Access to Education Aid for Children at Risk
UNESCO 2021 estimates indicate that 224 million children (118.5 girls and 225.5 boys) aged between 6 and 18 years worldwide are out of schools under which 98million children are in Sub sub-Sahara Africa. Tanzania is among Countries in sub-Sahara with high number of girl and boy children who have not accessed or dropped from nursery, primary and secondary schools for various reasons, mostly, lack of education needs.
Out of school girls and boy children have higher risk of being exposed to HIV infection, sexual exploitation, abuse and involvement in commission of crimes than girl and boy children who are in schools. That is why Tanzania and her partners including the Global Fund to end AIDS, TB and Malaria support tracing, returning and keeping out of school girl and boy children in schools. See the Global Fund, Modular Framework Handbook, allocation period 2023-2025 at age 88 and HIV information Note, Section 3.2.1b (ix) available on line.
CHESO applauds the Tanzania government for putting a space for out of school children aged 8 to 11 years to return back to school through informal education system called Complimentary Basic Education in Tanzania (COBET) commonly known in Kiswahili as MEMKWA which enrolled 41,065 out of school children (18,336 girls and 22,709 boys) back to government primary school COBET Centres in the year 2022 in 26 regions in Tanzania mainland. See data in detail at: https://www.tamisemi.go.tz/singleministers/basic-education-data-2022
The government is further appreciated for putting in place a Policy for returning back to primary and secondary schools boys and girls who have dropped from primary and secondary schools for various reasons (Mwongozo wa kuwarejesha shuleni wanafunzi waliokatiza Masomo katika elimu ya Msingi na Sekondari kwa sababu mbali mbali) accessible at; https://www.moe.go.tz/en/publications/guidelines-and-circulars-miongozo-na-nyaraka
CHESO strives to contribute to the Tanzania and her partners investments aimed at enabling girl and boy children who have not accessed or at high risk of dropping from schools to access and/or complete their full years of schooling. In This regard, CHESO specifically:
- identifies and exposes hidden Policy and practice barriers pushing and keeping most vulnerable girl and boy children out of schools
- empowers communities to trace, support and refer out of school girl and boy children into formal and non-formal education institutions
- provides psychosocial and education needs support to girl and boy children who have not accessed or at high risk of dropping from schools to enable them access and/or complete their full years of Nursery, primary and secondary education.
OUR SUCCESS
- Various bad policy and practices pushing and keeping most vulnerable girl and boy children out of schools including gossiping, stigma, self-stigma and violence against most vulnerable children exposed for removal
- 8 individuals mobilised and support CHESO Access to Education for children at risk Program by providing education needs to out of school girl and boy children to enable them access and/or complete their full years of Nursery, primary and secondary education.
- 5 out of school girls and 3 boys traced and enrolled in COBET Centres in Dar Es Salaam region
- 3 girls and 2 boys who had dropped from primary schools traced, supported and returned back to primary schools in Dar Es Salaam region
- 150 girls and 100 boys at risk to drop from schools provided psychosocial support and raised their resilience to remain in and currently continue with their primary and secondary education
