Zanzibar's president is going vertical to fix the classroom crisis. President Hussein Ali Mwinyi announced a major push for multi-storey school construction as a permanent fix for severe overcrowding and the double-shift system plaguing the islands. He made the declaration at the opening of the new three-storey Muungano Primary School in Kibanda-Maiti, within the densely populated Urban West Region. The government plans to hike the education budget to one trillion Tanzanian shillings, making it the top development priority. Funding includes a roughly two hundred forty billion shilling loan from Deutsche Bank, facilitated by CRDB Bank, to build twenty-nine modern schools across Unguja and Pemba.
The President pointed to limited land and a population growth rate near 3.7 percent as reasons for building up, not out. His administration has already completed thirty-five vertical schools. Next year, using domestic funds, they will start eighteen more in specific areas like Jang’ombe and Mikunguni on Unguja, and Kengeja on Pemba. Preparations are also active for World Bank-supported schools in locations including Fuoni Kibondeni and Micheweni. Beyond bricks and mortar, the plan includes recruiting over one thousand five hundred new teachers and a major tech upgrade. This tech push will connect seventy schools to fibre-optic internet, distribute thousands of computers, and establish twenty-five smart classrooms.
Permanent Secretary Khamis Abdalla Said provided details on the recently opened model school. Built by Fuchs Construction Limited for 6.1 billion shillings, the Muungano facility has forty-two classrooms, labs, and a capacity for one thousand eight hundred ninety pupils. President Mwinyi tied the school's name, meaning "unity," to the revolutionary promise of equal access. He argued that ending classroom congestion and providing dignified learning spaces is fundamental to delivering on that historic pledge for every child in Zanzibar.
The President pointed to limited land and a population growth rate near 3.7 percent as reasons for building up, not out. His administration has already completed thirty-five vertical schools. Next year, using domestic funds, they will start eighteen more in specific areas like Jang’ombe and Mikunguni on Unguja, and Kengeja on Pemba. Preparations are also active for World Bank-supported schools in locations including Fuoni Kibondeni and Micheweni. Beyond bricks and mortar, the plan includes recruiting over one thousand five hundred new teachers and a major tech upgrade. This tech push will connect seventy schools to fibre-optic internet, distribute thousands of computers, and establish twenty-five smart classrooms.
Permanent Secretary Khamis Abdalla Said provided details on the recently opened model school. Built by Fuchs Construction Limited for 6.1 billion shillings, the Muungano facility has forty-two classrooms, labs, and a capacity for one thousand eight hundred ninety pupils. President Mwinyi tied the school's name, meaning "unity," to the revolutionary promise of equal access. He argued that ending classroom congestion and providing dignified learning spaces is fundamental to delivering on that historic pledge for every child in Zanzibar.
