by Ben Taylor

Basic Education Skills Initiative unveiled
On 1 September 2025, President Samia Suluhu Hassan unveiled the Basic Education Skills Initiative during a campaign rally, aiming to ensure that every Tanzanian child can read, write, and perform basic calculations by the end of Standard Three. This plan forms part of a broader vision for early childhood development (ECD) and educational reform, prioritising foundational literacy and numeracy to address longstanding gaps in primary education. With Tanzania’s literacy rate hovering at around 78% and significant disparities in rural areas, the initiative seeks to equip young learners with essential skills for lifelong learning and economic participation, aligning with the country’s Vision 2050 goals.

Key objectives include transforming primary education through curriculum reforms that integrate practical, skills-based learning from the earliest stages. The plan emphasises interactive teaching methods, incorporating digital tools and play-based approaches to make lessons engaging and effective. Teacher training is a cornerstone, with commitments to upskill 7,000 educators in science, mathematics, and literacy pedagogy within the first 100 days of a potential re-election. This builds on the February 2025 launch of the updated Education and Training Policy, which extends compulsory education and enhances vocational elements.

Implementation strategies involve partnerships with organisations like UNICEF and KOICA for STEM integration and resource provision, targeting 1.2 million children with school meals and digital learning aids. Infrastructure upgrades, such as shifting to single-shift schooling nationwide by year’s end, will reduce overcrowding and improve access. Expected outcomes include boosted enrolment rates, reduced dropout figures, and a more skilled workforce ready for Tanzania’s digital economy.

Challenges, however, persist: funding constraints and teacher shortages in remote regions could hinder rollout. President Hassan has tied the initiative to her re-election manifesto, vowing to prioritise ECD classrooms and vocational centres, potentially creating thousands of jobs while fostering inclusive growth. If successful, this could mark a pivotal shift in Tanzania’s educational landscape.

ACT Wazalendo also make ambitious promises
ACT Wazalendo’s election manifesto for 2025–2030 positions education as a cornerstone of inclusive development and economic empowerment, emphasising universal access, quality, and relevance to job creation. The party pledges “truly free education up to university level – no hidden contributions,” aiming to eliminate informal fees that burden families and ensure equitable opportunities for all Tanzanians, regardless of location or income. This builds on their 2020 commitments to free pre-school, primary, secondary, and vocational training, but extends it comprehensively to higher education, with subsidies for tuition and a shift in loans to cover only subsistence costs like meals and accommodation.

A key focus is skills-based learning to address youth unemployment, with education designed to equip graduates for productive sectors like agriculture, manufacturing, and technology. The manifesto promises enhanced vocational and technical training, including establishing innovation hubs in colleges and launching new technical schools in underserved regions, covering tuition, materials, and field studies. It also calls for increased research funding – allocating 40% of university budgets to innovation – and the construction of five new national universities (three on the mainland in Mtwara, Kigoma, and Tanga; two in Zanzibar), each with at least 20,000-student capacity.