Primary Education Development Plan: Tanzania’s Commitment to National and Global Progress
Rachel Bronk
Robert Gibson
Shanaz Ramji-Motani
University of British Columbia
EDST 565A
Dr. Fazal Rizvi
University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
HISTORICAL CONTEXT
Introduction
The demographic, historical, political, economic, and educational conditions in Tanzania during the colonial and post-colonial periods provide a context and rationale for the origin, formation, implementation, and analysis of the Primary Education Plan (PEDP). This policy arose as a response to improve the quality of education in Tanzania through direct focus on primary aged children.
Demographic Profile
Tanzania is home to a heterogeneous population of over 120 ethnic groups. According to the Tanzanian Demographic Profile, 99% of the population is African consisting of numerous tribes. The remaining 1% of the population is of European, Arab, and South Asian origin. While the various ethnic groups have their own languages, the official and national language of Tanzania is Kiswahili or Swahili. English is the other official language and is primary used in commerce, administration, and higher education. Arabic and Indian dialects are also spoken amongst the people. On the mainland of Tanzania 30% of the population is Christian, 35% is Muslim, and 35% hold indigenous beliefs, while Zanzibar is 99% Muslim.
Governmental and Political Profile
Zanzibar and Tanganyika, the constituent components of Tanzania, were both under colonial rule from the late 1800s. In 1890, Britain and Germany signed a treaty dividing the region, with the Germans controlling Tanganyika while the British controlled Zanzibar. German control of Tanganyika ended after World War I (1919) when most of the territory was passed to the United Kingdom under a League of Nations mandate. The long British domination had implications for the education system as policies were established under British ideologies. In 1961, Tanganyika gained its independence from the British, and Julius Nyerere, the leader of the Tanganyika African National Union (TANU) was elected as President. In 1964, Tanganyika united with Zanzibar, a nearby island, to form the United Republic of Tanganyika and Zanzibar, which was shortly thereafter, renamed The United Republic of Tanzania (URT). Zanzibar remains a semi-autonomous region under the Republic. Nyerere merged TANU with the Afro-Shirazi Party (ASP), the ruling party in Zanzibar, to form the Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) Revolutionary Party.
Much anger and dissonance prevailed as a result of colonial domination and capitalism in Tanzania. Independence saw the formation of a nexus between three prevailing ideologies which were shaped by the experience of colonialism and which influenced national policy: Africanization, nationalism and socialism. The reign of Julius Nyerere from 1962 to 1985 and the influence of the CCM had profound implications for the economic and educational development of the country (which will be discussed later in the report). At the heart of Nyerere’s policy was “an affirmation of the fundamental equality of all humankind and a commitment to the building of social, economic and political institutions, which would reflect and ensure this equality” (Pratt, 2000, p.368). The Arusha Declaration (AD) formulated by Nyerere in February 1967 outlined the principles of African Socialism, referred to by the Kiswahili concept of “familyhood” known as Ujamaa, which emphasized justice and equality and focused on collective gains for the nation. Ujamaa stressed equal sharing of economic resources in what is referred to as the “African” way. Nyerere stated:
“Tanganyika, today, is a poor country. The standard of living of the masses of our people is shamefully low. But if every man and woman in the country takes up the challenge and works to the limit of his or her ability for the good of the whole society, Tanganyika will prosper; and that prosperity will be shared by all her people” (Nyerere, 1962, para. 27 ).
The central government created collective farms and encouraged people to move into large villages in which food and other goods would be produced collectively for the whole community. African socialism received support not just from other African leaders but also from the Communist Bloc. The prevailing theory was that Africa could not compete economically with the capitalist states and African Socialism was seen as a way to unite the country and allow it to prosper. A movement to regain an African identity after the effects of colonization known as “Africanization” dominated the country. Africanization focused on giving Tanzania an African outlook and character involving a modification of geographic and personal names to reflect an African name. The movement was also used to increase the indigenous presence in the civil service, which had been underrepresented during the colonial era. All youth were compelled to provide two years of national service. Economically, Africanization was manifested in the nationalization of key industries, assets and properties, many of which belonged to ethnic non-Africans. Nyerere’s Africanization policy was part of a larger pan-African movement which sought to define post-colonial political, social and economic values in an African context.
Other political realities influenced Tanzania during this time. In 1978, Uganda invaded the northern part of Tanzania and as a result, Tanzania declared war on Uganda in 1979. The Tanzanian army seized control of the city of Kampala and Idi Amin fled into exile. The war and its effect on the national economy along with a number of political and social factors, including the collapse of the Soviet bloc in the late 1990s, forced Nyerere to resign as President in 1985. He was forced to hand power to Ali Hassan Mwinyi, who was a member of the CCM party. Mwinyi governed Tanzania from 1985 to 1995 and began to reverse the socialist policies of Nyerere, which had fallen out of favour. Nyerere’s death in 1999 precipitated a debate about the value of his governance. The majority of Tanzanians felt that though he made many policy errors, he was “profoundly committed to their welfare” (Pratt, 2000, p. 365). The liberalization of the political conditions in the country also led to long-nascent tensions between predominantly Muslim Zanzibar and the central government, which had been kept under control by Nyerere’s policies, developed into open disputes which remain unresolved to this day.
