Education for All in Tanzania - Achievements and Shortfalls

Table of content

SECTION I The Problem and Its Context
1.1 Introduction
1.2 Background of the Problem
1.3 Purpose of the Study
1.4 Specific Objectives of the Study
1.5. Study Questions
1.6 Significance of the Study
1.7 Scope of the Study
1.8 Research Methodology
1.9 Organization of the Study
1.10 Definitional and Conceptual Issues
1.10.1. Education for All
1.10.2. Tanzania and the EFA Movements
1.10.3. EFA Themes in this Study
1.11 Limitations of the Study

SECTION II Tanzania: Country Overview
2.1 Introduction
2.2 Socio-Economic and Demographic Overview
2.3 Education system
2.4.0 Major Policy Reforms and Initiatives
2.4.1 The Education and Training Policy (1995)
2.4.2 Child Development Policy (1996)
2.4.3 Education Sector Development Programme (1997)
2.4.4 Tanzania Development Vision 2025 (2000)
2.4.5 Primary Education Development Plan (2001) and Secondary Education Development Plan (2004)
2.4.6The National Strategy for Growth and Reduction of Poverty (2005)
2.5. Section Summary

SECTION III Education for All: Status and Progress
3.1 Introduction
3.2 Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE)
3.3 Universal Primary Education and the Gender Goals
3.4 Learning Programmes for Life Skills and Literacy
3.5 Section Summary

SECTION IV Education for All: Some Shortfalls
4.1 Introduction
4.2 The Quality Puzzle
4.3 Comprehensive ECCE
4.4 Literacy and Life Skills
4.5 Learning Programmes for Disadvantaged Population Groups
4.6 Equality and Equity Promotion
4.7EFA Statistics
4.8 Section Summary

SECTION V Summary,... Conclusions and Recommendations
5.1 Summary
5.2 Conclusions
5. 3. Recommendations

References

Annexes

List of Abbreviations

Acknowledgements

Curriculum Vitae

Abstract

Meeting basic learning needs of all children, youths and adults is the ultimate target of most of the international and national communities as well as governments across the world. Tanzania, like all other UNESCO member states, has committed to EFA goals defined in the Dakar Declaration on Education for All and the Framework for Action.

This study focused on reviewing the achievements made and shortfalls encountered by Tanzania (Mainland) towards attaining the six EFA goals since the on-set of the new millennium. The study made use of documentary sources in which the researcher systematically and objectively researched evidences relevant to the study question. The analysis of the six EFA goals were categorized into three major themes namely early childhood care and education, universal primary education and gender and learning programmes for life skills and literacy. The categorization of these themes was based on the fact that quality (EFA goal 6) cuts across all EFA goals.

The results indicated that the country has attained momentous progress in universalizing primary education, closing the gender gap and meeting the learning needs of youth and adults through non-formal delivery modes. On the other hand, it has made little progress in providing comprehensive early childhood care and education.

The study further identified critical shortfalls facing the implementation

of the EFA goals in the country. Among the major shortfalls are ensuring comprehensive early childhood care and education, quality education, education equity, learning programmes for disadvantaged population groups, provision of relevant literacy and life skills and management of the EFA statistics. This indicates that, still there is a long way to go in order to fully meet the learning needs of all children, youths and adults. Finally, the study recommends the country to undertake broad reflection on policies and practices to make the EFA goals viable.

