Tanzania to offer alternative education for school dropouts including pregnant girls -official

FILE PHOTO: Tanzania's new President Samia Suluhu Hassan takes the oath of office after the death of predecessor John Magufuli, in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, March 19, 2021. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo

DAR ES SALAAM (Reuters) - Secondary school drop-outs in Tanzania will be offered the opportunity to resume studies in alternative colleges, the government said on Tuesday, part of a shift away from a disputed policy under which pregnant girls were expelled from school.

Such expulsions had increased under the tenure of maverick President John Magufuli, who died in March, according to rights groups who accused his government of discriminating against female students based on a policy that dated back to 1961.