Tuesday, March 22, 2016

Inclusive Education in Tanzania: What is missing for attaining SDG #4



Ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education and promoting lifelong learning opportunities for all requires several conditions that go far beyond having schools children can go to and teachers there to teach them. Children need to be challenged and also given opportunities to explore and imagine their own interests, which necessitates resources of the home that many do not have.  Children need parents committed to teaching their children including providing and teaching them about adequate nutrition, time to be children and financial resources for school uniforms and books and toys before school even begins. In Tanzania, there are many parents who lack the commitment to education, especially towards girls, and who don’t or can’t afford adequate nutrition and give too many household duties that interfere with their free time to learn and explore. These are the household logistical necessaries for giving the best opportunity to children for learning and for succeeding in school but there are also some necessary policy conditions as well. 

            The Constitution of Tanzania protects citizens from discrimination on the basis of sex yet the pervasive school practice of expelling pregnant adolescent girls and mandatory pregnancy testing thrives.  Many teachers believe it is mandated when it is not and while the strict student-teacher hierarchy is upheld, any student who questions this policy could be expelled by school-specific guidelines that dictate students must not be insubordinate or show disrespect to their school administrators. The Centre for Reproductive Rights in their publication “Forced Out” estimates that tens of thousands of girls have been expelled or dropped out to enter child marriage or child motherhood and not returned in the last decade and girls are often taken during school hours, without their parents consent, to have pregnancy tests on a tri-monthly or even monthly basis.  This is a grave and humiliating denial of girl’s rights and serves to contribute to a cycle of poverty whereby young girls who become pregnant don’t complete high school or even primary school and now take care of two or more people.  She might be dependent on her parents, kicked out of her parents house or be paid very little to nothing for her work if she finds any thereby endangering the possibility of giving herself or her child enough time, energy and food to prepare for lifelong learning opportunities.

Stunting, malnutrition and underweight children are symptoms of issues such as poverty and diseases and are serious issues that Tanzania has been unable to make adequate progress in. As UNICEF points out, stunting affects 42% of children in Tanzania who are under five. Serious outreach and changes need to be made like to ensure children are breast-fed for at least six months and have adequate nutrition and treatment for diseases that cause under-nutrition.

There is also the issue of accessibility for children with disabilities and the safety and security of albino children. Children with disabilities, physical and mental, have a difficult time everywhere in the world trying to fit into the mold of able-bodied and/or able-minded children. Able-bodied and able-minded children also have a hard time with this but issues such as accessibility for wheelchairs or necessary special attention by teacher’s assistants specially trained to teach those with developmental disabilities are even more challenging. Not only is it getting into the school, it is getting to the school as some are far distances and those that need special attention might need to go even farther or worse, not have any place they can realistically go to.  Toilets pose an accessibility issue for able-bodied girls and an even bigger one for those with physical disabilities.

Albinos have a special risk being out in public places because of the belief that their limbs can bring wealth and good luck. Albino children, because of their size, are at a great risk travelling to go to school because of the risk of being kidnapped and mutilated for limbs that are sold for thousands of dollars on the black market. Ensuring inclusive and equitable schooling requires all children to be able to get to school with minimal risks of being kidnapped, mutilated or killed, and to be able to get to and into the school, the classrooms and the washrooms.

Generally speaking, girls are still not enrolled in the same numbers as boys are, fare worse for grades and do not complete up to the same level as boys from primary to secondary school. In Tanzania, if the Gender Equality Goal is to be met, education numbers need to be better for girl’s achievement. Girls around the world have shown that they can be as successful as boys in school if the environment, both in school and out, is conducive to their learning. When women and girls are empowered they will stay in school in greater numbers and have fewer children at a later date giving their children more resources and a better chance at a successful education themselves.

Lifelong learning opportunities mean the chance to return to school or to have options as an adult as well. It is important for all to have lifelong opportunities for increased education from toddlers to seniors in order to release the total potential of the citizenry in the workforce. In the organization I am working for, there are some challenges of getting the message out in workshops with IEC materials when traditional leaders cannot read or write and cannot take notes for reference. Adult education is important for development work in that adults can be reached in more ways with information if there are strong literacy numbers. Literacy broadens the ways that people can access information or be given messages; not just with radio, live theatre and movies but with brochures, books and billboards as well. Literacy and lifelong learning are keys to successful gender equality work but gender equality will also lead to better educational outcomes for all. Working on both is the key to the development of better outcomes for all.