Key Words: Education for All, Tanzania, Early Childhood Care and Education, Universal Primary Education, Gender, Life Skills and Literacy

SECTION I The Problem and Its Context

1. 1. Introduction

At the beginning of the new millennium, April 2000, Dakar- Senegal hosted a major global assessment meeting. It was the first and most crucial episode in education at the first light of the new millennium. It reviewed the progress towards achieving the goals set for basic education and the strategies adopted for overcoming obstacles and accelerating progress. The meeting provided a platform for discussion to refocus attention on basic education and reinvigorate efforts to meet basic learning needs. Through active interaction in the forum, emerged the six key goals of Education for All (hereafter EFA) and the Dakar Framework for Action. The goals (See

Section1.2) aimed to meet the learning needs of all children, youth and adults by 2015 (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation [UNESCO], 2000). The framework for action comprised of strategies and plans of action designed to meet both existing and emerging challenges (Ibid). The framework expresses the international community’ s collective commitment to pursue a broad-based strategy for ensuring that the basic learning needs of every child, youth and adult are met within a generation and sustained thereafter (Ibid).

The United Republic of Tanzania (hereafter Tanzania), like all other nited Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (hereafter UNESCO) member states, agreed on the implementation of those goals that were expected to be achieved by the year 2015. This study therefore, critically examined the achievements made and shortfalls encountered by Tanzania (Mainland) towards achieving the six EFA goals since the on-set of the new millennium. It draws much of the contents from the most recent data on core basic education indicators as well as other publications.

1. 2. Background of the Problem

The current global initiatives towards EFA can be traced back to the 1990 Jomtien Conference in Thailand although in many developing countries including Tanzania, the initiatives to provide education for all were promulgated from the early 1960s. Many African countries after gaining political independence in the I960’ s and 1970’ s were committed to providing basic education for their citizens. The circumstance that led to the Jomtien Conference was the deterioration of the education sector in most of the developing countries in the 1980’ s. It has been reported that the state of education in most developing countries before Jomtien was indeed bad in terms of falling rate of enrollment, decline in completion rates as well as low attainment in primary education (Mrutu, 2007). The Jomtien Conference aimed at bringing together the international community to talk about ways of improving the education sector in most of the developing countries which was obviously in a very bad condition. The conference participants agreed and committed, among other things, to providing universal access to learning with a focus on equity, learning outcomes, enhancing the environment for learning and strengthening partnership by the year 2000 (UNESCO, 1990).

One decade later, in April 2000 the EFA signatory countries and other international community met in Dakar to review the progress towards achieving the goals set for basic education and the strategies adopted for overcoming obstacles and accelerating progress (UNESCO, 2000). The assessment process provided opportunities for refocusing attention on basic education and reinvigorating efforts to meet basic learning needs. Countries, regions and continents evaluated themselves, made comparisons across communities, programmes and strategies, and outlined the main accomplishments, shortfalls and difficulties. Along with this, through active interaction, emerged the six EFA goals and the Dakar Framework for Action comprising strategies and plans of action designed to meet both existing and emerging challenges. By adopting the Dakar Framework for Action, participants re-affirmed the vision of the World Declaration on Education for All that was set and adopted in 1990 at the Jomtien Conference (Ibid, p.8). The six EFA goals that the Dakar conference adopted and participants committed to achieve by 2015 are:

Expanding and improving comprehensive early childhood care and education, especially for the most vulnerable and disadvantaged children;

Ensuring that by 2015 all children, particularly girls, children in difficult circumstances and those belonging to ethnic minorities, have access to and complete, free and compulsory primary education of good quality;

Ensuring that the learning needs of all young people and adults are met through equitable access to appropriate learning and life-skills programmes;

Achieving a 50% improvement in levels of adult literacy by 2015, especially for women, and equitable access to basic and continuing education for all adults;

Eliminating gender disparities in primary and secondary education by 2005, and achieving gender equality in education by 2015, with a focus on ensuring girls’ full and equal access to and achievement in basic education of good quality; vi. Improving all aspects of the quality of education and ensuring excellence of all so that recognized and measurable learning outcomes are achieved by all, especially in literacy, numeracy and essential life skills (UNESCO, 2000, p. 8).

