Tanzanian educational policy : effects on women's participation in formal education

Female participation in all spheres of society is crucial in the development of a nation. One way of increasing this participation is through education in the formal system because it provides more opportunities in a modernizing society. This study presents the situation of women in education in the context of Tanzania, which has developed policies geared towards equality at all levels of society. Tanzanian educational policies have attempted to equalize opportunities for everyone regardless of race, gender and social class. A few of those policies have succeeded in reducing gender imbalances without however changing attitudes towards women's potential in the development of the nation. This study attempts to demonstrate that educational policies affect female participation in a positive manner but essentially in quantity. In the context of Tanzania, quality in education had not been a priority as much as the commitment to mass education. Therefore, female education has evolved at a lower quality than male education, thus affecting outcome in terms of opportunity. Quality education and opportunity for women will only be possible if the school, family, community and all societal institutions join in a comprehensive effort to break barriers which now prevent their full participation