Tanzania experince on the implementation of the Dakar agreement on education for all

This study explores the challenges of the implementation of Education for All (EFA) goals in Tanzania. The main objectives of the study have been to identify educational reforms which have been undertaken in Tanzania following the Dakar-Agreement, and to examine success and major challenges facing the EFA implementation in Tanzania. The study has mainly adopted a qualitative research methodology. The data used in this study, have been collected from interviews, direct observations and documentary reviews techniques. On the interviews the main informants were teachers and pupils at the primary schools. In addition to the teachers and pupils, one official from the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training was also interviewed; the coordinator of the Primary Education Development Plan (PEDP). Apart from that, one official from Tanzania Institute of Education was also interviewed. Similarly, two lecturers from the University of Dar es Salaam, Faculty of Education were also interviewed. The field work also involved school visits in order to observe the school reality directly. And finally, on documentary analysis, the documents examined were the National Strategy for Growth and Reduction of Poverty (NSGRP), the Development Vision 2025, Education and Training Policy (ETP), Education sector Development Program (ESDP) and the Primary Education Development Plan (PEDP). In brief, this study has revealed that, following the Dakar Agreement, a number of educational reforms have been undertaken in Tanzania aiming at ensuring access, equity as well as improving education quality. Moreover, these reforms are increasing effort to strengthen partnerships in development and promote harmonization in the process of education delivery. More importantly, the study has revealed that considerable success has been achieved by the government of Tanzania toward the implementation of EFA goals. The success are more seen at the primary education level where a sub-sector program, called Primary Education Development Plan (PEDP) was developed. ii PEDP is one of the first outcomes of education sector development towards implementing Dakar Agreement. PEDP was initiated by the government in 2001 to provide free and quality primary education. With the abolishment of school fees the enrolment the gross enrolment ratio (GER) has increased from 84 in 2001 percent to 109.9 percent in 2005, and net enrolment ratio (NER) reached 95 percent in 2005 (URT,2005b). In addition to this the government has made great effort to recruit more teachers to accommodate enrolment increases. It has been also observed that, with the initiation of PEDP, new classes were built and old schools were rehabilitated in order to cope with increasing number of pupils. Moreover, the introduction of Capitation grant to the schools has motivated the community to participate on the development of the school. For instance construction of classrooms, teachers’ houses and procure of textbooks and other teaching and learning materials. Despite the successes mentioned above, the study also revealed some challenges which still face the government in its effort to implement EFA. Firstly, limited resources both human and financial might obstruct the government to achieve the committed goals. Secondly, teachers have no say in planning, running and monitoring. They are just kept informed of education improvement and are expected to accept decisions that have already been prepared. Thirdly, the current reform has not addressed the question of the content of primary schooling and how it should link to life after school. In this case it can be said that, individual and societal development might be difficulty to be realized as majority of pupils are denied to knowledge and skills which would be useful in their future lives. Lastly, the study concludes by recommending the government that, in order to improve quantitatively and qualitatively the primary education, there should be willingness and commitment through locally developed initiatives and external partnerships which are relevant to Tanzanian context