RUKWA Regional Commissioner (RC) Joachim Wangabo has tasked councils in the area to draft bylaws that will force parents or guardians to contribute meals to public primary and secondary schools during class hours.
RC further directed that all the four councils headed by their Councilors in their full Baraza should meet to draft the bylaws and submit their resolutions to regional heads before the end of this month.
Mr Wangabo said the draft will then be forwarded to the Ministry of State –President Office (Regional Administration and Local Government) — Tamisemi for further determination.
Though contribution of school meals is a voluntary thing for parents to keep their children in school and continue with their lessons instead of breaking for home during lunch hours, most parents in the region still do not see its essence.
To improve class concentration and academic excellence, the RC said parents should see the essence of contributing meals for their children, especially this time when new ones are reporting for Form One classes.
Elaborating, Mr Wangabo urged all parents and guardians to ensure that their selected children report to Form One by January 11th, this year, warning that any violation will face full wrath of the law.
“District Commissioners must take to task parents who will disobey the government’s directives,” instructed the RC.
He said that there will be 16,540 students in the region expected to join Form One in the first selection, but only 564 will wait to be accommodated in the second intake as they wait for classrooms, desks and tables to be added.
Mr Wangabo equally, directed Kalambo and Sumbawanga District Commissioners, Mr Carolius Misungwi and Dr Halfany Haule to ensure required classrooms and furniture are made available for the 564 students by February 28th, this year.
“Construction of school classrooms must be priority in every council because the number of children enrolling in schools is increasing year after a year. For instance, 27 wards in Rukwa Region don’t have public secondary schools, Sumbawanga District Council has ten wards, Sumbawanga municipality has two, Kalambo eight and Nkasi seven.
“I’m directing DCs and Councils Directors to ensure all wards have public secondary schools with hostel facilities …. You can start with four classrooms so that by 2022, the newly built structures will have the capacity to accommodate 200 students in every new school,” he directed.
On his part, Sumbawanga Municipal Director, Mr Jacob Mtalitinya said seven classrooms are under construction and assured that by next month 28th, all their 310 students expected to join Form One will be accommodated.