Bukoba — District's Nshamba Secondary School have been awarded by the Tanzania Commission for Science and Technology (COSTECH) for their innovation of using pine leaves and cray soil to kill pests.
The students, Danford Mbelwa Brighton (18) and Mariam Ally Ibrahim (18) who completed Form IV in 2023 came up with the innovation titled "The Power of Pine Leaves and Cray Soil in Killing Pests".
"Investing in science must be given a new push," said Kagera Regional Education Officer (REO), Mr Khalifa Shemahonge.
He has urged teachers across the country to inspire girls to acquire leadership positions and while at home they should also be given a chance to speak as building their confidence.
Mr Shemahonge said Tanzania, like other nations in the world, was grappling with unemployment among its population, especially its youths who are graduating from various universities.
Elaborating, he said in Tanzania, it is to be noted that the population labelled as the working force is highly constrained by lack of employment and limited income generating activities which are key in attaining economic freedom, for so many reasons.
This trend is likely to be exacerbated by the many reasons in Tanzania, particularly, where every year about 900,000 youths enter the job market to compete for less than 100,000 job opportunities, Mr Shemahonge said.
Headmaster for Nshamba secondary school, Sadath Khalfan, on the other hand, explained that they have a special programme for young innovators in physics and chemistry that aims to motivate students to pursue science subjects.
Brighton told the Daily News over the telephone that he wishes to become an engineer. "For about six months I conducted research on the power of pine leaves and cray soil in killing pests".
I was inspired to make this study by my grandparents who used pine leaves to preserve postharvest crops, especially beans.
"I plan to go to university and become an engineer. I'm interested in science subjects so I look forward to becoming an engineer and contributing to my country's development in science," he said.
Ms Mariam Ally, on the other hand, said girls can perform well in science subjects. She called upon stakeholders in collaboration with the government to empower girls to achieve their dreams.
