Other HakiElimu Publications

Skip to most recent publications in this category

(To download this document you need Acrobat Reader. To download Acrobat Reader click here)

Three Years OF PEDP Implementation:
Key Findings from Government Reviews July 2005

The Primary Education Development Plan (PEDP) is one of the most ambitious reforms undertaken in Tanzania in recent years. It aims to provide access to quality education for all, with specific institutional measures to ensure increase participation and better accountability.

To download your free copy click here

The Living and Working Conditions of Teachers in Tanzania

This study is the first of its kind in over a decade, jointly conducted by the Tanzania Teachers Union (TTU) and HakiElimu. It is based on research undertaken in seven districts of the country – one from each of the seven educational zones of Tanzania – with careful attention to ensuring sociocultural diversity. The approach included both quantitative and qualitative methods, with particular emphasis given to the voices of teachers. Teachers are at the heart of education. Teachers – and their living and working conditions – need to be at the heart of education reforms. This study is intended to contribute to the debate on how this can be done.

To download your free copy click here

Access to Information in Tanzania: Still a Challenge.
A research report

Access to information is essential to democracy and development. This study assesses access to information from governmental and non-governmental sources in Tanzania. It is based on a systematic monitoring of responses to over 100 actual requests for information. While its sample is too small to arrive at definitive conclusions, the study provides a valuable indicative picture of the state of access to information in Tanzania.

Article 18 has been amended by the 14th Amendment (2005) of the Tanzanian Constitution. It now reads as follows (our translation):
“18. Every person:

• has the right to freedom of opinion and expression;
• has the right to seek, receive and impart information regardless of national frontiers;
• has the freedom to communicate and the right to do so without interference; and
• has the right to be informed at all times of various events of importance to the lives and activities of the people and also of  issues of importance to society.”

To download your free copy click here

What can people know? Access to information in Tanzania. Findings of a nationwide opinion poll.

These are some of the questions addressed in this report. It is a compilation of findings from an opinion poll on access to information in Tanzania. The poll was undertaken by Research and Education for Democracy (REDET) of the University of Dar es Salaam, in collaboration with HakiElimu. The field work was done in September 2005, shortly before the national elections.

To downloads the cover page click on the picture and to download the inside page click here

Making Education Work 2

‘Making Education Work’ is a set of two books on lessons learned from HakiElimu’s Community Governance Program (2002 – 2005) in four districts in Tanzania. The books contain inspiring examples of teachers, parents and pupils working together to transform their schools and communities.

Write to pub@hakielimu.org to order free copies of the first book, ‘Making Education Work: Lessons from Four Communities.’ Click below to download a copy of the second book, ‘Making Education Work: Lessons from Serengeti and Ukerewe.’

HakiElimu Inapotosha Elimu?
Mkusanyiko wa Habari, Makala, Tahariri, Barua na Matamko

In late 2005, shortly before the national elections, the then Ministry of Education and Culture issued a directive ‘interdicting’ HakiElimu from undertaking and publishing any studies regarding Tanzania schools. The Ministry justified its decision by claiming that HakiElimu activities were harmful, belittled government efforts and disparaged the image of education. The decision spurred a spirited public debate on education, democracy and the role of civil society in holding government accountable.

This book is a compilation of news stories, features, editorials, cartoons, letters and statements on this matter. It raises key questions about government-civil society relations, freedom of expression and the meaning of education progress in Tanzania.

	Special Edition for Friends of Education

Redefining Quality Education in Tanzania: From Inputs to Capabilities 

The central challenge for basic education in Tanzania today is to redefine and promote quality for all. However, while people agree that quality matters, there is little consensus on what this means. What is an ‘educated’ person? What happens in an effective classroom? What does a good school look like? How should the notion of quality be conceived? How should it be measured? This report addresses these issues.

What has been Achieved in Primary Education?
Key Findings from Government Reviews

For more than five years now, Tanzania has been engaged in a major effort to improve the country’s primary school education system. The Primary Education Development Plan (PEDP), begun in 2002, has undoubtedly been the most significant intervention in the primary education sub-sector in the last two decades.

