Minister of Community Development, Gender, and Children Margaret Sitta of Tanzania

Margaret Sitta said the government was still committed to establish Women Bank in the country.

As assurance that the bank would also have impact on rural women, Mrs Sitta said the bank would operate through women’s SACCOS in rural and urban areas.

Ms Sitta said that a total of 14,036 girls dropped from primary schools from 2002 to 2006 due to pregnancy, while 4113 girls dropped from secondary schools in the same period.

The Minister of Education Margaret Sitta is one of those who have not paid their land rent to the government.

Tanzania, which has seen over 18,000 female students in the past five years drop out of school due to pregnancies, on Wednesday will launch a public dialogue to find a solution to this problem, Education and Vocational Training Minister Margaret Sitta has said here.

Permits will also be issued by the government for about 600 expatriate teachers for privately owned primary and secondary schools, Sitta said when she presented her ministry's budget estimates.

Sitta said this on Monday when addressing students and invited guests to mark Commonwealth Day at Shaaban Robert Secondary School in Dar es Salaam.

In this years Commonwealth Day celebrations theme Health and Vitality: The Commonwealth Challenge, Sitta said that HIV/Aids epidemic was one of the diseases that has reduced the productive force, which is very important in the struggle against poverty.

Sitta said her office had been presented with details of the outstanding dues and she has already forwarded the matter to the Ministry responsible for Regional Administration and Local Governments for further consideration.

Despite widespread public concern that the number of teachers, textbooks and classrooms is still too few to cope with the mass student enrolment, Ms Sitta said the government has made significant investment in the infrastructure of public primary schools.

Her Excellency Margaret Simwanza Sitta is currently Minister for Community Development, Gender and Children of the United Republic of Tanzania.