Government plans increased access to primary education

Vice-President Ali Muhammad Shein said on Tuesday the government was planning to enrol in school by January 2003 approximately half of Tanzania's estimated three million children currently not receiving education, the 'Guardian' reported. "So far, the government has budgeted for 14,000 additional classrooms, which are about 62 percent of the required number, plus an intake of 9,000 teachers for next year, while aiming for 67,000 by the end of the programme," Shein was quoted as saying. He blamed a fall in enrolment in primary education from a high of 98 percent to 74 percent in 2000 on a high rate of population expansion and poor economic growth. Shein also called on education experts to determine the causes of high dropout rates in Tanzania'a schools, particularly among girls. "It will be like pouring water into a sieve if we spend resources on increasing intakes without solving the problem of dropouts," he warned.