carry out outreach with the parents who don’t send their kids to school. We have tried, but the outcomes are negative. A large number say they don’t have the money to send their children to school.”209 Haki E., a 14-year-old boy, stated that one of the reasons he left primary school was because of these costs: “I got involved in mining last year, I was 13. I started it to get money for clothes…. I dropped out of school because I could not meet my needs for school – uniform, books, and the contribution to school.”210
Limited Access to Secondary School or Vocational Training Although most children of primary school age in Tanzania are enrolled in primary school, few children continue on to secondary or vocational school.211 This is partly because many children fail the required Primary School Leaving Exam (PSLE), and because the cost of attending secondary school either deters prospective students’ enrollment or causes them to drop out. The government also has a shortage of vocational training opportunities. With no option to continue their studies, children seek full-time employment in various sectors, including mining. Children are not entitled to attend secondary school in Tanzania—only if they pass the PSLE are they allowed to advance beyond the final grade of primary school. Usually they get only one chance to pass and they are not allowed to retake the exam.212 During 2011 to 2012, only 58.3 percent of students passed the PSLE.213 In the schools visited by Human Rights Watch in Geita, Kahama, and Chunya districts, officials told us that between 35.9 and 86.3 percent of students passed the exam and enrolled in secondary school in 2011.214 Roughly half of the students who pass the PLSE continue on to secondary school.215 Many fail to enroll or drop out because of school expenses. Human Rights Watch visited one 209 Human Rights Watch interview with three school teachers, Nyarugusu Ward, Geita district, October 12, 2012. 210 Human Rights Watch interview with Haki E., age 14, Nyarugusu Ward, Geita district, October 14, 2012. 211 The United Republic of Tanzania, Education Sector Development Committee, “Education Sector Performance Report
2011/2012,” September 2012, http://www.ed-dpg.or.tz/pdf/ESPR%20and%20AM/JESR%20201112_Education%20Sector%20Performance%20Report.pdf (accessed February 18, 2013), pp. 14-15. 212 Human Rights Watch interview with education official, Dar es Salaam, October 22, 2012. 213 The United Republic of Tanzania, Education Sector Development Committee, “Education Sector Performance Report
2011/2012,” p. 29. 214 Human Rights Watch interviews with an education official, Nyarugusu Ward, Geita district, October 14, 2012; with a
teacher, Mwabomba, Kahama district, October 18, 2012; with two teachers at different schools, Matundasi Ward, Chunya district, December 10, 2012; and with a teacher, Chokaa Ward, Chunya district, December 12, 2012. 215 In 2009, the pass rate for the PSLE was 49.4 percent and 43.9 percent of primary school students transitioned to
secondary school during that period. In 2010 the pass rate was 53.5 percent and 52.2 percent of primary school students
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