Standard Seven (Grade 7) students in Tanzania are required to sit for the National Examination in order to gain admission into secondary school. Those who fail the exam or are otherwise unable to sit for the exam are denied entrance into secondary school. They are provided no second chance - their educational career is over.
Consequently, disadvantaged youth whose education opportunities have been prejudiced by poverty find themselves with no options for education or vocational training if they fail the National Examination.
To address this pressing need, Chipua offers classes to take advantage of an alternative to secondary education in order to provide disadvantaged youth a second chance. The project provides instruction on Form I and Form II (Grades 8 & 9), which allows the student to take the Qualifying Test on that material. If the student passes the test, they are given alternative certification for Forms I & II and allowed to pass on to a similar programme for the last two years of secondary education, eventually earning the equivalent of a high school diploma.
The project also includes concurrent training on health science, human rights and character development.
