The Girl-Child and Government Service Provision.pdf - Tanzania ...

More documents

Recommendations

Info

forty-two years after independence, the rights and wellbeingof children are far from being assured in Tanzania.As the government’s review of progress following the1990 World Summit for Children and report to theCommittee on the Rights of the Child make clear, Tanzaniahas not yet met the 2000 targets (MCDGC 2000;URT 1998), and is far from being on track to meet the2015 international development targets and Vision 2025goals.The situation of under-five children continues to be precarious.According to the Tanzania Demographic andHealth Survey, the proportion of births delivered at healthfacilities and by skilled personnel declined through the1990s from 53 per cent in 1992 to 44 per cent in 1999.This places both the mother and child at great risk of illness,injury and death. Infant and child mortality rates alsoincreased slightly, such that one in every six children failsto make it to his or her fifth birthday. Data derived frompopulation censuses and national demographic and healthsurveys indicate that child mortality rates dropped significantlyin the period 1960–85 (see Figure 2–1).However, since the late 1980s the infant mortality rateshave increased from 100 to 104 per 1,000 live births, andthe under-five mortality rates increased from 160 to 165per 1,000 live births in the same period. HIV/AIDS is likelyto have contributed significantly to the upward trend inthe child mortality rates, though its precise impact is yetto be established. Both infants and under-five mortalityrates are higher in rural areas than urban areas.Immunisation coverage in Tanzania has remained generallyhigh over the last decade. Overall, about 70 per cent ofchildren were fully immunised in the 1990s, suggestingthere is still scope for improvement, especially to overcomelarge disparities between urban and rural areas(UNICEF 2001).Children between the ages of 7 and 13 years, and in somecases older, have been faring poorly as far as primary educationis concerned. Although Tanzania recorded impressivegains in primary-school enrolment in the late 1970sand early 1980s, there were significant declines over thelate 1980s and 1990s. School infrastructure in much of thecountry is dilapidated, teachers are ill trained and poorlymotivated, books are scarce, and teaching pedagogy fails topromote real learning.Gross enrolment rates declined from their peak of 98per cent in 1981 to 73 per cent in 1989; they increasedslightly to 78 per cent in 2000. Similarly net enrolmentrates declined from their peak of 70 per cent in 1981 to54 per cent in 1991; they have increased gradually to 59per cent in 2000. This implies that close to half of all primary-school-agechildren (7 to 13 years), or about 2.5million – both boys and girls – are not in school (Kuleana1999; REPOA 2000). Girls and boys enrol at about thesame rates, suggesting that there is little gender discriminationin primary-school enrolment in Tanzania as awhole.Official 2001 data from the Ministry of Education and Cultureindicate that the average drop-out rate is around 5–6per cent. Children from poor families tend to leave schoolearlier than those from better-off families. School mappingand other qualitative studies indicate that attendance islow, and at times up to half of those enroled are not inFigure 2-1. Infant and under-five mortality, 1960–2000300Deaths per 1,000 live births2502001501005001960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1950 2000IMRU5MRYears30 The Girl-Child and Government Service Provision
class. According to a 1996 TDHS survey, in the period1990–95 the school attendance rate in urban schools was74 per cent and in rural schools 62 per cent.The level of examination performance in Tanzania is extremelylow. The situation has been poor for many yearsnow. Of those sitting the national primary-school leavingexaminations in 2000, less than one-quarter passed withan A or B or C grade. For every student who passed, threefailed altogether. Less than half of 1 per cent received anaverage A grade (UNICEF 2001).Gender disparities in examination performance in primaryeducation are significant. In 2000, almost 30 per cent ofthe boys passed, compared to half as many girls, and manymore girls than boys received a failing grade. Within subjectareas girls do particularly poorly in mathematics,achieving grades that are three or more times lower thanboys (NECTA 2000). While slightly more girls than boyscomplete primary education in Tanzania, these results indicatethat the opportunities for learning are not equalacross the sexes. The key gender challenge is not enrolmentbut the quality of the learning experience and thesupportive environment for it.Government efforts to improve children’swell-beingDue to the problems and challenges facing Tanzanian children,the government has been implementing