GRADUATES SYNERGY
LIBRARY
Where
is Tanzania?
Rated
as one of the poorest countries in the world, Tanzania
is situated in East Africa, which forms part of
Sub-Saharan Africa, an area well known for its famines,
droughts and wars. In reality Tanzania is a largely
agricultural country, with substantial debts to the
global economy, and is one of the few countries not to
have experienced a civil war since its independence in
1961.
Although
there are over 120 different tribes and hence tribal
languages within the boundaries of Tanzania practically
all Tanzanians are united under the National Education
language of Swahili. This is the language of government
primary schools. Although a thorough knowledge of
Swahili is vital for Tanzanians, it is essential, due to
the many pressures of globalisation and tourism, amongst
others, for a significant number of local people to have
a good understanding of a global language. Owing to
Tanzania's history and position in the world English has
for a long time been this global language and is in fact
the language of all Tanzanian secondary schools. It is
therefore vital for any primary schools student to have
a good grasp of the English language in order to even
have a chance of reaching secondary school and
continuing to be educated beyond this level.
1.0
Some Facts:
·
Fewer
than half of Tanzania's children attend primary school
(net 48% in 1996 (UNESCO))
·
At
least 3 million children are not enrolled in primary
school (Government of the United Republic of Tanzania
2001)
·
Only
about 6% of Tanzanian children attend secondary school
(1996 (UNESCO))
·
The
average GNP of a Tanzanian citizen was about $240 in
1999 (World Bank) Tanzania's global debt was about $7.6
billion in 1998 (World Bank)
·
Approximately
10% of the Tanzanian populations have AIDS/HIV figures
(World Bank). Children and young adults are at highest
risk of infection
·
Tanzania
was rated as the 156th out of 174 countries in the Human
Development Index in 1999 (Human Development Report)
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