Milambo,   Tabora girls and boys.

 

However, Permanent Secretary Sagini admitted that the government owes the food suppliers a lot of money from previous years but did not disclose the exact amount, instead, he insisted that the debt will be settled once it is verified.

 

"We know that we owe the suppliers a lot of money from previous years but we have ordered the Controller and Auditor General (CAG) to carry out a special audit to establish the truth of the debt before the payment is effected," he said.

 

He also seized the opportunity to urge the food suppliers to exercise patience and continue serving the schools in the interim as the government works to resolve the matter.

 

Yesterday, the Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office (Regional Administration and Local Government) Hawa Ghasia also underlined that Head teachers in public schools have no authority to close schools without being permitted by her office.

 

“I have written letters demanding explanations for closing the schools because they are not allowed to do so unless they are allowed by my office,” she told reporters.

 

Minister Ghasia said the government has been allocating between 3.5bn/- and 3.6bn/- to the schools on a monthly basis and according to her the March payment was 8bn/-.

 

Last week, a teacher at Tabora Girls’ Secondary School who didn’t want her name to be published confirmed that students at the school were sent home since March 24, 2015 for lack of food.

 

 According to her, the students were sent home to allow the school to use the remaining food stock to feed Form VI students who are about to sit for their national exams. 

 

 “It is almost two weeks now since we suspended classes for our students,’ she admitted.

 

“We have only remained with Form VI students because they will be sitting for their national examinations next month,” she noted.

 

The teacher said when the girls were sent home, they were not told the reason, “…we only told them to go home because the teachers will be busy preparing for the Education Week celebrations.”

 

 Explaining the reason for the prevalence of food shortage, she said that food suppliers have suspended services pending payment of their arrears. 

 

 One of the parents, whose children school at Ndanda High School in Mtwara blamed the government for its failure to ensure reliable food supply in the schools. He also expressed concern that Form V students shall not be able to finish their syllabuses.  

 

 When contacted then, Finance Minister Saada Mkuya said she was not aware of the problem; “You should seek clarification with the Education ministry. I am not aware of food suppliers’ unpaid money … if there is such a case, the responsible ministers would have informed my office,” she said.

 

“It is true that the government owes some food suppliers but that should not be a reason for closing the schools,” she said.

 

Meanwhile, PS Sagini has said, the newly employed teachers will effectively start working on May 01, this year.

 

He said a total of 29,951 new teachers have been employed this year and all will be posted to rural areas where there is a shortage of teachers. Of the total, he said 11,795 hold certificates and will serve in primary schools while 6,596 hold Diplomas and 12,665 Bachelor Degrees and will serve secondary schools.