Learning Continues in Homes Across Tanzania

The first case of the new Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Tanzania was reported on Monday, March 16. Subsequently, the next day, Tuesday, March 17, all primary and secondary schools, as well as colleges and universities, were closed. 

Opportunity Education Foundation Tanzania is working closely with the 30 Quest Forward Learning schools in Tanzania to provide an opportunity for continued learning during the school closure. 

Mtakuja Secondary School has groups through WhatsApp so the school mentors can regularly interact with their students.

Because Quest Forward Learning has digital content, several schools permitted their students to take their tablets home so that they can continue progressing through the curriculum. Together with Opportunity Education, teachers are using communication platforms, such as WhatsApp, to guide and engage regularly with their students.

Since students do not have phones, communication is through their parents’ and guardians’ phones, which invites them into this distance learning process. In situations where parents do not have a smartphone, the teachers are making phone calls or texting to connect with their students.

At Opportunity Education, we are energized by the challenge before us to adapt Quest Forward Learning as a distance learning platform for the nearly Tanzanian 2,000 students in the 30 Quest Forward schools.