Tanzania’s Education System Needs Reform

Tanzania’s Minister for Education, Science, Technology and Vocational Training believes that the country’s education system is in desperate need of an overhaul if it is to achieve its goals of reaching middle income status by 2025, with the sector facing numerous setbacks in producing the competent and skilled personnel necessary to make these changes. At a two day education conference arranged by the Aga Khan University – Institute for Educational Development, East Africa, Professor Joyce Ndalichako voiced her concerns about provision at public primary and secondary schools which lack many basic facilities like libraries and laboratories as well as facing an acute shortage of specialist science teachers. Despite increasing the budget allocated to education for this fiscal year, there is still a long way to go to raise the quality of the educational sector in the country as a whole. Due to increasing numbers of students under the free education programme, there is a chronic shortage of classrooms meaning that the need for the private public partnership is stronger than ever to address the challenges and shortcomings that have been identified. Joe Lugalla, director of the AKU-IED, EA has now called for insights from a diverse range of stakeholders in order to implement a system of education that can create a workforce that will allow Tanzania to compete on a worldwide scale.