KEY POLICY CHOICES IN SECONDARY EDUCATION IN AFRICA: CHALLENGES SEEN FROM DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES - THE CASE OF TANZANIA By Margaret Sitta Minister for Education and Vocational Training, Tanzania

Nyerere’s Definition of Education ”… to transmit from one generation to the next the accumulated wisdom and knowledge of the society, and to prepare the young people for their future membership of the society and their active participation in its maintenance or development.”

Introduction: Education in Africa Significant efforts at national and International levels to develop education in Africa Recognition of education as an essential element for economic and human development, both for the individual and the community at large The central agenda was fighting illiteracy, and thus, main focus was mostly on development of basic education alone. As a result there has been an imbalanced allocation of resources at this level of education to the detriment of other sub-sectors of education

Introduction: Education in Africa In the last decade Africa has recorded great success in achieving EFA goals This progress brings enormous pressure for post-primary education in Africa

Areas of concern in Post-Primary Education in Tanzania These can be grouped into the following main areas: Access to secondary education, where issues of infrastructure and teachers feature, Equity in terms of gender, geographical locations and physical disabilities in provision of secondary education:, Quality of the education offered and its delivery: In this area focus is also given to what is the appropriate curricula, Management of secondary education, Cross – cutting issues – HIV/AIDS, Gender, Environment

Facts about Secondary Education in Tanzania It consists of two cycles: –4 - years ordinary level –2 - years Advanced level In June 2006 –2289 Secondary Schools, of which 1690 government 599 non-government (individuals, companies, trustees, NGOs & religious groups)

Policy Framework Education and Training Policy (ETP, 1995) Education Sector Development Programme (ESDP,1997) Primary Education Development Programme (PEDP, ) Secondary Education Development Programme (SEDP, ) Development Policies –Tanzania Development Vision 2025 –National Strategy for Growth and Poverty Reduction (NSGPR - MKUKUTA)

PEDP Achievement Net enrolment: 80.7% (2002) to 96.1% (2006) Gross enrolment: 98.6% (2002) to 112% (2006) No. of pupils: 5,981,338 (2002) to 7,959,884 (2006) Pass rate: 27.1% (2002) to 62% (2006) Transition to secondary school: 21.7% (2002) to 49.3% (2005)

SEDP ( ) Projections –Transition to secondary school: 21.7% (2002) to 50%(2009) –Net enrolment ratio: 50% (2010) from 5.9% (2002) –Gross enrolment ratio: 50% (2010) from 9.7 in (2002) –Enrolment to form 1: 500,000 (2010) from 97,694 (2002) –No. of student: 2,000,000 (2010) from 345,000 (2003)

Equity in Secondary Education In 2006: girls and boys were enrolled in Form 1 at the ratio of 48:52 respectively Enrolment of girls in Form 5 is now 41% from 38% of Government gives scholarships to 33,873 children from poor families to pursue secondary education in government secondary schools. This number is expected to increase to 43,873 pupils next year.

Challenges Rapid expansion calls for –More facilities More new schools More classroom to existing schools –More teachers More new teachers colleges Expansion of existing teacher colleges More in-service training Incentive package to teachers – salary, housing, training etc –Other quality dimension Language of Instruction More laboratories & equipment and apparatus Library and Books ICT etc

Challenges HIV/AIDS poses serious bottleneck in the development of education Acute shortage of science and mathematics teachers Retention of teachers Poor infrastructure in the country, especially in the rural/remote areas Special challenges to the normadic communities and orphans and vulnerable children

THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION