Annie O'Connor

The Ilongero Secondary School in central Tanzania has over 900 students. Yet, in the words of its headmaster ?it is failing to provide an adequate education due to the lack of electricity?.

The Kanga Project, a UK charity, have just finished the building of a 60 bed dormitory for girls in the grounds of the school so that those living too far away from the school can get the chance of an education. Yet this chance is being jeopardized by the poor quality of the education. An issue that is mainly down to lack of electricity.

Delivering quality education without electricity is a huge challenge for a school and it goes well beyond a lack of bright light for reading. Electricity is power.

Electricity attracts teachers: Ilongero school has only 4 qualified teachers and a handful of part time ex-students, yet it has 961 students. Denied the tools to succeed in their work or some comforts in the houses provided in rural areas, even the less experienced teachers shy away fro... more

The Ilongero Secondary School in central Tanzania has over 900 students. Yet, in the words of its headmaster ?it is failing to provide an adequate education due to the lack of electricity?.

The Kanga Project, a UK charity, have just finished the building of a 60 bed dormitory for girls in the grounds of the school so that those living too far away from the school can get the chance of an education. Yet this chance is being jeopardized by the poor quality of the education. An issue that is mainly down to lack of electricity.

Delivering quality education without electricity is a huge challenge for a school and it goes well beyond a lack of bright light for reading. Electricity is power.

Electricity attracts teachers: Ilongero school has only 4 qualified teachers and a handful of part time ex-students, yet it has 961 students. Denied the tools to succeed in their work or some comforts in the houses provided in rural areas, even the less experienced teachers shy away from schools without electricity. More teachers will reduce the class sizes from 150 at present to an acceptable 40. More teachers mean that they will be teaching the subjects they were trained for and not extra ones they have little knowledge of. More teachers mean sufficient hours of teaching per subject.

Electricity allows the proper teaching of sciences: Ilongero School has two new laboratories just gathering dust as the equipment cannot be used.

Electricity multiplies resources: Projectors, photocopiers, typewriters, video recorders are essential tools and even more so in African schools where books are so scarce. Even basic typing skills can enhance anyone?s job prospects.

Electricity extends study times: It gets dark at 6.30pm all year round in Tanzania so electricity in the hostel will allow the girls to study in the evenings and make it possible for those living near by to use the library.

Electricity allows for better time management: It is easier for the staff to prepare and review the students? work later in the day, freeing them to teach throughout the day.

Electricity is the essential step towards acquiring the skills necessary for 21st century jobs: It will transform the school into a provider of an education worthy of its name and equip students with the knowledge and skills to go onto colleges, professional training centres and universities. It will make it feasible to bring in computers at some point soon and help the students cross over the infamous ?digital divide?.

The school is too far away to be connected to the network and a new substation and 5 poles and tension lines are required to bring power to the school grounds. Total cost is £15,500.