National Overview: Tanzania
Definition of Literacy - age 15 and over can read and write Kiswahili (Swahili), English, or Arabic
Written or Oral Language – Kiswahili, English and Arabic are all written and oral languages
Literacy rate -
total population: 78.2%
male: 85.9%
female: 70.7% (CIA Factbook 2003 est.)
Total expenditure on education: 6.8 % of GDP (United Republic of Tanzania 2004)
Script/Alphabet used: Swahili – Roman alphabet
Occupational distribution:
- agriculture: 80%
- industry and services: 20% (2002 est.)
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School Structure
Primary School:
Length: 7 years
Age level: 6 - 13 years old
General Secondary School:
- Length: 4 years
- Age level: 13 - 17 years old
Preparatory Secondary School:
Technical School and Junior College:
- Length: 3 y
- Age level: 18 +
Higher Education:
Enrollment in 4 major undergraduate universities 1999/2000:
- University of Dar Es Salaam – 4816
- Muhimbili University College of Health Sciences - 626
- Sokoine University of Agriculture - 728
- University College of Lands and Architectural Studies – 1425
Public or private schools and compulsory or optional - If there is a compulsory education, then add the age of entry and age of exit.
School Attendance: (following info taken from a UNICEF report cited in CRIN 2000)
Pupil to teacher ratio:
According to an Education For All (EFA) estimate, the student to teacher ratio in Tanzania is 1:45.
Teacher Training:
In 2003, there were 41 teachers' colleges, of which 34 were public and 7 private. The numbers of teacher trainees in Grade IIIA in various colleges were 22,487 in public colleges and 503 in private colleges. Out of these, 10,880 were males and 12,110 were females. For of diploma training, there were 4,930 teacher trainees, out of which 4,693 were in public colleges and 237 in private colleges. In those colleges, the number of male teacher trainees was 3,108 and 1,822 were female (cited in United Republic Of Tanzania).
Languages in School:
Tanzania follows a bilingual policy of instruction in the classroom requiring students to learn both English and Swahili. As English is the language linking Tanzania to the rest of the world through technology, commerce and administration, it is essential that it is taught in schools. By teaching Kiswahili in schools the country hopes to preserve their cultural values and heritage. Pre-primary school English is taught as a subject however, in secondary school and beyond it has become the medium of instruction (United Republic of Tanzania).
Method of instruction:
- Lecture-style
- Students copy notes from the blackboard
- Little room for questions or creativity
Subjects/Curriculum:
- Primary School: math, science, arts, music, language (Swahili and English), history, geography to domestic science.
*Secondary School: Secondary schools have similar curricula as primary schools however; subjects are studied in more detail. Different schools tend to focus on different subject areas. For example, some schools may focus more on science and math whereas others focus more on the social sciences and history.
Culture of Classroom
Physical Environment: urban and/or rural; building; furniture; books and materials; bathrooms/water; distance from child’s home.
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Culture of classroom including discipline: (cited in the Child Rights Information Network (CRIN2000)
Tanzania’s Education Act of 1978 allows for the use of corporal punishment in school, but with several limiting provisions in place as follows:
- Corporal Punishment may only be used as a last resort and only for grave circumstances
- Its use may be authorized in writing by the Head-teacher
- No more six strokes (with a light, flexible stick) are allowed
- Only female teachers may punish female students
- All punishments and reasons for it must be recorded in a special book
Gender roles in classroom:
Generally teachers treat boys and girls fairly however, the problems in gender discrimination arise from the students themselves. The society tends to attribute skills in language, history, social studies etc. to girls as these are the “weak” subjects and male students are perceived as strong in both math and science. Therefore, often when female students exceed expectations in either math or science they are looked down on and sometimes chastised by their male counterparts. It is something of a psychological problem because girls grow up thinking that they are never going to succeed in the “strong” areas. Lately though, many girls-only schools in Tanzania have begun to receive the highest marks in math and science on the national examinations.
Parent involvement/Parent Role in Education:
According to Macalester College student Dorothy Gondwe, her parents were extremely involved in her education while she was in primary school. However, after she entered boarding school she became more independent although she always had their encouragement.
"Accommodations” (taken from CRIN 2000)
In regular schools accommodations for people with disabilities are rare if not non-existent. However, there are schools for the blind, the deaf etc. which cater to these people’s specific needs. Still, these schools are few (only 16/11,000) in the country and lack funds and are poorly equipped (Kuleana 1999). CRIN reports that there has been little progress in viewing children with disabilities as “equal and capable members of society with full rights and privileges”.
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Access to Education
Educational barriers: money and transportation
Gender access: generally, there is equal access to education for both males and females. However, in some of the countries smaller, more remote villages many families do not see the importance in educating girls who are expected to become married and reliant on their husbands. Still, even in such villages girls have access to at least primary school so that they can gain some degree of literacy.
Socio-political influences: CRIN blames bad governance for the problems in education in Tanzania today. School committees are weak in most cases and lack the necessary resources to ensure that governments are held accountable for providing quality education. Students have no representation on such committees and are rarely consulted in relation to their decision-making (CRIN 2000).
Progress: 2 major programs
Cited in the World Education Forum (WEF) website and correspondent
Integrated Community Based Adult Education (ICBAE)
- Targets adult illiterates
- Has started pilot projects in four wards from four far-flung districts in fiscal 1997/1998 and results have been encouraging.
- The curriculum seeks to meet the requirements of basic adult literacy that is reading, writing and arithmetic. However, the learning approach is radically different from that of past classes in that adults are no longer subjected to child-type-classroom learning conditions.
- The participants, both male and female, are free to set their own learning timetable. Theory takes only three days a week but practicals continue throughout the week. Instead of teachers, learning is by facilitators only.
- Complementary Basic Education in Tanzania (COBET)
- Aims at giving a second chance to orphans and children of single parents especially girls, who for one reason or other, could not continue with formal education
- So far, the Cobet philosophy is no fees, no uniforms and no caning.
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Personal Interviews
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Sources
“Developments in Different Sectors of the Economy.” United Republic of Tanzania. http://www.tanzania.go.tz/economicsurveyf.html. July 6, 2006.
Munyanga, Mboneko. “Participatory Approach Revives Adult Classes in Tanzania.” World Education Forum. http://www2.unesco.org/wef/en-leadup/rmeet_afric_tanzania.shtm. July 6, 2006.
“NGO report on Tanzania to the Committee on the Convention on the Rights of the Child.” Child Rights Information Network (CRIN). http://www.crin.org/docs/resources/treaties/crc.27/Tanzania.pdf. July 5, 2006.
Dorothy Gondwe, student at Macalester College
Gave testimony of her experiences as a student educated in the Tanzanian education system. She is Tanzanian by birth and had much of her education there however she has also attended school in Swaziland and the United States.
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Last Revised
02 Nov 2006
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