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☺ The establishment of school categories into: national schools i.e. all public schools, other than primary schools or adult education centers
managed by local authorities; all folk development colleges and colleges of national education, and regional schools i.e. all primary
schools and all adult education centers with former falling under the direct control of the commissioner of national education
☺ Making primary school enrolment and attendance compulsory for children of ages 7 to 13 years.
☺ The centralization of school curricula and syllabi. ☺ The establishment of school boards and committees.
☺ The establishment of inspectorate department in the ministry of national education.
☺ Making mandatory the registration and licensing of teachers. ☺ The establishment of regional and district appeals boards.
☺ Empowering the commissioner of national education to approve fees for public and private schools.
☺ Empowering the minister of national education to prohibit the use of certain books in schools.
☺ Empowering the minister of national education to make regulations for the better carrying out of the provision and objectives of the act.
2.2 Education During the First Phase Government of Tanzania
During the first phase of Tanzania political governance 1961-1985 the Arusha Declaration, focusing on “ Ujamaa” African socialism and self-
reliance was the major philosophy. The nationalization of the production and provision of goods and services by the state and the dominance of ruling
party in community mobilization and participation highlighted the “Ujamaa” ideology, which dominated most of the 1967-1985 era. The Education for
Self-Reliance ESR philosophy authored by the first president of Tanzania Mwalimu Julius K. Nyerere intended to give critique of the education
system inherited from the colonial state by showing that it was elitist, theoretical, bookish and alienating. UPE was part of the economic
transformation envisaged in the principles and programmes of the Arusha Declaration.
In early 1970s, the first phase government embarked on an enormous national campaign for universal access to primary education, of all children
of school going age. It was resolved that the nation should have attained universal primary education by 1977. The ruling party by that time
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Tanganyika African National Union TANU, under the leadership of the former and first president of Tanzania Mwalimu Julius K. Nyerere, directed
the government to put in place mechanisms for ensuring that the directive, commonly known as the Musoma Resolution, was implemented. The
argument behind that move was essentially that, as much as education was a right to each and every citizen, a government that is committed to the
development of an egalitarian socialist society cannot desegregate and discriminate her people in the provision of education, especially at the basic
level. For this matter, the process of universal primary education in Tanzania was contemplated and implemented with the full cost borne by the
government. After few years enrolment in primary schools across the nation soared and the nation was gravitated in the frenzy to implement the call for
education for all in a poor country committed to an equitable and fair provision of education to all citizens. Imbedded in this success story, were
internal weakness as well as external factors which were to work towards not only eroding and reversing the achievement of the UPE campaigns in
Tanzania, but also compromising the quality of primary education leading to growing disenchantment and despair amongst the populace in general and
the elite in particular. Due to the socialism and self-reliance philosophy in Tanzania at that time,
traditional partners in educational provision were either reluctant to come forward to support the efforts Tanzania was putting on the campaign or,
most arguably, the government itself was reluctant to call for assistance from such sources. Thus, in the annals of implementation of that phase of UPE,
the involvement of international donor agencies and other partners in the development was minimally apparent. It may also be recalled that, in 1967,
with the Arusha Declaration, most denominational schools run by Christian missions had been nationalized and de-denationalized by the government.
Thus, with a sense of “wait and see” relationship between the traditional partners in educational provision and the Tanzania government, the latter
was basically on her own in the fight for universalization of education in the country.
Since not only education was provided free, but also other services, especially health, the government’s readiness, ability and capacity to handle
such an enormous task within a short time and limited resources were put into question. And as student enrolment across the country soared, it was
increasingly apparent that the government was biting more than it could chew Ishumi 1984; Malekela 1984; Mgunda 1999
The government was the only provider of social services with limited support from donors. Efforts to tackle UPE were channeled through centrally
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directed, medium-term and long-term development plans resulting into significant access to primary education. Through central instruments the
government showed responsibility to facilitate UPE basic requirements including training of teachers en-mass. The government was very
strategically placed to affect UPE since it had all the necessary and legitimate organs.
2.2.1 The Presidential Commission on Education
In 1981, a Presidential Commission on education was appointed to review the existing system of education and propose necessary changes to be
realized by the country towards the year 2000. The Commission submitted its report in March 1982 and the government has implemented most of its
recommendation. The most significant ones were:
☺ The establishment of the Teachers’ Service Commission TSC. ☺ The establishment of the Tanzania Professional Teachers
Association. ☺ The introduction of new curriculum packages at primary, secondary
and teacher education levels. ☺ The establishment of the Sokoine University of Agriculture SUA;
the Muhimbili University College of Health Sciences MUCHS and the Open University of Tanzania OUT.
☺ The establishment of the Faculty of Education FoE at the University of Dar-es-Salaam.
☺ The formulation of a National Policy for Science and Technology. ☺ The introduction of pre-primary teacher education programme.
☺ The expansion of secondary education
2. 3 Education During the Second Phase Government of Tanzania
The second phase government of Tanzania spanning from 1985 to 1995, was characterized by new liberal ideas such as free choice, market-oriented
schooling and cost efficiency, reduced the government control of the UPE and other social services. The education sector lacked quality teachers as
well as teachinglearning materials and infrastructure to address the expansion of the UPE. A vacuum was created while fragmented donor
driven projects dominated primary education support. The introduced cost sharing in the provision of social services like education and health hit most
the poorest of the poor. This decrease in government support in the provision