Sources


Centre for Reproductive Rights, Forced Out:  Mandatory Pregnancy Testing and the Expulsion of Pregnant Students in Tanzania, Part 1, http://www.reproductiverights.org/sites/crr.civicactions.net/files/documents/crr_Tanzania_Report_Part1.pdf 

UNICEF. Tanzania- Nutrition, Accessed on Jan 8, 2015, http://www.unicef.org/tanzania/nutrition.html

Wesangula, Daniel. May 13, 2015. The Guardian, “Albinism in Tanzania: slow progress in combatting violence and discrimination”. http://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-network/2015/may/13/albinism-in-tanzania-slow-progress-in-combatting-violence-and-discrimination

Goal 12: Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns

Ø  By 2020, achieve the environmentally sound management of chemicals and all wastes throughout their life cycle, in accordance with agreed international frameworks, and significantly reduce their release to air, water and soil in order to minimize their adverse impacts on human health and the environment.

This target, let alone goal, is a global lifestyle change. Changes need to be made to make our current production and consumption patterns sustainable such as only generating “waste” that decomposes and returns to be beneficial to the system. Even waste that isn’t human-made is causing serious pollution problems when manipulated for human consumption such as methane emissions from manure because of our increasing production of animals. All countries can and need to make progress on this comprehensive goal but there are some that have more influence to do so.

Tanzania is developing its capacity for public service provision but currently access and availability of garbage and recycling collection services are inadequate as many people resort to burning their garbage in small piles around their homes or near buildings also causing concern for structure fires. The litter though, while visibly more noticeable, is not as severe as what developed countries are emitting and producing. Also, the specific environment is such that certain garbage is particularly beneficial to human health as there are few other readily available alternatives. Bottled water is one of these since water from the tap or river cannot be trusted, unlike in Canada, and causes many cases of diarrhea and subsequent death among children and adults. This does not mean that improvements can’t be made, though.  More effort can be put towards public campaigns and services to keep plastic bottles and other garbage from entering the ocean or streams. While less litter would be aesthetically pleasing and more environmentally friendly, there are (albeit low-paying) jobs for those who are picking up bottles and this might render them without work or on the other hand, if they can get into the bins, make their lives easier. It is important to ensure that within the green movement there are not job losses for the obvious reasons but also for public perceptions and willingness to get behind the movement.

Reusable bag uptake can be significantly improved but part of the culture here is to get breakfast on the way to work in the form of chapatti (an “Indian pancake”) or mandazi (Swahili bun) and hand-washing might not be available so the bag acts as a clean eating utensil. I don’t see any easy way around this other than promoting a paper bag substitution or a less versatile napkin for a substitute. Tanzania can make improvements but there needs to be serious changes coming from the production stage in the form of renewable sources, simplified packaging, biodegradable material and efficient recycling strategies created for every material in order to have a cradle-to-grave closed production cycle. An issue that has been mentioned a few times by locals here is the quality of the products available to buy. Products tend to be cheap, break quickly and end up in the garbage pile faster than they should. Intervening in business is always difficult and when people can’t afford better quality products, the mechanisms to pressure producers need to be creative as consumers have few options.

In Canada, public attitudes towards recycling and garbage reduction are positive, but sustainable materials and production patterns are lagging.  Consumption is very high for processed foods and materials. Generally, Canadians can start to make progress on this target by consuming less, supporting and promoting biodegradable or reusable materials for foodstuffs and general products. The Canadian Government’s role needs to extend into the large international mining and extractive industry, the manufacturing and agriculture sectors with progressive targets on reducing exposure and the amount of harmful chemicals and trash in the environment. Regulations on chemicals and the review process is key to improving human and environmental health and creating safer, more environmentally friendly products. The regulatory process should ensure that extensive testing filters out harmful products to humans and the environment and that which is approved has a way to be recycled and/or reused efficiently, or it should not be approved.  Improving government coherence with natural systems would make Canada’s role one of leadership rather than the laggard it has been on sustainable products.

There are many challenges facing both countries for this goal, some similar and others specific. For Tanzania, public campaigns and facilities like garbage cans will markedly reduce the visible trash and keep more out of the ocean and streams. To improve product longevity, international advocacy efforts should promote better quality, cleaner products, as those who buy cheap products don’t usually have the time or influence to do so. For Canada, people should spearhead the campaigns for better, cleaner products, sustainable sources and invest in technologies that will advance this target, not just for Canada but for everyone. This includes ensuring our international economic activities don’t destroy the environment for others. This target requires people in every country to come together in order to push for sustainable consumption patterns because the alternative is to continue sabotaging our ability as a human race to survive successfully from our own poisonous creations.