Tanzania moved from a one-party state to a multi-party state when the country held its first multi-party election in 1995. The CCM party won the election and Benjamin Mkapa became the new President. Mkapa governed Tanzania for two five year terms in office from 1995-2005. During his term, he liberalized foreign trade and investment regulations and also worked to fight poverty and establish civil rights. Jakaya Kikwete, a former chairman of TANU, succeeded Mkapa in 2005. Though President Kikwete holds strong neoliberal views and is an advocate for free trade, “his governing philosophy and political views are influenced by Nyerere whom the President was privileged to be close to” (Ademiluyi, 2009, para. 8).
Economic Profile
As a British colony, Tanzania was one of the poorest countries in the world. During the colonial period, Tanzania was the least favoured of the three British East African colonies – Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania (Galabawa, 1990, p. 3). Britain did not place much emphasis on Tanzania and only considered it a conquered territory. Kenya, in contrast, was valued and many British had settled there, bringing foreign investments into the country. Tanzania’s economic status was ranked significantly lower than its East African neighbours. At independence, Tanzania inherited a capitalist economy and Nyerere’s move towards socialism caused an overhaul of the entire socio-economic system. The Arusha Declaration placed emphasis on Tanzania being an independent and self-reliant nation. In the Declaration and TANU’s Policy on Socialism and Self-Reliance, Nyerere states:
“Even if it were possible for us to get enough money for our needs from external sources, is this what we really want? Independence means self-reliance. Independence cannot be real if a nation depends upon gifts and loans from another for its development. Even if there was a nation, or nations, prepared to give us all the money we need for our development, it would be improper for us to accept such assistance without asking ourselves how this would affect our independence and our very survival as a nation. Gifts which increase, or act as a catalyst, to our own efforts are valuable. Gifts which could have the effect of weakening or distorting our own efforts should not be accepted until we have asked ourselves a number of questions” (Nyerere, 1967, part 3).
Though the Arusha Declaration proved somewhat favourable to the education system in Tanzania (explained later in the paper), Ujamaa proved to have a devastating effect on the economy of the nation. Furthermore, Tanzania’s war with Uganda left the country to cope with the economic cost of war. The budget was tightened significantly, negatively affecting services such as education. Tanzania was facing an economic crisis that needed rectification. In common with most of the rest of Africa, corruption was a major factor compounding the impediments to economic development and continues to be a focus of the government’s efforts. During the governance of Mwinji from 1985 to 1995, the country went from a highly nationalized state with a closed economy to a free market economy with a focus on international investment and trade. Much of the educational development during this time was influenced by foreign aid. There was an integration of Tanzania’s economy with the rest of the world through globalization. The effects of globalization with a neo-liberal perspective permeated the economic climate of the country. Measures were taken to encourage foreign and private investment and the participation of the private sector in the community. The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) along with national governmental donor agencies and NGOs were enlisted to keep the economy afloat. In 1986, a reform program largely dictated by the IMF and the World Bank was initiated and policies were implemented to reduce the budget deficit and improve monetary control. As a result in the mid 1990s, the economy of Tanzania began improve.
Today, Tanzania remains largely dependent on foreign aid for its economic growth. The government continues to privatize state-owned enterprises as the country moves towards a free-market economy. Although Tanzania has qualified for some debt-relief from international donors, a large part of the country’s production continues to service its debt. Kikwete’s government has received praise for its handling of the country so far. The Council on Foreign Relations says that “[t]hrough good governance and the successful implementation of development programs, President Kikwete has already achieved higher returns as well as praise from the international community” (“Jakaya Kikwete’s Tanzania: High hopes and performances”, 2007, p. 2).
Educational Profile
Educational policies formulated during the colonial and post-colonial era in Tanzania need to be contextualized within the governmental and economic conditions existing in the country. Political influences and economic deterioration during these eras contributed to the decline of the provision of basic social services by the government, education included.
As a British colony, Tanzania’s education reflected the ideologies of the British government. Education did not reflect equity or respect for the heterogeneous population of the nation. The government prevented the expansion of secondary and higher education and very few Africans went beyond two years of basic education that comprised of arithmetic, catechism, reading, and vocational training. The opportunities for tertiary education were not available within the country until the establishment of the University of Dar-es-Salaam in 1963. Students interested in a higher education needed to travel to Kenya, Uganda or British universities. Education was discriminatory in that separate primary and secondary schools were developed for the European and the African children, with the largest share of funds allocated to the European minority. As Galabawa (1990) says, “[t]he major objectives of the educational provision were to adapt the African to the colonial system of exploitation” (p.3).
After independence, educational policies focused on the distribution and equalization of education at all levels including primary, secondary, and tertiary. Schools became open to all children irrespective of race, religion, social class, or gender as was the case during colonial times. In 1961, the Education Ordinance established equal access to schooling and eliminated school fees at the secondary level, while fees at the primary level remained, as they were seen as minimal in comparison to secondary fees. Initially after independence, English and Swahili became the main medium of instruction, but soon after Swahili became the sole language in school as part of Nyerere’s African socialism policy. Some private “English” schools continued to be accessible to the elite and expatriate communities. The Three Year Development Plan and the First Five Year Plan (FFYP) of 1964-1969 concentrated its efforts on secondary and tertiary education, and attention was not directed to primary education until the mid 1970s. President Nyerere in his address to the Parliament in 1965 stated:
“The purpose of government expenditure on education in the coming years must be to equip Tanganyika the skills and knowledge which is needed if the development of the country is to be achieved… first we must educate adults. Our children will not have an impact on our economic development for five, ten, or even twenty years” (as cited in Galabawa, 1990, p.7).