Tanzania is also a signatory to these international EFA goals, and as such the country has engaged in various reforms to achieve them. The reforms and other initiatives that have been highlighted in Section II of this study have helped the country to achieve some of the Millennium Development Goals (hereafter MDGs) in education and the EFA goals. In 2010, the country won the United Nations award (Education MDGs Award) for its impressive progress towards attaining universal primary education, some five years ahead of the 2015 deadline set under the MDGs agreement (Daily News, 2010, September 20).

However, despite these impressive achievements in primary education, numerous gaps exist in the broader movement of attaining the EFA targets. Therefore, it was felt that the time was ripe for this study to be undertaken in order to add knowledge in the EFA debate and help stakeholders in the country to implement, improve and help children to achieve their full potential.

1. 3. Purpose of the Study

The purpose of the study was to review the achievements made and shortfalls encountered by Tanzania (Mainland) towards achieving the six EFA goals since the on-set of the new millennium.

1.4. Specific Objectives of the Study

Specifically, the study intended to:

identify the status and progress made in early childhood care and education

i.identify the status and progress in achieving universal primary education and gender goals
ii identify status and progress made in providing learning programmes for life skills and literacy
iii highlight the critical shortfalls in achieving the six EFA goals in the country
iv put forward recommendations for policy makers and planners to take further steps of promoting EFA

1. 5. Study Questions

In order to achieve the research objectives mentioned above, the main guiding question in this study was: “What have been the major achievements

and shortfalls towards achieving the six EFA goals in Tanzania since the on­set of the new millennium?” In its attempt to respond to the main question, the study answered the following four specific questions:

i What progress has Tanzania made in the provision of early childhood care and education?
ii What progress has Tanzania made in achieving universal primary education and gender goals?
iii What progress has Tanzania made in the provision of learning programmes for life skills and literacy?
iv What have been the critical shortfalls in the implementation of EFA in Tanzania so far?

1. 6. Significance of the Study

This study has both theoretical and practical significance. It is significant in the sense that the contained knowledge will contribute to the existing body of knowledge on the implementation of EFA programmes in Tanzania and other developing countries. The study is intended to contribute to the EFA debate by highlighting the major achievements and shortfalls in the implementation of the six EFA goals. Moreover, the results and recommendations are expected to help educational policy makers, planners, administrators and other stakeholders to align their efforts and resources available in addressing key issues towards achieving EFA targets in the country.

1. 7. Scope of the Study

This study was confined to the review of achievements made and shortfalls encountered by Tanzania towards attaining the six EFA goals since the on-set of this millennium in 2000. In terms of geographical coverage, this study was delimited to Tanzania mainland only (Zanzibar Isles as part of the United Republic of Tanzania was not included in this study).

1.8. Research Methodology

This study was based on documentary sources in which the researcher systematically and objectively researched evidences relevant to the study question in documents that were already in existence. The use of documentary methods refers to the analysis of documents that contain information about the phenomenon under the study (Mogalakwe, 2006). This research strategy was selected due to a number of factors namely: the nature of the study and the requirements of specific study objectives and the limitations of time and financial resources.

Documentary sources were included on the basis of the following criteria:

i.They focused on the EFA goals and the subsequent themes in Tanzania
ii.They provided quantitative and qualitative information on the
iii.progress and achievements of EFA initiatives in Tanzania
iv.They were published or reported in English
v. They were published or reported between 2000 and the present; except

for policy documents reviewed in Section II in which documents published between 1990^[1] and the present were considered for review

They report data on key EFA educational indicators

The study excluded documentary sources that were:

i.Editorial, commentary, book reviews and theoretical papers,
ii.Not published in English,
iii.Not reporting about key education indicators.

In reviewing the status and progress, more rigorous criteria were added on top of the above inclusion criteria for the review to adhere to the quality control criteria namely: authenticity, credibility, representativeness and meaning^[2]. Therefore, three sets of documentary sources were selected namely: Basic Education Statistics in Tanzania (hereafter BEST)^[3], The World Bank’ s World Development Indicators (hereafter WDI) and UNESCO Institute for Statistics (hereafter UIS). BEST data that forms large part of data source for this study are published by the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training (hereafter MoEVT); therefore they are official government data to be relied on. The data from WDI and UIS were eligible for the review because they are generated through surveys in which the state governments respond to questionnaires sent by the World Bank and UNESCO respectively. On top of that, because the nature and the scope of the study demanded national level data, therefore, the aforementioned sources were deemed useful and relevant.

The searching activities were guided by the six EFA goals major themes that are Early Childhood Care and Education (hereafter ECCE), universal primary education and gender, and learning programmes for life skills and literacy. The evidence analyses were carried out by critically reviewing the achievements and shortfalls towards the attainment of the six EFA goals in Tanzania. Data were analyzed and presented in thematic statement formats. Thematic analysis as an approach to data analysis in qualitative studies focuses on identifiable themes and patterns of living and/or behavior (Aronson, 1994; Tere, 2006).

1. 9. Organization of the Study

This dissertation is organized into five Sections. Section I provides an account of the research problem and its context, and outlines the significance, scope and limitations of the study as well as the methodological approaches and conceptual issues adopted in the study. Section II presents firstly the socio-economic, demographic and educational overview of Tanzania to indicate context in which EFA initiatives took place. Then it explains how the country tried its effort to achieve those goals. Major policy reforms and initiatives in the education sector and other multi-sector initiatives which have impacted on the state of the current education system have been highlighted in this section. Section III examines the current status and progress made by the country in achieving EFA goals. It includes access to schooling and the participation of students by gender in pre-primary and primary level programmes. Meanwhile it describes the participation of youth and adults in the non-formal education (hereafter NFE) sub-sector. Although remarkable achievements have been made, shortfalls still remain. Therefore, shortfalls towards achieving EFA goals are mainly discussed in Section IV. Finally, Section V presents a summary and conclusion of the study. The section also gives recommendations for action.

1.10. Definitional and Conceptual Issues

Given the broad nature of the study question “achievements made and shortfalls towards achieving the six EFA goals in Tanzania” specific questions were developed to guide the study (Section 1.5). Then, key definitions and concepts were adopted and developed to help define the scope of the review. The below definitions and concepts were used to devise the search strategy and inform the inclusion-exclusion criteria.

1. 10. 1. Education for All

The study pragmatically adopted the UNESCO’ s conception on the EFA initiatives. According to UNESCO (n.d), the EFA movement is a global commitment to provide quality basic education for all children, youth and adults. The movement was launched at the World Conference on Education for All in 1990 by UNESCO and its member states (UNESCO, 1990; 2000). Participants endorsed an “expanded vision of learning” and pledged to universalize primary education and massively reduce illiteracy by the end of the decade (UNESCO, 2000). Ten years later, with many countries far from having reached this goal, the international community and UNESCO’ s member countries’ representatives met again in Dakar, Senegal, and re-affirmed their commitment to achieving EFA by the year 2015 (Ibid, p. 3). The forum participants identified six key education goals (See Section 1.2) which aim to meet the learning needs of all children, youths and adults by 2015. Tanzania, a UNESCO member state, is among the countries which signed the commitment to implement those EFA goals.

1. 10. 2. Tanzania and the EFA Movements

As it has been noted earlier in this study, Tanzania is among the signatories of the international commitment on EFA initiatives. However, there is no specific policy for EFA goals and targets. The EFA goals and targets have been incorporated in national education policies and broader government policies. EFA related issues are under the jurisdiction of EFA National Coordinator in the MoEVT (United Republic of Tanzania [URT], 1999). The assessment of EFA progress at the national level is customarily done by the National EFA Assessment Group set up by a decree of the minister for national education and vocational training (Ibid). Since EFA issues are incorporated in other national educational policies and programmes, there is no regular reporting specifically for EFA. However, the MoEVT annually collects and publishes statistics on basic education in the series of booklets called Basic Education Statistics in Tanzania (BEST). Therefore, the national and regional level EFA related statistics are reported in these BEST series.

