Cleopa, shown here with his mother, was the top performing scholarship student on the first of the monthly exams.Every four weeks or so, students take month-end exams in all 12 subjects. The results for the first quiz for the scholarship students, as follows were abysmal. In the Tanzanian system, marks above 50 percent are passing. A rough guide to how marks are considered:
80 - 100 Excellent
60 - 80 Good
50 - 60 Fair
Below 50 Failing
|
Avg
|
History
|
Chem
|
Cmrce
|
Bookkp
|
Physcs
|
Geogr
|
Math
|
Comptr
|
Biology
|
English
|
Swahili
|
Civics
|
Cleopa
|
71
|
47
|
85
|
81
|
78
|
65
|
62
|
69
|
90
|
30
|
95
|
69
|
79
|
Immanuel
|
49
|
45
|
50
|
83
|
30
|
45
|
20
|
x
|
70
|
30
|
30
|
56
|
76
|
Nyando
|
42
|
38
|
55
|
44
|
25
|
23
|
26
|
20
|
35
|
27
|
58
|
61
|
94
|
Kashu
|
40
|
49
|
15
|
x
|
62
|
46
|
13
|
39
|
35
|
13
|
40
|
82
|
46
|
Saruni
|
38
|
24
|
70
|
27
|
20
|
50
|
25
|
11
|
35
|
29
|
60
|
68
|
x
|
Elia
|
32
|
15
|
25
|
16
|
25
|
25
|
16
|
12
|
10
|
14
|
54
|
86
|
89
|
Loshiro
|
27
|
05
|
10
|
20
|
40
|
24
|
30
|
25
|
25
|
12
|
20
|
83
|
20
|
Neema
|
25
|
32
|
35
|
20
|
11
|
10
|
25
|
11
|
11
|
13
|
20
|
48
|
63
|
In case there is confusion about the abbreviations used in the table, the subjects taken are history, chemistry, commerce, bookkeeping, physics, geography, mathematics, computers, biology, English, Kiswahili, and civics.
When asked why they performed so poorly, students said they struggled with the exams because the were written in English, which they don’t know. Indeed the student who scored the best on the English exam was also the top performer in almost every other test. Others said they weren’t given enough time to finish some exams.
The normal punishment for the students in this country would be for me to beat them. I told them that if they continue to see themselves as little children, waiting to be beaten before doing what they are supposed to, they will continue to fail. I sent letters home to their parents explaining again that a condition for the scholarship is good performance on exams and that they need to push their children to get the
uchungu needed to make it in this system. When the students return to school from the week-long Easter holiday, they will be watched more carefully. I am asking the teachers not to allow them to take part in sports unless they have averages above 50 percent. They also will not be given money to travel to other towns to see their school’s soccer team compete, nor to participate in the pastoralist students association conference later this month in Monduli.
For the most part, these students have been treated like little children their whole lives and have always been told what to do. If they didn’t do as told, they get beaten. A challenge ahead of us, and the thing we are praying for, is that they learn self-determination and practice self-discipline in the coming weeks.
There are some valid excuses for poor performance. Neema, for example, was walking long distances to school and was given a lot of housework to do at the place where she was living. Elia had an eye problem that made reading painful. Most of the students are far behind their classmates in English comprehension, which makes taking tests in English difficult. We don’t yet have money to buy textbooks with.
To address these, Neema has moved into the dorms, Elia will be given glasses when he returns from Easter holiday, and all of the students are getting tutored in English 3 to 4 times per week. Therefore we expect the next exam results to be much better. We will show them where they can find the textbooks they need in the school’s small library.
We also expect the students’ English comprehension to have improved by the end of April exams, helping their results.
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dm