Soon after the Arusha Declaration, President Nyerere issued a paper on Education for Self Reliance (ESR) in 1968. This paper led to a dramatic change in the educational system, focusing its efforts on building a socialist imaginary. The ESR programme concentrated on preparing students to contribute to the economy of the country. A curriculum to meet the needs of the predominantly rural society of Tanzania was sought. Kassam (1995) saw Nyerere’s policy as a way to counteract education that predominated during colonial times. Nyerere believed that colonial education was oriented towards a western philosophy and ideology, and was very elitist in nature. The ESR proposed that the goals of primary education were to prepare students for rural life and not secondary education. Students in secondary schools and university needed to learn how to prepare and contribute in a rural society. Education centered on integrating the students’ knowledge with manual work and production, and with life and the community. Schools were encouraged to engage in productive activities, growing their own food and gaining an income from the products that they sold (Galabawa, 1990). Through this approach students learned to earn for themselves and thereby contribute to the economy of the country. Education needed to concentrate on working for the common good and to foster cooperation and promote equality (Smith, 1998). Nyerere argued that students had to attain critical thinking and inquiry skills that enabled them to be self confident and cooperative members of society (Kassam, 2000).
In 1974, the TANU issued a directive to explore the success of the ESR program. This became known as the Musoma Resolution (MR). The implementation of the ESR program was difficult and was seen as a failure to transform schools to become part of the economic system. The Musoma Resolution recommended a move towards educational reform. Reforms were proposed at all levels of education, of which the reforms in primary education will be the focus for the remainder of this report.
Universal Primary Education (UPE) was advocated and seen as a reliable way to build a sustainable future. Efforts were made to increase teacher training for primary schools, and secondary school students were utilized to teach younger students. An additional goal was to provide free education to all in order to ensure that primary education reached even the poorest in the country. Schools were built in every village of Tanzania and the illiteracy rates plummeted. Tanzania became one of the countries with the highest literacy rates reaching, 98% by the mid 1980s (Sitta, 2007). As this strategy was implemented, primary school enrolment rose substantially. However, the quality of education continued to need improvement.
The economic decline in the mid 1980s and 1990s brought a deterioration of the quality of social services, thus impacting education. The government did not have enough monetary resources to pay teachers’ wages, to upkeep the educational infrastructure, and to provide educational resources needed for learning. Makapa’s government was forced to rely on foreign aid to assist in the economic restructuring of the country thereby affecting educational policy. There was a push towards a “cost sharing” model (Sitta, 2007). The aid from the international market which Tanzania depended on to sustain and revitalize its economy was contingent on restricting the funds allocated to social services. As a result of the educational decisions shaped by globalization, school enrolment fees were re-introduced and though the fee did not amount to more than 2,000 Tanzanian Shillings (approximately US$1.75), the mere institution of this fee prevented children from lower socio-economic backgrounds from attending school. Education became a commodity for Tanzanians to purchase (Salia and William, n.d.) and primary enrolment declined from the 100% gross enrolment in 1980 to 82% in 1992 (Sitta, 2007).
It became clear in the mid 1990s that there was a need to review the educational system and institute plans for its reform. In 1995, an education and training policy was formulated to implement proposed reforms. The policies focused on ameliorating access to education at all levels, providing quality and equitable education to both boys and girls and improving the manner in which education is financed and managed. Primary education was seen as a way to build for a future of the country and a way to counteract poverty. These goals were well articulated in the Tanzania Development Vision 2025 (Vision 2025), Education for All (EFA) and Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) which were formulated in the mid 1990s on which the remainder of this paper will the focus.
Before continuing an examination of the primary education policies formulated since the mid-1990s, it is important to focus on the viewpoints expressed by educators and developmental organizations around the world on the value of Nyerere’s educational philosophy. Kassam says that “[Nyerere’s] educational philosophy has often been regarded as an appropriate and rational educational alternative for many Third World countries” (p.1). The international adult education community along with non-governmental organizations focusing on development work consider Nyerere’s philosophy to be progressive and “developing ‘conscientization’, empowerment and liberation as expressed in Paulo Freire’s writings in Pedagogy of the Oppressed” (Kassam, 2000, p. 1). This leaves a question to ponder upon for the future: will Tanzania’s education policies see a re-assemblage of values (Rizvi, 2009) focusing on Africanization and neo-liberal philosophies dominating the country today? This question is particularly pertinent in light of Nyerere’s influence on Kikwete’s governing philosophy. Just as Nyerere synthesized an African socialism, it is quite conceivable that we may witness the emergence of an African capitalism or neo-liberalism that will inform the formation of social policy.
NATIONAL AND GLOBAL CONTEXT
Figure 1 – The major national and global factors that shaped the PEDP.
