The government is stepping up efforts to provide safe, high-quality, and child-friendly learning environments, Deputy Permanent Secretary of the President’s Office – Regional Administration and Local Government (PO-RALG) in charge of Education, Atupele Mwambene, has said.
Mwambene made the remarks while closing a training program for Primary School Child Protection, Counseling, and Guidance Teachers under the Safe Schools initiative, implemented through the BOOST Project, at the Teacher Training College in Tabora.
He noted that the government has built 2,441 new schools, including 1,399 primary schools and 1,042 secondary schools, particularly in rural areas that previously lacked educational facilities or experienced overcrowding.
In addition, 906 existing schools have been renovated, with improvements made to classrooms, toilets, teachers’ houses, dormitories, halls, laboratories, and libraries.
“From 2022/23 to 2024/25, the President’s Office – PO-RALG allocated TZS 539.6 billion to schools and local government authorities to construct 656 new early childhood and primary schools.
This investment aims to ensure that all children, regardless of background, have equal opportunities to access quality education,” Mwambene said.
He urged teachers and school leaders to strengthen systems for handling student complaints by introducing suggestion boxes, children’s councils, and child protection desks, ensuring all issues are addressed according to guidelines.
Mwambene also reminded teachers nationwide to uphold discipline, ethics, and professionalism, protect students’ rights, and preserve the dignity of the teaching profession by eliminating all forms of violence against children.
Speaking at the event, BOOST Project Coordinator Teacher Ally Swalehe said the initiative was launched to tackle challenges including inadequate and worn-out school infrastructure, difficulties faced by some second-grade students in reading, writing, and numeracy, and barriers that prevent students from continuing to secondary education.