Factors influencing increasing social demands for secondary education in Tanzania: a case study of Bukoba District
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Date
198
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Publisher
University of Dar es Salaam
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to explore the factors influencing increasing social demand for secondary education in Tanzania. The study aimed at finding out if parents and their children defined education beyond the view of terminality. It was also expected to reveal novel expectations of parents and their children about secondary education which might not necessarily conform to the factors which previous researchers have obtained. The objective of this research was thus to detect factors influencing increasing social demand for secondary education in Bukoba district. It was an attempt to see the changes which had taken place in the ideas of the people about the value of education. This was done by investigating the views of those who educate and why they educate. Bukoba district was selected for an intensive case study of the problem. Eight secondary schools situated in Bukoba district (5 public and 3 private) and six divisions were visited for data collection on the problem. Both pupils and parents who enroll their children into secondary schools were involved. Out of 259 pupils in the district 164 pupils (63%) and 46 (28%) of their parents were randomly selected and questionnaires and interviews were administered to them. The study showed that: (1) Parents with less than Standard VII education or without formal education constituted 60 per cent of the parents who enrolled their children into Form I. (2) Most of Form I pupils came from poor families. Seventy per cent of the women and 46 per cent of the men who were educated were either mere peasants or retailers in unreliable businesses. (3) Christians formed 95 per cent of the pupils in Form I while Moslems formed 5 per cent of the pupils. (4) Most pupils came from traditionally rival chiefdoms like Kiziba (32%), Kihanja (29%), Kyamutwara (19%) Bugabo (10%), and Misenye and Maruku (5%) each. (5) Parents educate their children because (i) Secondary education for boys and girls was believed to be important in the development of the community and in enhancing family status. (ii) Inter-chiefdom rivalry was highly supported as a cause to educate by 60 per cent of the parents. (iii) Most parents (52%) did not believe that there was unemployment or that it would be there in future. (iv) Some pupils (31%) and their parents (63%) viewed education as a tool for solving all problems in life. (v) The idea of education for wage employment was rejected by both parents (60%) and pupils (85%). The study indicated that the parents and their children do not accept the idea of terminality of primary education. Their view is that secondary education is necessary for an individual to be self-reliant even without obtaining wage employment after schooling. At a general level, the findings suggest that: (1) The manpower approach to educational planning as applied in Tanzania may not be used to limit the expansion of secondary education because parents’ and pupils’ objectives for secondary education are not limited to wage employment. (2) There is need for planners to get more involved in assisting the efforts of parents in opening secondary schools through Grants-in-aid. (3) The practice of free education at primary and secondary school levels should be abandoned by the government because parents’ efforts in financing education show that the policy is already impracticable.
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Available in print form
Keywords
Education, Secondary, Bukoba, Tanzania, Educational sociology, Social conditions
Citation
Muzo, F. M. R ( 1985) Factors influencing increasing social demands for secondary education in Tanzania: a case study of Bukoba District, Masters dissertation, University of Dar es Salaam. Available at (http://41.86.178.3/internetserver3.1.2/detail.aspx?parentpriref= )