National Origins (see Figure 1)
The Tanzania Development Vision 2025
In 1995, the government of Tanzania began to formulate a vision for the future of the country. Aided financially and technologically by distinctly non-Tanzanian players (the United Nations Development Program, the Government of Japan, the European Union and the Government of Ireland), the vision was discussed and reviewed at all levels of Tanzanian society including Honourable Members of Parliament, all political parties, leaders of various religious denominations, women and youth organizations, chambers of commerce, industry farmers, professional associations, renowned personalities and ordinary Tanzanians. Vision 2025 was named so as it envisioned that by the year 2025, Tanzania “will have graduated from a least developed country to a middle income country… with a high level of human development” (p. 2). This lengthy document identifies defining attributes that collectively lead to the creation of several policies. These attributes are high quality livelihood; peace, stability and unity; good governance; a well-educated and learning society; and a competitive economy capable of producing sustainable growth and shared benefits. Vision 2025 is woven with a consciousness about the interconnectedness of national and global economics beginning with the objective statement:
The objective of this Development Vision is to awaken, co-ordinate and direct the people’s efforts, minds and national resources towards those core sectors that will enable us [to] attain our development goals and withstand the expected intensive economic competition ahead of us. (p. v)
The message that education and economics are intrinsically connected both to each other and to Vision 2025 is apparent. Described as a “strategic agent”, education reform at the primary, secondary and tertiary levels is mentioned throughout Vision 2025 as a means by which Tanzanians can effectively compete regionally and internationally, cognizant of the reality that “competitive leadership in the 21st century will hinge on the level and quality of education and knowledge” (p. 4). Globalization is specifically cited as having an influence on the direction of Vision 2025 by recognizing that “nation-state economic behaviour is being transformed by globalization and regionalism, trends which undermine inward looking economic nationalism” (p. 16). Overall, Vision 2025 defines national goals as progressive in nature against a backdrop of global trends. By considering issues of globalization in Vision 2025, these global factors become considerations in the various policy documents that were born out of the vision.
Education Sector Development Program
One of the key targets identified in Vision 2025 for education is the realization of universal primary education; a target that is envisioned through the Education Sector Development Program (ESDP). Created as an elaboration on educational aspirations in Vision 2025 and the Education and Training Policy (1995), the ESDP sought to define primary and secondary education objectives through two policy documents: the Primary Education Development Plan (PEDP – the focus of the latter part of this document) and the Secondary Education Development Program (SEDP). Created by URT in 1996, the ESDP addresses existing problems and new challenges in education that include low enrolment, poor service quality, underfunding, inadequate coordination with other sectors and lack of professional ethics (URT, 2001a). The ESDP is a sector wide approach to achieving the objectives of Vision 2025 that aims to develop policy that informs the planning, implementing, monitoring and evaluating of education. With universal primary education as the educational priority in Tanzania (as dictated by global factors described in the next section), the ESDP created the PEDP first, SEDP second and is in the process of developing a higher education development program. It is important to note that while both Vision 2025 and ESDP are national guides for education, they are largely informed by global forces that seek to define education standards for the developed world.
Global Origins (See Figure 1 on page 7)
Education for All (UNESCO)
The government of Tanzania looks to precedents created by global organizations in order to guide its education policies. Launched in 1990, five years before Vision 2025 was initiated, the EFA movement was founded by UNESCO in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), UNICEF and the World Bank. EFA was agreed upon by delegates from 155 countries (including Tanzania) and 150 governmental organizations and NGOs at a conference in Jomtien, Thailand in 1990. At the time, EFA represented a global commitment to provide basic, quality education specifically, a commitment to universalize primary education and reduce illiteracy by the end of the 20th century. These commitments were reaffirmed in 2000 in Dakar, Senegal with the aim being to meet the educational needs of children as well as youth and adults by 2015.
The internationally agreed upon education goals targeted for 2015 are to expand early childhood care and education; to provide free compulsory primary education for all; to promote learning, life skills for young people and adults; to increase adult literacy by 50 percent; to achieve gender parity by 2005, gender equality by 2015; and to improve the quality of education. EFA dictates that all children, both boys and girls will attend and complete primary school. Additionally, primary schooling must be free of charge and made compulsory. EFA states that among the internationally agreed upon reasons for providing free compulsory primary education for all was the reasoning that it is “vital for economic development [and] giving individuals the chance to earn more and be more productive.” (URT, 1995) The connections between education and economics in URT documents appear to be emulating the same connections established on the global stage. URT explicitly states that Vision 2025 and ESDP were created with EFA in mind. In addition to the organization already mentioned, UNESCO further cites governments, development agencies, civil society, NGOs and the media as partners in the process of achieving EFA. The rhetoric invoked in Vision 2025 and ESDP did not originate in Tanzania but rather is adopted from an almost universally subscribed to global discourse regarding the importance of education.
Millennium Development Goals (UN)
The MDGs were compiled by the UNDP and represent a broad set of goals generated from targets established at the world summits of the 1990s. In correlation with EFA, these goals are targeted to be achieved by 2015. Like with the EFA, Vision 2025 and ESDP specifically state that they are grounded in MDGs. There are eight goals with one (“achieve universal primary education”) directly relating to education and another (“promote gender equality and empower women”) directly relating to specific stipulations within Tanzania’s PEDP. In achieving universal primary education, MSGs state the target is ensuring that all boys and girls complete a full course of primary schooling.
