{Back in April, Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete\u2019s administration announced that, henceforth, Kiswahili will be the primary language utilized in his country\u2019s schools. Tanzania will become the first sub-Saharan nation in Africa to revert back to its indigenous tongue as the primary mode of communication in its educational system.}<\/p>\n
This effort is part of the continuing plan he had laid out earlier this past February, when Tanzania revealed that it is upgrading its educational programs in an effort to better prepare its youth for a prosperous future.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s our hope that when students complete this basic education, which is compulsory up to Form 4, they will be at an age ready to contribute to the country\u2019s development,\u201d said Sifuni Mchome, the permanent secretary of the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training.<\/p>\n
He also mentioned that the new system will encompass basic vocational education for students to develop necessary skills, as well as the importance of providing the proper training.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need a critical mass of skilled labor for the country\u2019s development,\u201d Mchome added.<\/p>\n
Since its 1961 independence from Britain, public education in Tanzania has been bilingual. In elementary school, students are taught in Kiswahili\u2014more popularly known as Swahili in the Western world\u2014with English also included in the curriculum. From secondary school all throughout the collegate level, roles are reversed, with English becoming the primary format.<\/p>\n
Kikwete\u2019s decision brings some semblance of clarity to a system that, for generations, has created much confusion among many students, causing them not to excel in either language.<\/p>\n
Tanzania has utilized Swahili as sort of a bonding element to fortify its foundation and create a strong sense of nationhood. More than 130 different ethnic groups populate the country, each with its own dialect and cultural customs, having the potential for ethnic conflict of the type seen in Kenya and Rwanda.<\/p>\n
Swahili reflects Tanzania\u2019s diversity and history while simultaneously providing a sense of collective identity and cohesiveness. Its unifying characteristics have helped Tanzania avoid many problems commonly associated with local strife.<\/p>\n
Tanzania\u2019s self-determining stance ruffled a few feathers throughout the past three decades, as it has continuously shaken off European-imposed imperialisms\u2019 shackles.<\/p>\n
The country and its young leader, \u201cMwalimu\u201d (teacher) Julius Nyerere, were revered across the African continent during the post-independence glory years of the 1960s and \u201970s for being the catalyst behind Africa\u2019s anti-colonial campaign.<\/p>\n
Paralyzing economic reform the following decade helped the country develop a free market economy, which has created growth, but the country still struggles to tighten the inequality span.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn a globalized economy where English dominates almost everything\u2014from trade to politics\u2014it is not clear which way Tanzania wants to go in the next five decades,\u201d reads a local report.<\/p>\n
This policy bucks the trend in the region, as many local countries have adopted English as its medium for education, with some seeing it as an important conduit to global investors.<\/p>\n
Rwanda, a former Belgian colony, \u201cdowngraded\u201d French and adopted English as its official language in education in 2008. Gabon, another Francophone state, followed suit in 2012.<\/p>\n
{{Source: Amsterdam News}}<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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