Many schools in Tanzania such as Kwala Secondary School and Mahundi Primary School do not have proper school supplies such as textbooks, hindering the ability of students to learn effectively.

Many students are forced to share one book

Understanding the Issue:

Kwala Secondary School was opened in 2005 as part of the Tanzanian government’s Secondary Education Development Program, an initiative requiring every ward in Tanzania to have a secondary school. The government promised communities that if they provide the school building and students, they government would provide teachers and school materials. However, with hundreds of secondary schools opening within a relatively short period of time as part of the new initiative, the government could not provide ample teachers or school materials to accommodate each school. Kwala Secondary School was no exception; in 2006 the school had no textbooks for its 352 students, forcing teachers to write material on the board without ever allowing students to see the material for themselves or study outside of school hours.

Additionally, older government schools, such as Mahundi Primary School in Kwala, face similar textbook deficiencies. Through the 2009 school year, Mahundi Primary School also had zero textbooks for its more than 500 students.

Community Solution:

In 2008, students from Newton North and Newton South High School led a community wide fundraising campaign for textbooks at Kwala, kicked off by Kwala Secondary School teacher Athuman Msangi’s visit to Newton in October. Their efforts raised over $4,000.00 for the purchase of textbooks, an amount that was supplemented by an additional $6,000.00 from the NGO Plan International and eventually led to the purchase of 1,300 textbooks and the construction of a library at Kwala Secondary School. However, more needs to be done to ensure that each student has access to one textbook for all nine subjects taught at Kwala Secondary School.

Proposed location of the new library at Mahundi

NTC will also convert classroom into a new library at Mahundi Primary School during the 2010 school year. NTC has recently started purchasing textbooks for Mahundi Primary School, making a secure library essential for the well-being of the school and the new textbooks.

Fundraising Goal for textbooks at both schools: $5,000.00

Fundraising Goal for a library at Mahundi Primary School: $2,000.00