Dodoma — Tanzania has made an impressive stride in heightening the per-centage of adult population who understand how to read and write as the current statistics depict that the percentage has catapulted to 6.3 percent within a period of 10 consecutive years.
Deputy Minister for Education, Omar Kipanga on Wednesday told Parliament that according to a report at the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) based on the 2022 national census, Tanzania has so far managed to uplift her literacy percentage to 83 percent, from 78.1 in 2012.
He revealed the percentage figure when responding to a question raised by Special Seats MP, Taska Mbogo (CCM) who wanted to know what the government is doing to ensure majority of citizens are equipped with key knowledge over how to read and write.
Responding, Mr Kipanga said the government has continued to implement various strategies to improve knowledge among the public, including strategies to remove the obstacles in getting better edu- cation, such as implementation of the free education scheme.
He added that plans in question also include a move to reach out the marginalized citizens who lack an opportunity to study through formal education, which include rolling out of fold education at various folk education colleges and centers, as well as a special program to return to schools students who dropped their lessons due to for various reasons.
He said the government is working to improve library services in regional and district levels as well as at schools, the initiative that has so far improved learning among Tanzanians.
The minister assured the MPs that the government will continue taking required measures to improve training infrastructures at the Folk Development Institute with a specific vision of allowing more adults to affiliate with the key ser- vice and benefiting accordingly.
Fatuma Toufiq, Special Seats MP (CCM), in her supplementary question sought to know what plans the government has put in place to identify the citizens aged above 35 years who are not in a good posi- tion to learn how to read and write.
Moreover, she wanted to know if the government has any plan to install equipped libraries in prima- ry schools in order to instill a reading habit among young pupils.
Reacting to the questions, deputy minister Kipanga said the government is continuing to implement a number of strategies that aim at improving education status in the country.
