ZANZIBAR has in the past few years built 35 multi-storey schools with 28 others under construction, top ministerial officials say.

Abdallah Khamis Said, the principal secretary in the Zanzibar Education ministry, profiled this effort at an event to inaugurate Bubwini Misufuni secondary school in Unguja North Region, as part of commemorating 61 years of the Zanzibar Revolution.

Additionally, all dilapidated schools are being renovated and classrooms built with local community initiative are being completed to improve learning conditions, he said.

The new format schools have been built during the current phase of leadership under President Dr Hussein Ali Mwinyi as part of government efforts to reduce classroom overcrowding, he said. The new schools project began in September 2023, he stated,

The inaugurated school, valued at 6.1bn/-, is a three-storey building designed to feature 40 classrooms, a library, laboratories, student dormitories, teachers’ housing, accommodate 1,841 students, he said.

Zahro Mattar, the regional commissioner, said that before the revolution, North Unguja had three schools but now it boasts 152 schools at various levels, from preparatory to secondary education.

Union President Samia Suluhu Hassan named the school after the late Ambassador Seif Ali Iddi, erstwhile second vice president in the past government of national unity in Zanzibar.

In her remarks, the president stressed the need to improve schooling outcomes, pointing at government efforts to enhance education infrastructure by building modern schools.

She however acknowledged that Zanzibar results in national \ examinations are unsatisfactory, stressing her antipathy for zero grades or grade fours.

Among the major goals of the revolution was to push development fir the people, as its founders laid a strong foundation in that quest, aligned with religious values, prioritizing education and ensuring access to free education, she stated.

Sharing her personal educational experience, she recalled starting school in 1965 at Kitogani primary school, built with palm leaves and popularly known as ‘goat sheds’ by the local people.

In the decades that followed, successive governments worked to improve educational foundations by building better schools.

For decades Zanzibar lagged behind in academic performance due to a lack of equipped laboratories, she said, noting that students must now study hard to meet the high standards set by the government.

Up to the revolution Zanzibar had 92 schools, including five secondary schools and one kindergarten school, and now has 1,308 schools, she stated.

"The goal of the revolution was to improve the living standards of the people, including in education and health," she stated, stressing the government's vision is to produce skilled professionals who will contribute to the nation’s development.

More work is needed to train skilled professionals in the tourism sector, a field that has lagged behind due to the perception that such jobs lack dignity. This is why few Zanzibaris work in this field, she asserted.

She urged parents to ensure their children study diligently, even though the government provides free education as parents need to offer additional support when necessary.

She called on contractors and construction consultants to observe integrity to ensure that ongoing school construction meets high standards, for the buildings to last for many years.

Lela Muhammed Mussa, the Education and Vocational Training minister, said that significant investments have been directed at improving infrastructure, teachers’ welfare and teaching materials.