1.10.3. EFA Themes in this Study

To facilitate the review for this study, the researcher categorized the six EFA goals into three major themes. It was decided in that way because some of the goals closely relate to each other. The major themes are Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE), universal primary education and gender and learning programmes for skills and literacy.

The first theme, ECCE, elucidates EFA goal 1. The goal states that, “expanding and improving comprehensive early childhood care and education, especially for the most vulnerable and disadvantaged children” (UNESCO, 2000. p. 8).

The second theme, universal primary education and gender, expatiates the EFA goal 2 and 5. Goal 2 states that, “ensuring that by 2015 all children, particularly girls, children in difficult circumstances and those belonging to ethnic minorities, have access to and complete, free and compulsory primary education of good quality” (UNESCO, 2000. p. 8). The gender concerned goal 5 explicates that “eliminating gender disparities in primary and secondary education by 2005, and achieving gender equality in education by 2015, with a focus on ensuring girls’ full and equal access to and achievement in basic education of good quality” (p.8).

Whereas the third theme, learning programmes for life skills and literacy, expounds EFA goal 3 and 4. Goal 3 states that, “ensuring that the learning needs of all young people and adults are met through equitable access to appropriate learning and life-skills programmes” (UNESCO, 2000. p. 8). The adult learning and literacy goal 4 states that, “achieving a 50 per cent improvement in levels of adult literacy by 2015, especially for women, and equitable access to basic and continuing education for all adults” (p. 8).

Due to the fact that, provision of quality education is the requirement of all forms and levels of education in the country, the idea has been incorporated in all the above described three themes. That is to say, the quality goal, EFA goal 6, cuts across all the EFA goals. The goal concerning states that, “improving all aspects of the quality of education and ensuring excellence of all so that recognized and measurable learning outcomes are achieved by all, especially in literacy, numeracy and essential life skills” (UNESCO, 2000. p. 8).

1. 11. Limitations of the Study

Several limitations of this study exist. The study made use of the national level aggregated figures that essentially hides striking socio­economic and geographic disparities in the country. The nature and scope of the study as well the documentary sources included in the study made it possible to use the national level aggregated data. Therefore, this might have not depicted the concrete portrait of the status and progress of EFA initiatives in the country particularly in meeting the learning needs of the socio-economically and geographically marginalized groups. This limitation points to the need for further research in the subject that will take into account these disparities as far as EFA is concerned.

The exclusion of studies not published in English possibly excluded potentially valuable data sources from inclusion. The use of only three sets of documentary sources in the review of the status and progress in EFA initiatives presented in Section III have limited the inclusion of other empirical studies. Moreover, inclusion of only empirical studies at the expense of including editorials, commentaries, book reviews and theoretical papers written on the subject and its inherent connection forced the discussion to be more limited than is necessary.

In some instances, the documentary sources reviewed did not provide statistics for some years probably due to lack of those information in the country. Therefore, absence of those statistical data in some years narrowed the discussion on the trend and progress of EFA initiatives in the country.

SECTION II Tanzania: Country Overview

2. 1. Introduction

This section highlights the context in which EFA initiatives have been operating. First, the section provides socio-economic, political and cultural overview. The state and dynamics of these systems have had serious implications for the attainment of EFA goals. Rapid population growth has constantly added more pressure to the country to provide education for all. Meanwhile the country’ s poor economy has been unable to respond to such pressure at the same time economic development needs a more educated labor force. Having such pressures behind, structuring education systems became very crucial. Therefore, the second sub-section gives an overview of the education system. Education services in the country are provided within the guidelines of national policies. In particular, the current state of EFA initiatives in the country has been the result of educational and national multi-sector policies promulgated from early 1990’ s which is the subject of the last part of this section.

