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

Table 2–1. Primary school buildings and furniture required vs. actual, 1999Type ofbuilding/furnitureRequirednumberActualnumberShortage(of units)Actual /requiredClassroomsStaff housesToiletsStoresTablesChairsCupboards99,278116,591168,92818,175208,383222,000127,93957,36726,79564,8145,51075,39780,13730,44241,91189,796104,11412,665132,986141,82797,49758%23%38%30%36%36%24%Source: Ministry of Education and Culture (2000)of toilet and water facilities is a serious concern, giventheir importance to ensuring basic health. This is particularlytrue for girls, most of whom begin menstruating whilein primary school (see Table 2–1).Community beliefs and practicesA number of community beliefs and practices affect girlchildeducation in Tanzania, including lack of parents’knowledge of the social and private benefits of education,limited roles for girls and women, differential treatmentof girls (for example, poor nutrition and health care), lackof economic and social opportunities for educated girls,early marriage and glorification of motherhood, femaleseclusion and sexual abuse/harassment, domestic violence,female genital mutilation (FGM), and inheritancepatterns.A study by Kandusi (1999) found that approximately threemillion women (10 per cent) in Tanzania have undergoneFGM, mainly in Arusha, Dodoma, Kilimanjaro, Singida andMara, and in a few places in Morogoro, Iringa, Lindi andMtwara regions. Before this, girls have to celebrate a riteof passage ceremony, after which they are consideredadults. Psychologically the conferring of adult status canlead to educational tensions. Girls can become frustratedwith the idea of staying in school, which is associated withchildhood, resulting in loss of concentration, poor performance,truancy and finally dropping out. It has also beenfound that FGM perpetuates early marriage, thereby causingmany girls to drop out.Educational barriersThe poor educational environment for girls is characterisedby a lack or absence of parental and societal expectationfor girls to perform well, sexual harassment by maleteachers and other men outside schools, and inadequatephysical infrastructure (such as lack of water and sanitationfacilities). This environment contributes to practicessuch as early marriage, early pregnancy and dropping outof school. Lack of clean water and private toilet facilities(lack of doors) may particularly affect girls during menstruation.The lack of privacy and the unhygienic conditionsmay cause girls to stay home during this time, missingout on a number of school days each month.Stereotypical gender roles and prejudices against girls areoften perpetuated in school through textbooks and otherlearning materials, teachers’ attitudes and interaction withchildren in the classroom, designation of tidying and otherresponsibilities in school, and extracurricular tasks imposedon school children. A study on gender and educationrevealed that in developing countries as a whole,“textbooks transmit heavily stereotyped images of menand women, with women adopting low profiles and havingtraits of passivity, dependency on men, low intelligence anda lack of leadership” (Kuleana 1999).Many teachers maintain that girls are not as smart as boys.A 1997 study in Kenya revealed that both male and femaleteachers described girls as stupid and lazy and articulatedlower expectations for girls. A predominance of maleteachers (approximately 75 per cent) means that girls lack34 The Girl-Child and Government Service Provision