DAR ES SALAAM (Reuters) – Secondary school drop-outs in Tanzania will be offered the opportunity to resume studies in alternative colleges, the government said on Tuesday, part of a shift away from a disputed policy under which pregnant girls were expelled from school.
Such expulsions had increased under the tenure of maverick President John Magufuli, who died in March, according to rights groups who accused his government of discriminating against female students based on a policy that dated back to 1961.
“We are offering an alternative path to education to all children who missed their education for any reason, including those girls who got pregnant while in school, through our Folk Development Colleges (FDCs),” Leonard Akwilapo, a senior official at the Ministry of Education, told Reuters by phone.
New President Samia Suluhu Hassan, who was Magufuli’s deputy, has acted quickly to reverse some of his most controversial policies including his dismissal of the COVID-19 pandemic as a supposed hoax and conspiracy.
Last month, she stressed the importance of Tanzanians wearing face masks…
