ALE Country Profile
Tanzania
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The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MoEST) manages ALE through the President's Office - Regional Administration and Local Government (PO-RALG). It also oversees technical and vocational education and training (TVET).
According to the 2022 census, the adult illiteracy rate (aged 15 and above) was 20%. In 2015, the number was 22.1%, highlighting the scale of the challenge of bringing education to a growing population which has increased by more than 20% in the same period. In 2022, there were over 329,000 school dropouts, further adding to the numbers that require adult and non-formal education.
Adult and non-formal education (ANFE) is recognised as having a key role to play in Tanzania’s development, but the sector still faces a number of challenges in relation to funding and infrastructure. Access for adults in rural areas, accompanied by the allocation of skilled facilitators, could go a long way towards reducing illiteracy nationally. Integration of adult learning and education (ALE) with the broader education system also needs to be improved.
To promote ALE, the government implements various programmes. Principal among these are the Integrated Community Based Adult Education programme (ICBAE) and Complementary Basic Education in Tanzania (COBET), started in 1993 and 1999 respectively. These programmes marked a shift to more learner-centred and community-based approaches. A review of ICBAE was carried out in 2023, drawing attention to complementary areas such as relevance, TVET, employability, soft skills and gender. The Integrated Programme for Out of School Adolescents (IPOSA) focuses on providing a second chance to those who ended their education prematurely.
The Education and Training Policy (2023) updates the Policy of 2014, and places more emphasis on areas such as employability, digital literacy and critical thinking. The Policy also aims to address deficits in training and access. The National Adult Literacy and Mass Education Rolling Strategy (NALMERS) is another key document that aims to enhance quality and access in the ALE sector.
The MoEST carries out its ALE mandate with the support of various actors. Key among these is the Institute of Adult Education (IAE), who help oversee the quality of ALE in the country, as well as providing training for practitioners and learners of ALE at different levels.
Civil society actors, such as the Tanzania Education Network/Mtandao wa Elimu Tanzania (TEN/MET), a national network of 184 education CSOs and NGOs, also supports the sector through promotion of ALE nationwide.
Karibu Tanzania Organisation (KTO) contributes through its Elimu Haina Mwisho programme, focusing on vocational training and life skills for women, and working with 55 Folk Development Colleges (FDCs) throughout the country. These colleges were established by the government in 1975 following the Swedish model to provide more responsive ALE.
DVV international has been playing a crucial role in supporting the ALE work of MoEST in policy development and national programme implementation since 2021. Community Learning Centres (CLCs) are one of the key innovations that DVV International is helping to introduce in Tanzania, with pilot centres in four districts of Kibaha, Kongwa, Kisarawe, and Mpwapwa. CLCs are one-stop centres for the provision of non-formal ALE, providing essential support for local service delivery and socio-economic transformation.
Through the provision of technical and financial support to existing programmes, DVV International is helping to build capacity for multi-sectoral management, coordination and ALE system strengthening. You can read more about DVV International’s Tanzanian partners and ongoing programmes here and watch a short video here.
Read about the vision of Mwalimu Julius Nyerere for adult education in Tanzania through the eyes of 10 authors in Reigniting Hope: 50 years of Adult Education in Tanzania.
Please contact us if you find any mistakes on this page: info@mojaafrica.net
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