Effects of Devolution of the Administration and Management of Public Community Built Secondary Schools and Student Performance in Tanzania: The Case of Ilala Municipality

The study aimed at investigating how the implementation of the devolution of the administration and management of community built public secondary schools to Local Government and communities has been functioning and with what effects, challenges and what school performance. The study adopted case study design from Ilala district in Dar-es-Salaam Tanzania. The research area of this study was purposively selected and random sampling procedures were used to get the respondents of this study. A total of 137 respondents constituted the sample. Interviews and questionnaires were validated and used for data collection. Quantitative data were processed and presented in tables and percentages. Qualitative data were subjected to content analysis and reported in terms of themes, categories and direct quotations. The findings reveal that there are some positive effects of the devolution of the administration and management of community built Public secondary schools which include improving student enrolment, improved academic performance for some Schools, increased proportional age group to complete secondary school, improving efficiency of service delivery monitoring and evaluation, increased sense of ownership and participation, increased level of involvement of local communities. Negative effects include inadequacy of resources, poor school infrastructure, poor stakeholders’ involvement; poor performance in the majority of the community built and managed secondary schools. The devolved responsibilities face inadequate human and financial recourses. These need to be improved. The study recommends adequate allocation of resources, empowerment of knowledge and skills regarding secondary school management and administration for capacity building