"Word."

A versatile declaration, originating (more or less) in hip-hop culture.

Has no single meaning, but is used to convey a casual sense of affirmation, acknowledgement, agreement. 

Check out this recent editorial from The Citizen. 

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Tanzania Needs More Teachers Now Than Ever Before

With the introduction of the free education policy by the fifth phase government, by March there were 8,340,128 children in public primary schools across the country.  We saw desk-making campaigns in a bid to ensure we don't have scenes of children learning seated on dusty floors. 

To teach the over 8 million children, there were 191,604 teachers, which gave a teacher-pupil ratio of 1:41.  The distribution of teachers is far from even, as it has been found that at some schools, the ratio was one teacher for every three learners at two schools in Tabora Region and one in Tanga.  The worst scenario was at a school in Kigoma Region that had one teacher handling 727 pupils! 

According to the Tanzania Teachers Union, public secondary schools have a shortage of 40,000 teachers.  At least 30,000 of the "missing" teachers are for science subjects.  This situation notwithstanding, the government has plans to employ only a tenth of the required number this year. 

Apart from budgetary constraints, people expect to be told why we have a big teaching staff shortage when there are so many qualified teachers who are waiting to be employed.  Right from lower primary school, the playing ground for education is uneven.  Much as we need more teachers, the distribution has to be streamlined, for quality education is a right for every Tanzanian child. 

Incentives have to be offered to teachers, monetary and non-monetary, especially those posted to remote areas.  Working conditions and accommodation have to be tackled urgently. 

Local government leaders need to promote community participation especially in rural schools.  Many teachers are forced to find additional income to augment their meager earnings, which invariably has a serious negative impact on their overall performance. 

The government needs acknowledge that it is only through a well-developed education system that the country will realize its dream of becoming a middle-income economy by 2025.