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

Figure 3–7. Access to services in the community, according to the population interviewed95% 97%85%88%77%61%39%23%15% 12%5%3%Near the houseThere is none /Don't knowPrimaryschoolSecondaryschoolHealthcentreParkPublicsportsgroundsPubliclibraryOf the population interviewed, 37 per cent said that theirchildren do not participate in sports activities, while 78per cent said that their children do not participate in artsgroups.In these communities, as in many other rural communities,the few organised recreational activities that children haveaccess to take place at school, with the limitations that thisinvolves in terms of resources, schedules and infrastructure.In Upala, for example, only one person represented thecanton at the 2003 National Sports Games. The fact thatonly one athlete qualified for this tournament says somethingabout the limitations of this canton in terms ofsports programmes, infrastructure, incentives for athletes,and so on.ConclusionsThis chapter is based on the assumption that there arefactors that affect access to state services and their use indifferent ways for girls and boys. First of all, it is worthhighlighting that the study found no legal blocks or usualpractices in the rendering of education and health servicesthat were gender discriminatory. In terms of access, thereare successes and failures.We determined that the educational system providesgood coverage for primary school (cycles I and II) but notfor the secondary school (cycle III); the number of schoolsfor this stage in learning is very limited in the cantons includedin this study.The composition of the enroled population, both for primaryand for secondary schools, indicates that there areno significant differences in access to education in the areaunder study. If anything, access to secondary education ismore favourable for girls, especially in those cantonswhere child labour more clearly affects boys.One of the major factors that limit girls in their educationalprocess is the obligation to do household work. Inthe communities under study, the majority of female childrendo housework; boys are not so obliged, and a highpercentage of boys do not do any house chores. This discriminatorytreatment by parents affects girls’ school performance(which, nevertheless, is still higher than theboys’), in terms of both grades and attendance at classes.Concerning the use of educational services, both girls andboys face great limitations. They constantly need to dealwith geographic and/or climatic difficulties in order toreach their schools. Poor roads (or no roads at all) andflooding rivers are only two instances of how vulnerablethese communities are due to the state’s inability to offeran adequate infrastructure of roads and good public transportationservices.Limitations at the school facilities also affect the right to agood education for children. Poor facilities, inadequate furniture,lack of educational materials, inadequate service inthe school lunchroom and lack of safe spaces for recreation68 The Girl-Child and Government Service Provision