The MDGs represent a framework that seeks to establish uniform goals for the entire UN system that are specific enough for measure but are broad enough to allow for nation specific implementation strategies. The UNDP published a lengthy report entitled Toward universal primary education: investments, incentives, and institutions in order to guide countries in achieving high quality education (2005) in order to guide both developed and developing countries. As a globally agreed upon set of goals, it is intended that MDGs will be achieved collaboratively on the global stage as “[p]oor countries have pledged to govern better, and invest in their people through health care and education [while] [r]ich countries have pledged to support them, through aid, debt relief, and fairer trade.” (UNDP, 2009). This intention of interconnectedness assumes that nations are willing to cooperate with each other and work collaboratively around universal issues, such as education, across a climate of sometimes conflicting culture, politics, history and economics.
Assumptions about Nature of Global Economy
The global imaginary has solidified the correlation between education and economic success in a simplistic input, output format. Global frameworks such as EFA and MDG operate under the assumption that strong investment in education (input) results in productive citizens that contribute to economic development (output). Further assumptions about the global economy include the dependence of nations on NGOs as an entity rivalling the economic prowess of nations themselves. The global economy is truly global in the sense that nations will aid nations unrelated by continent, language, religion or other considerations (ie. Irish Aid supports Tanzania) and NGOs have penetrated borders to become affiliated with the global and not the national. Even groups such as the African Development Bank have 24 non-African members listed as shareholders. The global nature of economies is truly apparent in the sense that no nations economy has been untouched through either the powers of receiving or providing aid.
As evidenced in statements by the UNDP, there is an assumption that countries will fall into the category of either rich or poor country. Rich countries will help the poor countries and in turn, poor countries will abide by the rules of global initiatives. These assumptions are perhaps too simplistic, as they do not account for the “grey area” countries that are not entirely rich, nor entirely poor and at times will require a shift in roles. In the case of Tanzania (as a poor country), the documents analyzed demonstrate a commitment to education through the rearticulation of EFA and MDGs in the Tanzania context. However, investing in the people of Tanzania cannot come without financial aid from outside sources.
Educational Funding
EDSP documents refer to the financing of education in Tanzania as “a shared responsibility among a number of stakeholders” (p.28). Stakeholders are listed as the central government, communities, parents, development partners and NGOs. It is important to note that ESDP states that parents are the major financiers of the sector; something that must change in accordance with the intentions of the PEDP and global mandates. Education for All by 2015: will we make it? Tanzania country case study (2007) indicates that international development partners supporting education in Tanzania include the World Bank, The African Development Bank, EU, UN organisations, DFID, CIDA, Irish Aid, Sida, and USAID. (Woods, p.21). As at the date of this report, the World Bank website provides transparent, detailed information regarding the funding of projects in developing countries. Of the many projects they support, they are currently directly funding secondary education and higher education initiatives. Similarly, the African Development Bank is also funding both secondary and higher education initiatives including direct funding to the SEDP. The transparent nature of funding and program mission statements provided by World Bank and African Development Bank provides a sense of accountability and directly links to appeasing the mandates of EFA and MDGs. In 2005, Tanzania’s Public Expenditure Review (PER) reported lessons learned with regards to juggling budgetary considerations and the distinction between monetary aid pledged and committed. They note that as a result they have realized that “only firm commitments by donors ought to be factored in the sector budget” (Woods, 2007, p.21). This is an important reality for the government to recognize in order to have a realistic chance of achieving successful implementation. The rhetoric invoked in Vision 2025 and ESDP did not originate in Tanzania but rather is adopted from an almost universally subscribed to global discourse regarding the importance of education What remains to be seen, is if Tanzania is merely adhering symbolically to standards dictated collectively by developed countries or if they are truly ingraining global agreed upon ideas into their national vision.
POLICY ANALYSIS
Introduction
Aligning itself within the global education framework of the EFA and MDGs, post-independence Tanzania has committed itself to improving the quality of its educational systems, recognizing the important role education plays in improving quality of life, and all aspects of society (Woods, 2007, p. 8). Acknowledging the importance of education for the future success of Tanzania, the government identifies “primary education as the minimum level of education delivery that should be imparted to all citizens, since it at least equips an individual with the basic skills required in life…primary education is advocated as a basic human right” and it is “an important tool in the fight against poverty” (Mbelle, 2008, p.1). Emerging from this discussion, as the primary component of the ESDP, is the PEDP, which is the URT’s response to the growing need for quality educational programs, particularly at the primary level.
With the changing landscape of globalization, URT recognizes that the reform of educational policies is imperative if they are to effectively compete not only on international playing fields, but also if they are to successfully build an internally strong nation. The PEDP is URT’s response to the problems facing Tanzania’s inadequate educational programs, and the limited access its citizens have to primary education. Along with Vision 2025, the National Strategy for Growth and Reduction of Poverty (NSGRP, or the Kiswahili acronym, MKUKTA), the PEDP was a recognition by URT of “the need to have a well educated and learning society in order to respond to development challenges and to compete effective at international levels, regionally and beyond” (Woods, 2007 p.7). The specific challenge facing Tanzania, as with many developing countries, is poverty, and the PEDP has taken up the challenge of ensuring that all children have access to education in the belief that the education of its young will be “an important tool in the fight against poverty” (Mbelle, 2008, p. 2). URT believes that a properly constructed and administered primary educational policy will help alleviate national stresses caused by increased levels of poverty, major health concerns, and economic instability.
