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School is important! Ten-year-old Maige skipped his standard three classes for a fortnight without word from his parents to say why he was away.
The WV worker carefully explained to Maige’s parents how important education is for children and that it was their role, as parents, to ensure Maige attended. When Maige finally appeared, the worker asked him why he did not want to go to school. Didn’t he like it? It wasn’t that, said the boy, but he had arrived late one day and the headmaster had punished him. Classes in Tanzania begin at 8am, but students start arriving at 6:30 in the morning to help tidy the school grounds. Maige, who lives a long way from school, decided he would stay away completely rather than risk being disciplined a further time. Under strict guidelines, Tanzanian law permits headmasters to physically discipline children for violating school regulations. The ADP deals with the matter of school corporal punishment by advocating for children’s rights. There is a community advocacy committee and a ‘children’s parliament’, which discuss these issues with school committees and management. ADP staff encourage school committees to permit children who live far from school to arrive by 7:45am instead of 6:30am. The WV worker reminded Maige that his friends all attend and enjoy school, assuring him that ADP staff would talk to his headmaster so he would not be punished if he was late in future. Maige eventually agreed to return to school and has been attending regularly ever since. Since October 1997, school enrolment in Budekwa ADP has increased from 67 percent to 96 percent, and attendance from 70 percent to 82 percent. Building new classrooms and providing proper desks has created a better learning environment and attracted more students. School feeding programmes, which give children a nutritious porridge meal once a day, are another drawcard. |
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BUDEKWA STORY ARCHIVE 2008 Snippets Better harvest, healthy family 2007 Snippets HopeChild Healthy outlook Back to school 2006 Women power Making school better 2005 Seeing is believing Outstanding Change 2004 Snippets Well done! 2003 Then and now School is important! Evaluation follow-up
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