a number ofprogrammes and has taken various steps aimed at promotingchild development.In 1990 the government established a Ministry of CommunityDevelopment, Gender and Children to co-ordinate allissues concerning gender and children. Through this ministry,civil society organisations (CSOs) and non-governmentalorganisations (NGOs) as well as corporate andindividuals are encouraged to assist children through differentmeans. The ministry facilitated the process of formulatinga child-development policy for the governmentof Tanzania, which was officially approved for implementationin 1996. It provides guidelines for communities andinstitutions seeking to provide for children’s rights andto implement the United Nations’ Convention on theRights of the Child (CRC) and the Organisation of AfricanUnity (OAU) Charter on the Rights and Welfare of theChild.Objectives of the policyThe main objective of the child-development policy is toensure that all children are provided with all of their basicrights: life, protection, development and participation. Specificobjectives are:1. to define a child in the Tanzanian context;2. to enable the community to understand and observebasic rights of a child;3. to enable the community to understand and acknowledgethat the initial responsibility of caring for a childis the parents’ and not the community’s;4. to provide guidance on issues concerning children’ssurvival, protection, development and participation;5. to provide direction on the upbringing of children, especiallythose in difficult circumstances (in need of specialcare and protection measures);6. to clarify the role and responsibilities of key actors inthe implementation of the policy;7. to provide appropriate guidance to children on theirrights and responsibilities;8. to ensure that there are laws to protect children’srights; and9. to encourage active participation of the key actors(duty bearers) of the child-development policy in followingup, monitoring and reporting on the conditionof children.Other steps taken by the government in pursuance of thepolicy include:• Establishing and running juvenile courts so that childrenin conflict with the law can be dealt with in a mannerthat protects and promotes their dignity.• Formulating and reviewing laws protecting women andchildren (for example, the Sexual Offences Special ProvisionAct of 1998).• Ratification of the CRC and of the OAU Charter onthe Rights and Welfare of the Child, and formulation ofthe child-development policy of 1996.• Ratification of the ILO convention 138 and 128, theOptional Protocol to the CRC on the involvement ofchildren in armed conflict and the Optional Protocol tothe CRC on the sale of children, child prostitution andchild pornography.The Girl-Child and Government Service Provision 31
Page 2 and 3: Copyright 2004 by World Vision Inte
Page 5: ContentsIntroduction ..............
Page 8 and 9: identified in the case studies that
Page 10 and 11: Approximately 53 per cent of the po
Page 12 and 13: facility but also with staff member
Page 14 and 15: Literacy and educationAdult literac
Page 16 and 17: constrained by low funding; the nat
Page 18 and 19: Policewoman, for example, had 100 p
Page 20 and 21: EducationA deputy principal of a pr
Page 22 and 23: ObservationsThis study has focused
Page 24 and 25: Regulation and taxation neededCorru
Page 26 and 27: 7. What reasons does the family giv
Page 29: Girl-Child Accessto Government Soci
Page 33 and 34: there is governmental inconsistency
Page 35 and 36: ole models. Other educational barri
Page 37 and 38: was collected face to face. The stu
Page 39 and 40: • Consultations: Institutions con
Page 41 and 42: Secondary schoolsTwo of the five vi
Page 43 and 44: This finding is consistent with nat
Page 45 and 46: Case story 3Mercy John, a 14-year-o
Page 47: Health workers’ viewsAll the heal
Page 50 and 51: Annex 2: Questions forinterviews wi
Page 52 and 53: Annex 6: Questions forfocus-group d
Page 54 and 55: Sepehri, A. 1992. ‘Balance of Pay
Page 56 and 57: equires the generation of condition
Page 59: Table 3-3. Interviews, April 28-May
Page 62 and 63: Table 3-5. Working adolescentsLos C
Page 64 and 65: Table 3-6. Household chores and lac
Page 66 and 67: per cent of the population. However
Page 68 and 69: Figure 3-7. Access to services in t
Page 70 and 71: Annex 1Interviews, Stage 1, April 2
Page 72 and 73: Education1. Who likes attending sch
Page 74 and 75: 3. What are the main reasons why bo
Page 76 and 77: 7. What do you think are the main p
Page 79 and 80: World Development Report 2004and Gi
Page 81 and 82:
power and wealth. But it fails to d
Page 83 and 84:
economies of scale of setting up wa
Page 85 and 86:
Services and the girl-childThe serv
Page 87:
5The World Bank Annual Report 2003,
show all

The Girl-Child and Government Service Provision.pdf - Tanzania ...

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?