As a key element of the Vision 2025, the PEDP, was established with the intention of investing in human capital (URT, 2001b); the principal objective being to ensure that all children have equitable access to good quality primary education with the specific intention of expanding enrolment of children, and to ensure that all Tanzanian children, ages seven-ten years old, are enrolled in school. The Ministry of Education and Culture (MoEC) identified several critical problems in developing the PEDP, specifically poor learning conditions, unqualified or poorly qualified teachers, inadequate resources and facilities, and irrelevant curriculum. In response to these issues, the MoEC established the following objectives of the PEDP: (1) to expand enrolment, and enrol all children, aged 7-10, (2) to improve educational quality, (3) to improve management capacity within the educational system and (4) to optimize the use of human materials, and financial resources within the current educational framework that may be working against the success of the educational system (URT, 2001b).
PEDP Analysis
The analysis of this policy, as suggested by Rizvi and Lingard (2009), is an attempt to understand why this policy was developed at the time it was, the underlying assumptions of the policy, and the potential effects of it (p. 45). The PEDP was developed and published in 2001 in the wake of the global push for EFA, and at a time when developing countries were beginning to find a place in the increasingly neo-liberalist global society that was becoming interconnected all around them. Recognizing the societal complications that were inhibiting the potential of their country, specifically poverty and, one of its most identifiable symptoms, poor education, the MoEC identified a necessary shift in their educational focus towards primary education. Four key issues addressed in the PEDP were: (1) primary students were not attending school, (2) the quality of education was not acceptable, (3) the inadequate management of schools, and (4) the lack of efficiency within the school systems; each issue being unpacked to its core elements in an attempt to move past the issues and start building their society from the primary education system.
The MoEC recognized the biggest hurdle facing the success of education in Tanzania was the lack of access to adequate schooling. The most important development in this policy, in an attempt to improve universal access to education, was the abolishment of fees, and other parental commitments associated with primary education. School fees, especially in impoverished areas of the country, made school a luxury for only those who could afford it, and this aspect of the policy ensured that education would no longer be a difficult financial decision for parents.
With the abolition of fees, there were no longer any perceived barriers as to why students may not be able to access primary education, and in the first years of the implementation of the PEDP, there was a rapid boost in enrolment (Woods, 2007). Inherent within the policy are assumptions about the state of primary education within Tanzania, stemming from the recognition of poverty, the ineffective use of existing classrooms and teachers, and the unavailability of adequate structures to accommodate the amount of students before the implementation of the PEDP. With the successful enrolment of all the primary aged children in the country, new problems began to arise. In the years leading up to the PEDP, Tanzanian public schools were already crowded with a teacher to pupil ratio of 1:45 in 2001; with amplified enrolment, the ratio increased to 1:51 in 2005 (Woods, 2007, p. 28). The PEDP does have provisions for expanding and improving the teaching profession, however, these provisions were designed to be implemented alongside the increases in enrolment, and therefore they were not able to keep up. So, in an attempt to achieve the main objective of ensuring that all children have equitable access to a good quality primary education, the access was there, but the quality was debatable. The PEDP document acknowledges that there would be a transition period in terms of classroom composition, numbers of teachers and available spaces, and attempts to address the issue of overcrowding with the proposition of current teachers and classrooms being double-shifted; the very mention of overworking current teachers and overusing already questionable facilities is cause for concern.
The PEDP document specifies “the quality of education is dependent on the capacities of the people and the systems” (URT, 2001b, p. v), and addressing this issue is at the centre of the PEDP, specifically as it pertains to the recruitment and training of teachers. The MoEC proposes the recruitment of additional teachers, and additional training for current teachers and identifies publicity campaigns, good career prospects, financial assistance, and housing as incentives for new teachers and for the redeployment of existing teachers. The MoEC is under the assumption that these strategies will attract a higher quality of candidates, although there is no real evidence to suggest this will be the case. There is little if any acknowledgement of where the new teacher training methods will come from, how long it will take prepare teacher candidates, and by what standard they are measuring the quality of the candidates. There is also inherent in the suggestion that there needs to be more incentives to attract better teachers than they have been able to reach up until this point that the current teaching profession within Tanzania is not of an acceptable level; is this assumption grounded in the inadequacy of the teacher preparation programs, or the candidates themselves? If MoEC believes the inadequacy lies within the teachers themselves, what does that say about the quality of the education programs that are being offered, and the value in implementing professional development programs for existing teachers as the main target of improving the profession? The admission regarding the inadequacy of the system notwithstanding, the implications of the inadequacy of the teachers do not lend itself to high levels of confidence in the success and quality of the PEDP. The PEDP document does, however, recognize the need for leadership, and intends on “training an adequate number of grade A teachers” (URT, 2001b, p. 12), but does not indicate exactly how many will be required for sufficient leadership, nor does it establish the criteria for assessing the standards by which the level of teachers will be measured.