2.2. Socio-Economic and Demographic Overview

Tanzania as one of the signatory countries for EFA has its own socio­economic features and the cultural base for education. The country was formed in 1964 as a union of the then sovereign republic states of Tanganyika and Zanzibar (URT, 2010c). Administratively, Tanzania constitutes two governments: the Union Government which also oversees all matters on mainland Tanzania and the Zanzibar Revolutionary Government which has full autonomy on all aspects except on union matters that are spelt out in the Constitution of the United Republic (Ibid). The country recognizes education as a major driving force for national development through development of skilled manpower that can contribute in the creation of a strong and competitive economy.

Tanzania is one of the world’ s poor economies in terms of per capita income despite of the considerable stable Gross Domestic Product (hereafter GDP) growth rate in the last decade. It had an average of 7% GDP growth per year between 2000 and 2008 with slight decrease by 2010 on strong gold production and tourism (Central Intelligence Agency, 2011). The rate of economic growth per annum rose strongly over the last decade from 4.1% in 1998 to 7.4% in 2008, which was historically high for Tanzania and comparable to the fastest growing economies in sub-Saharan Africa (Research And Analysis Working Group, 2009). According to the Poverty and Human Development Report (hereafter PHDR), the services sector has become a dynamic component of the national economy with annual growth rates of 7.5% since 2000 (Ibid). Services were making up 48% of total GDP by 2008 (Ibid). Communications were seen to be the fastest growing services sub-sector, averaging 14% per annum over by 2008 (Ibid). The manufacturing sector also grew strongly - at around 8% per annum since 2003 - and accounted for 9.4% of total GDP in 2008 (Ibid). The economy depends heavily on agriculture, which accounts for more than one-fourth of GDP, provides 85 percent of exports, and employs about 60 percent of the work force (Central Intelligence Agency, 2011). However, the agriculture sector performed less well, averaging 4. 4 percent growth since 2000, well below the

National Strategy for Growth and Reduction of Poverty (hereafter NSGRP)’ s target of 10 percent by 2010 (Research And Analysis Working Group, 2009).

Despite the fact that the macro-economic stance indicates strong growth rates over the last decade, this has not led to significant declines in poverty rates. Income poverty rates changed little between 2000/01 and 2007, as reflected in the nearly constant levels of household consumption and income inequality over this period (Research And Analysis Working Group, 2009). Overall, the PHDR reported that the proportion of Tanzanian households below the basic needs poverty line fell from 35.7% to 33.6% between 2000 and 2007 (Ibid). As it has been noted that poverty declined only slightly while the population continued to grow, the estimated number of Tanzanians living in poverty increased to 12.9 million in 2007 (Ibid). Indeed poverty remains an overwhelmingly agricultural phenomenon, and particularly among households whose major source of income is from crop production.

Therefore, the poor performance of the agricultural sector and other economic activities has in one way or another impacted the financing of the education system at the national as well as family or individual level. Due to introduction of cost-sharing and private provision of education services in 1995, communities have taken more responsibility in financing their children’ s education (URT, 1995). This becomes more serious when even the “free” and compulsory primary education is not entirely free. There are costs of transport, school uniforms, writing materials, students’ lunch and other direct school contributions that parents have to pay.

Rapid population growth, demographic structure and distribution have directly and significantly impacted the demand for social services including education. With the 2011 population estimate of 43.1 million people (See Table 1), Tanzania has about 43% of people aged between 0 and 14 years, 55.1 percent of people aged 15 to 64 and only 2.9 percent aged 65 and above (Central Intelligence Agency, 2011). Within the socio-economic perspective, the country needs to invest more in schools because of the high percentage of young population under 15 years of age. Urban dwellers constitute about 26.2% of the population in this country. The vast majority (73. 8%) of the population in this country finds its abode in the rural areas outside the reach of the main social services such as quality education, health, transportation and communication (See Table 1). On top of that, some of the communities especially pastoralists still live a nomadic and widely dispersed life style. This population distribution pattern makes it difficult for the government and private sector to provide education for all children, youths and adults. Hence, social disparities including access to quality education remain a great challenge in the country.

illustration not visible in this excerpt

The witnessed laudable progress in recent decades in terms of sustainable socio-economic development is driven by strong political commitments. Significant success has been achieved in universal education, gender equality and women representation, reduction of child mortality with existing challenges in poverty eradication and malnutrition, maternal healthcare, improving life in slums, environment protection and youth unemployment (URT, 2008a).

