A Review of the Presidential Commission on Education
(Government Printer, Dar es Salaam)
This review is about the recommendations of the 1982 Presidential Commission on education as approved by the ruling Party and the Government. The recommendations are presented in five chapters where each one summarises the main themes of the report namely: the educational structure and plan for expansion; the curriculum and educational resources; teacher training, employment and recommendation; educational management and administration. The commission was appointed in November 1980 by the President of the United Republic of Tanzania, Mwalimu J K Nyerere to evaluate all the programmes of education in the country after having gone through twenty years of political independence. Views were gathered from a variety of workers in all sectors of the economy. The views and suggestions gathered were then presented to the government and the party for scrutiny, and those approved now form the basis of educational activities in the country up to the year 2000.
Basically the aims and objectives of education in Tanzania remain the same as those identified in the Education for Self-Reliance policy paper, presented by President Nyerere in March 1967, whose emphasis was on providing Tanzanians with a proper and sufficient education to be able to develop their own society along the principles of socialism and self-reliance.
The educational structure also remains the same as before, ie 7 – 4 – 2 – 3+; having seven years of primary education followed by four years of lower secondary education, two years of higher secondary education and three or more years of tertiary education and training.
Expansion of education will be effected in all levels to meet various needs and especially at the secondary and university levels. In the past secondary and higher education was determined by a “Manpower Needs Approach” but will now be determined by both “Social Demand” and a “Manpower Needs” approach. Primary education will continue to be the right of every citizen, and emphasis will be on its consolidation as it forms the foundation of all later stages of education. Parents and local government authorities will bear part of the costs of their children’s education at primary and secondary levels, while in higher institutions of learning, the educational costs will continue to be the responsibility of the government, but these institutions will be expected to run economically productive projects in order to lessen the government’s burden.
The kind of educational curriculum used in schools will be the responsibility of the Institute of Curriculum Development, which will be empowered to develop, test and revise curricula for Nursery, Primary and Secondary schools and colleges below diploma level. The curriculum used in institutions of higher learning will continue to be determined in the same way it has always been done but in addition a legally constituted Education Council of Tanzania will be established to coordinate training in the various institutions with the exception of universities. Kiswahili will be the medium of instruction at nursery and primary levels, while English will be the medium of instruction at post-primary levels. Because of shortages of books, equipment and other teaching materials in the schools which have hampered the quality of education in the country, the government will endeavour to provide the Ministry of Education with more funds to meet the requisite needs. In addition the government will strive to offer opportunities for people to advance themselves educationally by improving and expanding the already established distance learning facilities, and by establishing television stations and services in the country. The Ministry of Education is further instructed to co-operate with other ministries and institutions to prepare a national policy on science and technology, which will guide the further improvement and development of science and technology in the country.
It is widely acknowledged that no educational innovation can succeed without a corresponding improvement and involvement of the manpower expected to implement the changes. Because of this, the Ministry of Education will improve the quality of teachers in schools through better training, better remuneration and through improvements in the employment terms and conditions. The government will also introduce certain changes in the structure of the Ministry of Education, aimed at strengthening its management and administration to effect efficient implementation of the educational activities planned.
Some Reactions
Being a Tanzanian myself, I feel very pleased and impressed that the government exercised democracy in soliciting views and opinions from the people about the future of the country’s education to the year 2000. The accepted recommendations of the educational commission appear to cover all the aspects of education in the country and are undoubtedly the considered opinions of the government and the party. Planning an educational system can be a very difficult task and often bound to inaccuracy but at least it forms a sensible basis for resource allocation and a good basis for evaluation of how efficiently the set targets are being realised.
The plans of education up to the year 2000 have tremendous financial capital implications, which are worrying given the country’s financial capabilities and limitations. Already the existing institutions are all without exception so under-resourced, that something close to a miracle will have to happen if the economy is to be able to meet all the envisaged plans from its own sources. Even if the government is able to solicit aid and loans from outside the country it is also worrying how these loans will be serviced given that they are for a service sector of the economy, which does not produce tangible goods which can be exchanged for foreign money.
The recommendations in my opinion should have spelled out why the present institutions have not operated as efficiently as they could have done, and therefore point out what is new that is going to be done to correct this problem. It is one thing to promise that the government will give more funding to improve the situation, but it is another to be able to fulfil the promise. It certainly would have been more satisfying if the recommendations had indicated how the money for the new projects was going to be raised and the plan of implementation of the intended activities. Some of the intended projections sound so ambitious that it is doubtful that they can be realised in the stated period. For example, in the expansion of secondary education it is stated that, “Places will be increased in Form 1 from 8,913 (1981/82) to 16,195 (1985/86) and those in Form V from 2,064 to 3,672 in the same period.” This is an increase of 55% and 56% respectively within a period of five years. This suggests that what has been achieved over all time, should, more than half of it, be achieved over a period of just five years and in fact should by now, 1985, have been more or less achieved. This is clearly not true. It is such kind of projections which make some areas in the plan rather unrealistic, especially when the productive activities in the economy have been bedevilled by shortages and foreign exchange problems.
I would have been happier with a more modest plan based on a realistic situation and in keeping with the country’s capability. However, in the light of the educational recommendations, it appears to be the right time to set up an economic commission to evaluate the productive sector of the economy, to assess its weaknesses and it potentialities and to suggest the way forward, if really the economy is to attain a sustained growth to meet the country’s needs.
Peter Chonjo