When considering the following information on the school system and its costs, one should always keep in mind that the majority of the people in Tanzania, and thus especially in the rural area of Lutindi, are below the poverty line and that people who have work earn between two and three euros a day.

The school system in Tanzania, which has been reformed several times and is based on the English school system, is divided into four areas:

The voluntary preschool (roughly equivalent to kindergarten).
The Primary School – here are the school years 1 to 7 located
The Secondary School – here are the school years 8-11 located
The University

In general, preschool and primary school are free of charge. But, there is a compulsory school uniform already in the state Primary School. Meals and school supplies must also be financed privately. Thus, already for the Primary School monthly costs of about 35,– Euro per child accumulate, which can hardly be afforded by a simple day laborer. It is also not uncommon to pass on the costs for school furniture to the parents. These costs vary depending on the school and the region…

In order to get into secondary school, students must have above-average grades from primary school, otherwise they are rejected.

At the Secondary School there are day students (i.e. those who live in the immediate vicinity) and boarding students (i.e. those who stay overnight in the school’s premises due to a too long way to school). Already for the admission the students have to pay about 100,– Euro for the initial equipment. For a day student the parents have to pay about 450 Euro per year and for a boarding student about 650 Euro.

Subsequent years of teaching must also be paid for.

Here alone it becomes clear how many children are only granted access to education because the parents can hardly afford these costs as a rule. In the primary school, Swahili is taught as the community language (more than 125 different languages are spoken in the country) and in the primary school, the official language English is also taught.

Lutindi is home to both schools, a Primary School that has been in existence for many years and is in generally poor overall condition, and since 2020, a newly constructed Secondary School. Here, too, the state is withdrawing from financing elementary basics and leaving the schools, or the parents, to cover costs that should have been covered by the state in a well-functioning school system.

For example, the management of the Secondary School approached us with a request for financial help in procuring 70 missing pieces of school furniture. There are already more than 50 students who do not have a seat/desk. 

For us it was no question: if students have qualified for the Secondary School with enormous diligence, then their further education must not fail because they cannot attend classes due to missing school furniture. The ZAC e.V. takes over 100% of the financing and thanks the supporters from the environment of the fans of the MSV Duisburg for the great support in this subproject. The production furniture was delivered in August 2021.