The first phase of PEDP implementation has drawn to a close, and the second phase of PEDP is underway. What can be learned from implementation of PEDP thus far? Has implementation of PEDP achieved its goals? What lessons have we learned that can strengthen primary education?

In July 2005, HakiElimu synthesized key findings from Government review from the first three years of PEDP implementation (2002-2004) into a report that was made publicly available. This report provides an updated review of the key findings by including data from the years 2005-2006.

Is Secondary Education Progressing?
Key Findings from Government Reviews of SEDP Implementation

In July 2004, the Government of Tanzania launched the Secondary Education Development Plan (SEDP), covering the five year period from 2004 to 2009. The plan aims to overhaul secondary education across the country.

SEDP represents a critical move. Implementation of the Primary Education Development Plan (PEDP) has substantially increased the numbers of children completing primary school. These higher enrollment numbers have created an upward pressure for spaces in secondary schools. In addition, the SEDP operationalizes key policy commitments that identify education as critical to the country’s overall economic and social development.

How well is SEDP faring in practice? Is it achieving its targets? While it is still too early to track longerterm effects, recently released data and reviews from the Government and from Governmentcommissioned reviews provide useful information about initial progress.

This report examines the data and synthesizes key findings in an accessible manner. Evidence and findings from these reports are compared with the objectives and targets outlined in the original SEDP plan from 2004. Because implementation is in its early stages, findings should be viewed as indicative rather than definitive; markers that can inform and shape future implementation.

More Access to Information in Tanzania?
A follow-up study

This report follows up on a study conducted in 2004 and published in 2005 by HakiElimu, Research on Poverty Alleviation (REPOA), and the Legal and Human Rights Centre (LHRC). The main purpose of this study was to establish whether there have been some improvements in the level of public information accessibility two years after the similar study, the findings of which were not impressive. In addition, this study sought to establish the main factors which determine the levels of responsiveness by selected institutions.

The study design was based on making information requests to selected governmental and non-governmental institutions. A total of 16 requestors based in 6 regions of Tanzania Mainland were involved. The total of 256 requests were made by requestors both verbally and via written forms.

The report concludes, in similar tone as the previous study, that access to information is still poor in Tanzania. It recommends using enforceable codes and regulations for improved information provision, designing and implementing incentives for inducing organizations to be more transparent and more open, and facilitating and supporting institutions to complement their traditional channels of communication with modern ones.

Primary and Secondary Education Development Plan Briefs

Achievements in Primary Education: Enrolment versus Educational Quality?	Is Secondary Education Progressing? Access and Educational Quality
Miaka Minne ya Mpango wa Maendeleo ya Elimu ya Msingi (MMEM) Inatuambia Nini?	Miaka Miwili ya Utekelezaji wa Mpango wa Maendeleo ya Elimu ya Sekondari (MMES) Inatuambia Nini?

OpEd Compilations: Kauli Mbadala & Hard Questions

Information about policy is usually found in dense documents that are not readily accessible to the public. But policy is about people, and people have the right to understand, analyze and debate policy issues.

The Hard Questions column in The Citizen (and Kauli Mbadala in Mwananchi) seek to meet this challenge. The columns provide a space for more people - both HakiElimu and partners - to contribute to public debate on critical policy issues. Columns have discussed issues related to education, health, development, citizen engagement, governance and democracy. Each raises key questions and offers a fresh angle for thinking through persistent challenges. The column embodies a central democratic tenet - that public policy and practice is better when subject to public scrutiny and debate.

Hard Questions Compilation	Mkusanya wa Kauli Mbadala

Government Promises III December 2007 marks exactly two years that the Fourth Phase Government has been in office. This Government came into office on a ticket of “new zeal and new vigour,” promising “Maisha Bora kwa kila Mtanzania,” or “Better Life for every Tanzanian.”Over the past two years, the Government has made a series of promises as to how it tends to translate this vision into action. As the two years elapse, it is relevant to document and assess whether the Government is keeping its promises. Is it delivering results? In a democratic society, the actions of leaders need to be monitored by the citizens. Credit needs to be given where it is due, and explanations demanded where the reality does not keep up with promises.