The second major aspect of quality control within the PEDP addresses the availability and usefulness of the current teaching and learning materials. The MoEC recognizes that teachers do not have sufficient qualifications, or adequate pedagogical skills that are academically reliable, or child-centred – which the MoEC have explicitly recognized in this document as effective practice. The PEDP will provide professional development opportunities for existing teachers, while trying to minimize the impact teacher absences will have on schools. Much of the professional development, pre-service and in-service training for teachers will centre on HIV/AIDS education, recognizing this to be a major crisis facing the world, specifically in African countries, in an attempt to increase awareness in students and make the curriculum more meaningful.
The issue with obtaining and maintaining adequate resources comes down to funding. The GDP is anticipated to grow at an annual rate of 6%, which will account for some of the increased need for funding, but the majority of funding is expected to come from external agencies. The MoEC identifies the Capitation Grant within the PEDP document, and that it carries with it the equivalent of US$10 per enrolled child (URT, 2001b, p. 11), as well as identifying strategies for the disbursement of these funds. The document also highlights the need to promote partnerships between public and private sectors in the community in order to sufficiently invest in school materials. The MoEC assumes that there are adequately funded entities within the community to help subsidize the costs of the PEDP, and does not provide a contingency plan if they are unable to secure the necessary monetary resources to see the successful implementation of the PEDP. The reliance on external, private sectors for funding is part of the policy to decentralize public education, and put the power into the hands of local government agencies (LGAs), the independent school districts, and the schools themselves. The issues with this development arises from the authoritative manner in which the MoEC will allocate the values of education in the country, but will not necessarily assist in the provision of funds necessary to realize the implementation of these programs; it is the intention of the MoEC to “decentralize government functions [and absorb] the principles of participation and empowerment into public service” (URT, 2001b, p. 11).
The third objective of the PEDP document is the improvement of management capacity within the educational system, of which the primary intention is to decentralize the schooling authority, where schools and districts can operate autonomously of the national government. The MoEC will act as the policy maker, but the LGAs will be expected to implement the policies. This could result in policies that are primarily symbolic, and that are not relevant to local issues if the MoEC autocratically operates independently from the schools themselves. The concern outlined within the PEDP document identify the need for adequate communication between the LGAs and the MoEC, hopefully to be achieved by the development of a medium of communication that ensures information is received within the necessary contexts and time frames in order to be successful. The mention of this concern suggests that the LGAs are unsure as to whether or not there will be effective two-way communication, or if they will be expected to act out future policies without sufficient implementation strategies.
The MoEC, however, is committed to the success of the PEDP, and has identified the need to improve and reform the LGAs so as to achieve greater efficiency in the implementation of policies. The commitment will come in the form of management training for head teachers, school committees, LGAs, and other members of the communities associated with school operations and emphasize “the acquisition of skills for while school development planning, district education development planning, and national education planning” (URT, 2001b, p. 12). The MoEC believes this decentralization will allow for a greater connection of the schools with the community, which will in turn better inform the public about the PEDP and essentially ensure continued enrolment in primary schools.
The PEDP appears to be a material policy; having detailed information about how to obtain funding for the program, and the allocation of such funds should they be received, as well as a very detailed description of the bureaucratic process that will be followed in overseeing the implementation of the PEDP. The PEDP document also identifies the creation of a Permanent Secretary position to “provide overall strategic leadership for the PEDP implementation” (URT, 2001b, p. 18). In many ways, it seems as though the MoEC is removing itself from the actual implementation of this, and other policies, perhaps in an attempt to ensure that any faults for the shortcomings of the program cannot be attributed directly to the MoEC as they are not involved in the implementation process. The PEDP document also highlights the importance of education, as well as amplifying the role that LGAs and their surrounding communities must play in ensuring the success of the PEDP. While there is careful thought as to what is required for the successful implementation of the program, there are a lot of vague concessions about whether or not the necessities for success can actually be realized. The acquisition of adequate financing is addressed by identifying the need to “establish financial mechanisms and modalities for the plan components” (URT, 2001b, p. 13).
The PEDP aligns itself with major world educational goals such as EFA, and MDGs, which symbolically aligns the policy beliefs of Tanzanian education with the global social imaginary. This is a very strategic development if Tanzania is hoping to assert itself within the neo-liberalist globalization movement, and be accepted as a partner for transnational corporations, and world leaders. The PEDP is developed with careful attention as to how best provide for the citizens of Tanzania, but to believe that the intentions of this policy are entirely altruistic is quite naïve. Much of the funding for the PEDP, and other national programs comes from external sources; in order to continue to receive support from such sources, the MoEC, and the Tanzanian government as a whole, need to ensure these transnational agencies are valuable partners, and investment dollars in Tanzania will prove to be beneficial.
