The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education, Culture and Sports in Tanzania has urged stronger moral instruction through schools, families and communities, saying children need to be raised as responsible citizens while the country's cultural values are safeguarded. The call came in Dodoma after the committee received a ministry report on moral values, presented by Permanent Secretary and Government Chief Spokesperson Gerson Msigwa, according to Daily News. Discussions centred on how education shapes children's behaviour from an early age.
Why it matters
The committee's intervention places the formation of children's character alongside academic achievement as a matter of national policy. According to Daily News, members framed moral education as a foundation that should be laid early, with the curriculum at primary school level treated as a key entry point. The debate also touches on corruption, with one senior committee figure linking early ethical training to guarding young people against dishonest behaviour later in life.
Permanent Secretary backs curriculum role
Msigwa told the committee that the education system ought to give children a solid grounding by building moral instruction into what is taught, especially in the early years of primary schooling. He said children who learn about responsibility, respect and acceptable conduct while young are better placed to absorb positive values and to grasp the part they play in society, Daily News reports.
His presentation formed the basis of the committee's deliberations in the capital. The session drew attention to the role of schooling in shaping behaviour well before children reach secondary level, with the primary years identified as the period when attitudes are most open to influence.
Vice-chair links ethics teaching to anti-corruption effort
Colonel Magembe, the committee's Vice-Chairperson, said the ethics curriculum should be revisited starting from primary school so that children grow up with responsible habits and resistance to corruption. He asked the ministry to do all it can to counter the weakening of moral values by establishing a firm base that protects children, with the school curriculum from the primary level as the main vehicle, according to Daily News.
His remarks tied classroom teaching to a broader public concern: that ethical standards are eroding and that the education system has a part to play in reversing that trend. The committee's position, as conveyed in the report, is that instruction in right and wrong should not be left to chance or deferred until children are older.
Former deputy prime minister points to the home
Doto Biteko, a former Deputy Prime Minister, argued that character formation should start within the family and urged parents to take more responsibility for steering their children. He said many parents have moved away from traditional ways of raising children, leaving young people without a firm ethical grounding, and called on the ministry to work with the Ministry of Education to set out ethical guidelines from the earliest stages of learning, Daily News reports.
Biteko also pointed to the influence of digital platforms, music, films and other entertainment, saying that exposure makes parental guidance more important than ever if young people are to develop sound values. His contribution widened the discussion beyond the classroom, casting the home as the first place where moral standards are passed on and schools as a supporting force.
What to watch
The committee has asked the ministry to act on the concerns raised, but no timeline has been announced for changes to the curriculum or for the ethical guidelines proposed during the session. Watch for follow-up from the education ministry on whether primary-level ethics teaching is revised and how any new guidance is shared with schools and families.
