Tanga City
According to the 2022 Census the population of Tanga Region was 2,615,597. Based on the national average of 49% of the population of Tanga Region being under 18 years of age, it is likely that over 1.2 million children and adolescents (0-17) were living in the Tanga region in 2022. Specific data for Tanga City indicates a large young population with 92,305 aged (0-9 years) and 83,646 aged (10 -19 years). (The figures are for those who were registered at the time of the Census).
According to a survey taken in 2017 there were somewhere between 79 to 98 Primary schools in Tanga City, 79 public schools and 19 Private Schools. With a growing population it is clear that there are insufficient Primary and Pre Primary Schools to ensure all children get an education and are given the best start in life.
Up until 2024 the Sisters ran a very successful Commercial School in Mwanzange Ward Tanga for approximately 50 years. The Commercial School was very reluctantly closed in 2024 due mainly to the fact that the VETA (Vocational Educational Training Authority) Certification, which the School followed, was no longer accepted by Universities in Tanzania and as a result many of their students who had taken the Courses in the Commercial School had to repeat the three years at extra cost when taking up University places. To overcome this anomaly and avoid the need to repeat, the Ministry of Education decided to integrate the VETA Certification Accountancy program into the Secondary Education curriculum, which then negated the need for a Commercial School.
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Sr. M. Andrew, who worked in Tanga for over 30 years, was Principal of St. Joseph’s Commercial School.
She can be seen here with some of her students.
Rather than leave the building idle, the Sisters set about researching the needs in this particular part of Tanga, and the result is that they approached the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology to be officially registered as a Pre-primary and Primary School for Class 1 to Class 7 and this permission was granted on the 8th January 2025 when the school was officially registered. The Sisters then set about reconfiguring the Commercial School to become a Pre / Primary School. This was achieved by the end of 2025 after much consultation with the Ministry of Education.
When it opened on Monday 12th January 2026 over 120 little ones arrived to start both the Pre and Primary School up to Standard 2. More parents were still coming seeking places during that week. As the existing classrooms will only accommodate up to Standard 2 there is an immediate urgency to get a new building up and running by 2027 for those students moving from Standard 2 to Standard 3 and to accommodate the growing number seeking places.
It is proposed to build the new School on existing land owned by the Sisters and which forms part of the compound that encompasses the existing Pre and Primary School to Standard 2 (converted from Commercial School). We are presently seeking funding / donations to ensure that we can continue to offer a holistic education so that all the students both present and future are given the chance to reach their full potential.
The Sisters and Lay staff work extremely hard, the Sisters make all the uniforms for the children at their Centre in Muheza. They also provide a daily meal for the children which is prepared, cooked and distributed by the Sisters to all attending. Fun, playfulness, learning, music, sport and creativity are very much encouraged so that the children are given every opportunity to explore their dreams and develop and reach their potential. Sr. Gertrude is the Headmistress, Sr. M. Veronica Grennan the Bursar and Sr. Hellen Kioko the School Secretary. There are also 5 lay teachers.