“I Had a Dream to Finish School”

More than 120 Form II students prepare to sit their mock exams in a secondary school in Mwanza, northwestern Tanzania.
More than 120 Form II students prepare to sit their mock exams in a secondary school in Mwanza, northwestern Tanzania. © 2016 Elin Martínez/Human Rights Watch
A painting outside Rafiki Social Development Organization’s office in Kahama district, Shinyanga.
A painting outside Rafiki Social Development Organization’s office in Kahama district, Shinyanga. The painting aims to create awareness about sexual abuse of girls on their way to schools, and shows a female student refusing to take money from an adult man, saying “Sidanganyiki” or “I cannot be deceived” in Kiswahili. © 2016 Elin Martínez/Human Rights Watch
Eileen (pseudonym), 21, dropped out of Form II when her school conducted a pregnancy test and school officials and parents found out she was pregnant.
Eileen (pseudonym), 21, dropped out of Form II when her school conducted a pregnancy test and school officials and parents found out she was pregnant. In Tanzania, school officials routinely subject girls to forced pregnancy testing as a disciplinary measure to expel pregnant students from schools. © 2016 Elin Martínez/Human Rights Watch
A bamboo cane used by a teacher to cane students in a classroom lies on a desk at a secondary school in Mwanza, northwestern Tanzania.
A bamboo cane used by a teacher to cane students in a classroom lies on a desk at a secondary school in Mwanza, northwestern Tanzania. Human Rights Watch found that some teachers also beat students with wooden sticks, or with their hands or other objects. © 2016 Elin Martínez/Human Rights Watch
A girl shows the marks she sustained on her legs from regular caning by teachers in her school. She told Human Rights Watch: “We have marks in the legs, they hit our hands, they hit us on the head.”
A girl shows the marks she sustained on her legs from regular caning by teachers in her school. She told Human Rights Watch: “We have marks in the legs, they hit our hands, they hit us on the head.” © 2016 Elin Martínez/Human Rights Watch
Frances (pseudonym), 21, struggled to pay for secondary school.
Frances (pseudonym), 21, struggled to pay for secondary school. She worked as a domestic worker to help pay her school fees: “From 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. I studied, then from 5 p.m. – 11 p.m. I worked [at her employee’s home] and I also worked over the weekends ... I got 30,000 shillings [US$14] per month … not enough to pay for school.” She failed the secondary school exam and dropped out of Form IV. © 2016 Elin Martínez/Human Rights Watch
Female students who are blind, are guided down a steep and slippery hill by their teachers. They have to walk through rough terrain to get from their secondary school to their school’s hostel in Mwanza city.
Female students who are blind, are guided down a steep and slippery hill by their teachers. They have to walk through rough terrain to get from their secondary school to their school’s hostel in Mwanza city. © 2016 Elin Martínez/Human Rights Watch
Broken braille machines, formerly used by students who are blind, sit on a shelf at a secondary school’s resource center for students with disabilities in Shinyanga, a city in northern Tanzania.
Broken braille machines, formerly used by students who are blind, sit on a shelf at a secondary school’s resource center for students with disabilities in Shinyanga, a city in northern Tanzania. Many secondary schools lack the equipment, materials, or pedagogical support needed to make education accessible to all students on an equal basis. © 2016 Elin Martínez/Human Rights Watch
An unfinished science laboratory next to a classroom at a secondary school in Shinyanga region, northern Tanzania.
An unfinished science laboratory next to a classroom at a secondary school in Shinyanga region, northern Tanzania. Construction work was put on hold when school officials were no longer allowed to ask parents for financial contributions following the government’s abolition of school fees and “contributions” in December 2015. © 2016 Elin Martínez/Human Rights Watch
Old female and male latrines at a secondary school in Mwanza, northeastern Tanzania.
Old female and male latrines at a secondary school in Mwanza, northeastern Tanzania. Safe and adequate toilets and sanitation facilities are a basic component of an acceptable learning environment, but in many secondary schools, toilets do not meet any basic standards. Many students interviewed by Human Rights Watch reported having to use dirty and congested pit latrines. © 2016 Elin Martínez/Human Rights Watch
“Speak English” signs found in secondary schools in Ukerewe, an island on Lake Victoria, and Mwanza, in northwestern Tanzania.
“Speak English” signs found in secondary schools in Ukerewe, an island on Lake Victoria, and Mwanza, in northwestern Tanzania. Many secondary schools strictly enforce the use of English — a new language for most secondary school students, as Kiswahili is the medium of instruction in primary schools. Many students are not given adequate support to transition from Kiswahili to English, and some reported being punished for not speaking English in class. In 2014, the government adopted a policy to allow the dual use of Swahili and English as languages of instruction in secondary schools. © 2016 Elin Martínez/Human Rights Watch
Tangazo la “Kuongea Kiingereza” lilipo katika shule ya sekondari Ukerewe, kisiwa kilichopo Ziwa Victoria, Mwanza, kaskazini-magharibi mwa Tanzania.
Tangazo la “Kuongea Kiingereza” lilipo katika shule ya sekondari Ukerewe, kisiwa kilichopo Ziwa Victoria, Mwanza, kaskazini-magharibi mwa Tanzania. Shule nyingi za sekondari zinasisitiza matumizi ya kiingereza- lugha mpya kwa wanafunzi wa sekondari kwani Kiswahili ndiyo lugha ya kufundishia shule za msingi. Wanafunzi wengi hawapewi msaada wa kutosha kuendana na mabadiliko ya kutoka Kiswahili kwenda Kiingereza na wengine wanaripoti kuwa wanapewa adhabu kwa kushindwa kuongea Kiingereza darasani. Mwaka 2014, Serikali ilipitisha sera ya kukubali matumizi ya pamoja ya Kiswahili na kiingereza kama lugha za kufundishia kwa shule za sekondari. © 2016 Elin Martínez/Human Rights Watch

All photos © 2016 Elin Martínez/Human Rights Watch

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