Most of the education commentaries that have been published by The New Times have mostly been complaints or finger-pointing at where we thought needed attention.

So we need to tip off our hats at authorities who are quick to get the message and rush to put things back in order because education should not start on a wrong footing by not facilitating students as much as possible.

Therefore, it comes as a surprise when a teacher at Groupe Scolaire Bwira in Ngororero District reveals that he only has three history books being shared by around 100 students. How is that possible? Are parents made aware of such shortages?

The least schools could do is to request parents to buy the necessary books but not give students half-baked lessons. Today, on top of the normal school fees, schools also request parents to contribute to teachers’ bonuses.

That money is used to top-up on their salaries which almost everyone concurs is not sufficient. So, parents do not complain because they fully agree that a motivated teacher is the best thing for their child.

But some schools do not always fulfil their obligations and sometimes make unreasonable demands. When a privately-owned school requests parents to contribute to its building projects, that is akin to daylight robbery because parents are not given a piece of the school.

That and similar other "overheads” is what the Government needs to clamp down on because that money could be put to better use such as plugging the gap of shortage in scholastic materials.