17-04-2008 Turing Foundation sponsors construction of secondary school Kainam
The Turing Foundation sponsors the construction of the new secondary school in Kainam, a rural community of circa 4,000 people in the Mbulu highlands. The Turing Foundation will co-invest EUR 30,000 per year in the school through Kamitei for a period of three consecutive years. The remainder of the funds will be raised by the community, the government by Kamitei. This sponsorship is a great boost for Kainam, who was desparate to get the secondary school going.
Secondary education is a huge bottleneck in education throughout Tanzania, with up to 75% of primary school students dropping out from the educational system due to lack of available space in secondary schools in their immediate environment. The causes of lack of secondary education go back to the socialist era of Tanzania under Nyerere. During that time universal primary education and literacy were made a priority (and in fact very high by African standards), but this went at the expense of developing secondary education facilities. The enrolment rate into secondary education in Tanzania is currently only a third of Kenya’s rate (Kenya is far ahead of Tanzania in terms of creating a well-educated middle-class).
The Turing Foundation was established in 2006 by Pieter Geelen, using the wealth he acquired as co-founder of TomTom NV, a company listed at the Dutch stock exchange. The focus of the Turing Foundation is on four different themes: education, leprosy control, nature conservation and art. Although some projects may represent both themes (such as an initiative on education in sustainable agriculture), the Turing Foundation has in fact separate goals, budgets and allocation criteria for each of the themes.