Safe School Initiative of the Mwangaza Education Centre

[:en]Salome Lally (GPENreformation Ambassador from Tanzania) addresses the teachers from Iluhya and Bukoba Lutheran Secondary Schools[:de]Salome Lally (GPENreformation-Botschafterin aus Tansania) wendet sich an die Lehrkräfte der lutherischen Sekundarschulen Iluhya und Bukoba[:fr]Salome Lally (Ambassadrice de GPENréformation de Tanzanie) s'adresse aux enseignants des écoles secondaires luthériennes d'Iluhya et de Bukoba[:]

The Tanzanian government has recently issued a statement requiring teachers and educators to be cautious about implementing corporal punishment.

The government’s statement results from several events which affected both students and teachers: in the Kilimanjaro and Kagera regions, three students were beaten to death.

In response to these incidents, the teachers involved were sentenced to death. The government also called on all schools to introduce a child protection policy. The Mwangaza Education Centre, a member of GPENreformation, has initiated a Safe School Program for all employees of ELCT-administered secondary schools. The training focuses on mindset, basic counseling skills, school culture, child protection, discipline and alternative punishment.

In September 2019, the staff of the Education Center conducted Safe School Training at two Lutheran secondary schools in Bukoba, Tanzania (Iluhya and Bukoba Lutheran) with 50 school staff. A five-day training course was held at both schools. Following the training, each school will establish a Peace Club to provide students with lessons and activities that enable them to work for a safe learning and teaching environment. Peer mediation and emotional intelligence are among the topics that are brought closer to the students in the peace clubs.

The Mwangaza Education Centre will offer this type of training to other ELCT schools in the future. The government declaration helps us as GPENreformation ambassadors to implement the goals of our network.

Below are some photos taken during the training sessions.

This article was written by

Ambassador Salome Lally