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Globalization has alienated many people around the world, threatening their cultural identities and economic futures, creating conditions for what has been referred to as “clash of civilizations”. Discuss
When I first read Samuel P. Huntington’s The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order (1996) it was October of 2001 in a first year history class, shortly after one of the pivotal landmarks in the discussion about the clash of civilizations, 9/11. I lamented then, as I still do now, that it seems an impossible task to reconcile the nature of Western society with the nature of non-Western society. This clash has become deeply entrenched in the story of our world and was no clearer than during the aftermath of 9/11 when the media showed simultaneous images of people crying in the United States and crowds cheering in the streets of Middle Eastern cities. As I dusted off my worn copy of Huntington to contemplate the alienating force of globalization, I knew that this discussion would not offer solutions but rather would be able to point to some of the more intense juxtapositions that have led to the alienation of many people around the world.
From a historical perspective, Cohen and Kennedy (2007) point to the saga of Islamic-Christian conflict as a “legacy of mutual mistrust and misunderstanding of each other’s cultures and intentions that still endures and has dangerously escalated recently” (p.68). While the borders distinguishing nations have been fluid over time, so have the alignments between nations. Huntington (1996) sees the division among civilizations existing at the macro level as the “West vs. the rest”, specifically identifying Muslim and Asian societies as the rest. Huntington (1996) suggests that a clash exists because of the disharmonious interaction of “Western arrogance, Islamic intolerance, and Sinic assertiveness” (p.183). That is, there are conflicting social imaginaries among civilizations and the related alienation has been largely demonstrated through a variety of media perpetuated stereotypes and criticisms.
Consumer goods from have become recognizable symbols of globalization. The fast food, media and material goods that originate mainly in the United States (and subscribed to by the rest of the West) and make their way into other countries “involves the dissemination of ostensibly American principles, such as freedom and democracy (Galeota, p.272). In a basic sense, Thomas Friedman (1999) is correct in his view that globalization can be represented by a Lexus (a symbol of wealth and prosperity) and an olive tree (a symbol of identity and culture). Many countries desperately want to retain their cultural identity but not at the cost of their economic future and vice versa. Additionally, Huntington (1996) speaks of the double standards unabashedly subscribed to by the West that serve to further alienate the rest. These include the treatment of issues surrounding human rights, free trade and democracy on a country basis as opposed to an issue basis, which by virtue of mass media are made transparent for the world to see. Those who have witnessed globalization shape their economy and culture unfavorably have become alienated by the forces that, in many cases, were once welcome. Scruton (2002) notes “Western habits, Western morals, Western art, music and television are seen not as freedoms but as temptations. And the normal response to temptation is either to give in to it, or to punish those who offer it” (p.133). The imposition of one set of ideals onto a society with conflicting ideology has done little to foster understanding or bridge divides rather, as Scruton (2002) suggests, it has in many cases elicited retaliatory efforts. In the same vein, Cohen and Kennedy (2007) recognize that it is simply not possible to avoid knowledge of other cultures and ways of life but that in comparing them to the local, there are three possible responses: selection, adaptation or resistance. I would argue that as long as there are societies that are resisting, cracks will continue to form between civilizations, particularly in the hotbeds mentioned by Huntington.
The world is seeing how globalization has alienated people through the ways they are resisting. This resistance is apparent in forms other than the terrorism talk that dominates the media. Huntington (1996) notes that as a result of the threat to cultural identity, “non-Western peoples have increasing confidence in and commitment to their indigenous cultures” (p.183). While there is resistance to both negative economic and cultural consequences of globalization, I believe that the threat to local cultures and religious ideologies will be the main driving force of the clash of civilizations. Smith (2006) identifies humiliation as being another characteristic of globalization for many non-Western countries through the global marketplace. He asserts that multinational corporations “dictate their own terms to local ‘partners’ in resource-rich but credit-poor countries” and consequently take what they want, accept little responsibility for long-term social effects and threaten to leave if there is trouble (p.51). I think this demonstrates how interconnected economies have become and in a market driven society, long-term effects on the resource provider and their culture are simply not considered before economics and this will further contribute to the clash.
From a simplistic point of view, the world before advanced transportation and communication facilitated individual nation states existing oblivious to other ways of life. The nature of our progressed society indicates that it is no longer possible to be unaware of different cultures and countries. These global forces, however one wants to define globalization, mean that people are making judgments and distinctions about the heterogeneous world. In this negotiation, people have become alienated either by what they know, what they perceive or what has been imposed upon them. Rather than fading into homogeneity many cultures and nations have resisted, seeking to not only retain their cultural autonomy but attacking those that represent the antithesis of their way of life. It would be myopic to believe that societies will remain untouched, both economically and culturally by globalization but despite this it appears resistance will continue to be the dominant response. Fundamentally, there is a difference in the social imaginary of the world and in that sense, clash will occur. The clash exists along the fault lines of economics, history, politics, culture and religion and ultimately, the greater the disparity, the more the clashes will occur.
References:
Cohen, R., & Kennedy, P. (2007). Global Sociology. New York: NYU Press.
Friedman, T. (1999). The Lexus and the Olive Tree. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
Galeota, J. (2009). Cultural imperialism: An American tradition. In J. Harf, & M. O.
Lombardi, Taking Sides: Clashing Views on Global Issues. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Huntington, S. P. (1996). The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order. New York: Simon & Schuster.
Scruton, R. (2002). The West and the Rest: Globalization and the Terrorist Threat. Wilmington: ISI Books.
Smith, D. (2006). Globalization: the hidden agenda. Cambridge: Polity.