Education is something I often take for granted. I assume that it is normal to have access to good quality education in your first language. If you are willing to work hard any education is possible. Unfortunately, that is not true worldwide. Education, particularly post-secondary education often takes place in English and while millions of people do speak English these days, there are millions more who don’t.
Such is the case for many of my Tanzanian colleagues. Although they have had exposure to English in secondary school most of them are not fluent in English. This presents a problem when they consider further education because all post-secondary education is in English in Tanzania. Or if they are looking to attend or complete a correspondence degree from a university outside of Tanzania it will also most likely be in English. Of course it’s definitely possible to learn English well enough to study but it’s not an easy process.
Having seen the challenges my colleagues face I realize how I have taken my own education for granted. During high school I knew there were multiple universities I would be able to attend because I spoke English fluently and graduated from high school with the proper requirements. It was more a matter of deciding what type of post-secondary education I wanted to pursue than wondering if I would be able to.
I can’t change the privileges that I was born with or the ones Tanzanians may be born without. I wish everyone had access to quality education in their first language, or even their second one. But right now I can make a difference by using my ability in English to benefit others. I can help my colleagues improve their English so they will be able to continue their education. I can teach them, encourage them and practice with them so that more doors will open to them.