This also can be seen from the UNDP’ s Human Development Index (hereafter HDI) perspectives. According to the UNDP scale, HDI value combines indicators of income, life expectancy and education attainment into a composite index. The country’ s HDI value which was 0. 398 in 2010 ranked at 148 out of 169 countries; grouped to areas as having low human development (Human Development Report, 2010). It should be noted that the HDI value has improved significantly for the past two decades. Between 1990 and 2010, Tanzania’ s HDI value increased from 0.329 to 0.398, an increase of 21% or an average annual increase of about 1.0% (Ibid, p.3-4). That is to say life expectancy at birth increased by 6 years, mean years of schooling increased by almost 2 years, Gross National Income (hereafter GNI) per capita increased by 51% and expected years of schooling decreased slightly (Ibid). This non-economic measure of human development and its trend gives an indication on the extent to which the country has been struggling to provide education for all in the last two decades. Putting it in comparative perspectives, the 2010 HDI value of Tanzania is slightly higher than an average of Sub-Saharan Africa (hereafter SSA) and far below the World average. Figure 1 indicates the Tanzania HDI trends from 1990 to 2010 in comparison with SSA and World average.

2. 3. Education system

As seen from the socio-economic scenario of Tanzania, the education sector becomes very important in contributing to the development of the whole nation. The Tanzania Development Vision 2025 targets at a well-educated and learning society and a high quality livelihood for all Tanzanians through the realization of universal primary education, the eradication of illiteracy and the attainment of a level of tertiary education and training commensurate with a critical mass of high quality human resources required to effectively respond to the developmental challenges at all levels (URT, 2000). Education in that vision is treated as a strategic agent for mindset transformation and for the creation of a well educated nation, sufficiently equipped with the knowledge needed to competently and competitively solve the development challenges facing the nation.

Education in Tanzania can be categorized into basic education including pre-primary and primary education, secondary education, adult and NFE, teacher education, technical-vocational education and training and tertiary education. The overall responsibility of providing education is vested in the MoEVT. The MoEVT is responsible for all the forms and levels of education outlined above at deferent degrees. In case of pre-primary, primary and secondary education, it is responsible for policy formulation, regulations, setting standards, quality assurance and quality control while day to day management has been decentralized to local authorities at regional and district levels (URT, 1995; 2008b). These local authorities are under the direct jurisdiction of the Prime Minister’ s Office Regional Administration and Local Government (hereafter PMO-RALG) headed by a Minister (URT, 2008b). Adult and NFE, teacher education and technical-vocational education and training are under the direct control of the MoEVT. Tertiary education is coordinated by the MoEVT while the management has been decentralized to institution as per the Education and Training Policy (URT, 1995). Due to the privatization policy of the education sector in all forms and levels, there are private education institutions from pre-primary school to tertiary education. Therefore, their service deliveries are monitored by the MoEVT and other autonomous and semi-autonomous bodies for curricula development and examinations, quality assurance and registration.

The structure of the formal education and training system in Tanzania is 2 - 7 - 4 - 2 - 3+. That means, 2 years of pre-primary education (year 1 and 2), 7 years of primary education (Standard I-VII), 4 years of secondary ordinary level education (Form 1-4), 2 years of secondary advanced level education (Form 5 and 6) and 3 or more years of university education (URT, 1995). The official school attending age ranges from 5-6 for pre-primary, 7-13 for primary, 14-17 for lower secondary, 18-19 for upper secondary and 20-24 for university education (URT, 1995).

