Tloma Primary School is located in Tloma Village, a small community located on the outskirts of Karatu, Arusha, Tanzania, and situated low on the outer slope of the Ngorongoro Crater.
Tloma means ‘hill’ in the Iraqw language, the native language of many people in the Village. Tloma Primary School sits on approximately 12 acres on the top of a hill and has access to a beautiful view of the outer rim of the Ngorongoro Crater. While the protected area of the outer rim begins about one mile from the school, almost none of the children have visited there.
The school was established in 1978 at the request of parents. It has grown from just a few students to the present enrollment of 766 children in grades Kindergarten through Class 7 (Grade 7). Tloma Primary School currently has 13 teachers. Our smallest class size is 67 students; our largest, Kindergarten, is 144 students.
Children are introduced to the national language, Swahili, in Kindergarten and subjects through Class 7 are taught in Swahili, except the English class which begins in Class 4. Once students graduate from Tloma Primary School to attend secondary school, all classes are taught in English.