Guardian weekly: letter from 620

Tanzania: education setback for girls

In her Letter from Tanzania Kate Forrester reports on how a personal tragedy led to further setbacks in the struggle to get more girls into secondary school education
Makuyuni primary school in Tanzania
Young girls at Makuyuni primary school in the Monduli district of Tanzania. Photograph: Graeme Robertson/Graeme Robertson

Esther yawned and thought about tomorrow's exam. It was 11pm, and the generator had just been switched off, as usual, but she still hadn't committed those equations to memory. So she lit a candle and opened her chemistry book once again.

It wasn't long until Esther (not her real name) began to nod off. The candle flickered in the breeze from the open, but barred, windows, and then danced towards the mosquito net on Esther's bed. The flames caught the mattress and in no time the whole building, housing 461 girls, was ablaze. The 12 girls who died were buried in the school grounds. Among the mourners was the minister of education.

This was a personal tragedy but it may also be a tragedy for the education of girls in this country. It has been a long struggle, still not won, to get girls into secondary schools. Not only are the fees expensive, but in this highly traditional society investing

in the education of girls has generally been seen as throwing away good money, since they will ultimately be married into another clan. And anyway, many farmers ­reason, what is the point of a secondary education for a girl who is just going to end up farming like her parents and grandparents before her?

However, in recent years organisations have begun working in this area to persuade parents and the girls themselves that secondary education is worthwhile. They have gone into primary schools and talked to parents and village councils; they have worked in the secondary school supporting girls who may have little encouragement from home, and paid their fees.

Perhaps this sorry incident will set back these efforts. There will be those who will shake their heads sagely and declare they always knew that no good would come of sending girls to school. But Tanzania has moved on, and most will probably accept that it was a an accident, and no more.

In the end, the finger must be pointed at poverty. If there were more secondary schools, or better roads and buses, then students wouldn't need to board. If there were more resources, then safer, less crowded boarding houses could be built. And if electricity were more widespread, then girls such as Esther wouldn't put the lives of their fellow students in danger as they cram their lessons by candlelight.

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