Pre-primary education is a formal school system for children aged 5 and 6 years. Pre-primary education cycle lasts for 2 years with no examinations for promotion purpose. Primary education is a seven year education cycle after pre-primary. It is free and compulsory to all children aged 7 to 13 years (URT, 2010b). The primary school cycle begins with standard (hereafter STD) one (I) on entry and ends with STD seven (VII) in the final year. The primary education sub-sector enrolls the largest number of students in the country followed by ordinary level secondary education (See Figure 2).

Source : BEST, (URT, 2010b) I \L

Formal secondary education consists of two sequential cycles. The first cycle is a four year programme of Ordinary Level (О-Level) secondary education. The second cycle is a two year programme of Advanced Level (A- Level) secondary education.

Another important education pathway directly related to EFA initiatives is the teacher education sub-system. There are a number of teachers’ training colleges, both public and private, throughout the country. Teachers’ Colleges offer courses that last for two years leading to Certificate or Diploma in Teacher Education (URT, 2010b). Graduates from Teachers’ Colleges with certificates are deployed to teach in public pre-primary and primary schools while those with diplomas are posted in secondary schools. Others get employment in private schools of similar levels. Those with specialization in adult and NFE are deployed to facilitate in adult and non-formal centers scattered throughout the country.

Technical and vocational education institutions, both private and public, offer programs which provide relevant knowledge, practical skills and attitudes for gainful employment in a particular trade or occupational area for social economic development (URT, 2010b). NFE is provided to groups or individuals outside the formal education system (Ibid). As part of NFE, complementary basic education is offered to children aged 11 - 18 years with a learning cycle of 2 - 3 years (Ibid). Other adult education programmes such as Integrated Community Based Adult Education (hereafter ICBAE) are organized to cater for the needs of people aged 19 and above (Ibid). Therefore, these initiatives play an important role in making EFA goals viable.

Financing the education system is an important aspect if EFA goals are to be attained. Costs of education and training in the country are shared among government, communities, parents and end-users. However, the government is the largest financier of education in the country at all levels. Government budgetary allocation to education and training has been enhanced annually in order to ensure better service delivery in terms of school infrastructure, teaching and learning materials, monitoring and evaluation as well as motivation of teachers and non-teaching employees of the sector (URT, 2010b).

The education sector budget has generally been increasing over the last 10 years from 16.7 % of total government budget in 2000/01 to 17.6 % in 2010/11 (URT, 2010b). In terms of GDP share, the education sector budget has shown an increasing trend from 2.7 % 2000/2001 to 6.2 % in 2009/10 (Ibid). Over the period 2000/01 to 2010/11, primary education, NFE and supporting services have been receiving the largest share of finance in the education sector followed by technical and higher education (See Figure 3).

Figure 3: Financing education: share of budgetary allocation to education sector by education levels, 2000/01-2010111 (m %)

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Source: Adapted from BEST (URT, 2010b. p. 95-100)

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^[1] The year 1990 marked the beginning of international commitment on EFA movement through World Declaration on Education for All and Framework for Action to meet basic learning needs in the World Conference on Education for All held in Jomtien, Thailand (UNESCO, 1990).

^[2] Authenticity refers to whether the evidence is genuine and from impeccable sources; credibility refers to whether the evidence is typical of its kind; representativeness refers to whether the documents consulted are representative of the totality of the relevant documents; and meaning refers to whether the evidence is clear and comprehensible (Mogalakwe, 2006)

^[3] The MoEVT has, since 1985 been publishing annually the statistics booklet named “Basic Education Statistics in Tanzania” (BEST). The booklets contain a wide range of education information at national and regional levels. It provides some education indicators such as student enrolment, teachers, examination results, school inspection and vocational training. Online BEST data are available and downloadable at http://moe.go.tz/statistics.html