Transforming Learning in Tanzania: the Potential of Competency-Based Education
East African governments are reshaping education to equip youth with the skills they need to build livelihoods, gain employment and drive economic growth.
One country on this journey is Tanzania, which is currently undertaking ambitious reforms to transform learning through competency-based education. The government recently signed a six-year memorandum of understanding establishing Educate! as technical advisers on the new secondary school subject of Business Studies, which is expected to be a core required subject for all three million youth in lower secondary.
Dr. Aneth Komba, Director General of the Tanzania Institute of Education and Kamanda Kamiri, Educate!'s Regional Director of Partnerships, sign the MoU.
East African countries are embracing competency-based education (CBE) to align what young people learn in class with the demands of today’s labor market. The vision for African policymakers is that students develop essential skills for dignified employment – including critical thinking, problem-solving, communication, and creativity.
The East African Community (EAC) Protocol of 2012 has been instrumental in guiding member states to implement competency-based reforms to increase quality learning across the region. Countries such as Rwanda and Kenya have made significant strides, along with Tanzania, which has now embarked on wide-ranging reforms.
“These reforms are designed to equip our young people with the skills they need to succeed in the workplace, whether they choose to be employed or to become entrepreneurs,” said Professor Adolf MKenda, Minister of Education, Science, and Technology, Tanzania.
Reversing Learning Losses across Africa
Leaders across Africa are tackling learning losses tied to the COVID-19 pandemic. Their aim is to better support the continent’s growing youth population, amid concerns that Africa lags behind on key indicators such as the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal 4 – to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.
In Eastern and Southern Africa, up to 89% of ten-year-old children are unable to read and understand a short text and 29% of youth are not in education, employment, or training. Enrollment rates in secondary education in these countries are also significantly below global averages, with young women particularly at risk of failing to complete secondary school.
Tanzania has made significant efforts to improve literacy rates, but is taking further action to address broader education challenges through the new Education and Training policy of 2023. The nation’s reforms place the emphasis on competency-based learning in primary school and formalize the integration of vocational and technical training in secondary school.
These changes aim to make education more relevant, increase enrollment and improve retention, particularly in secondary education. Additional changes are also expected in the areas of curriculum design, assessment methods, and teacher professional development.
Rwandan students showcase products from their student business club to Tanzanian education officials during a knowledge exchange visit organized by Educate! Led by Professor Carolyne Nombo, Permanent Secretary to Tanzania’s Ministry of Education, the visit was part of efforts to share ideas and best practices around CBE.
Introducing Business Studies in Lower Secondary
With a population of over 67 million and some 77% of citizens under 35, Tanzania is Africa’s fifth largest nation. This context presents a significant opportunity to empower youth and drive economic development, provided students are prepared for life after school.
To harness this potential and as part of the CBE reforms, the government is introducing Business Studies as a compulsory subject in lower secondary education, slated to roll out in 2025. Educate! has been assisting with the development of the curriculum, which will eventually impact over three million students.
The Business Studies curriculum will use Skills Lab, an evidence-based, active learning approach where students engage in practical activities such as case studies, role play, games and projects. The focus of the new subject will be on acquiring transferable skills and business skills, through hands-on experiences including market research, product development, financial planning and customer service. Students can even start real businesses in student business clubs.
“Educate! has come at the right time as we improve the secondary education curriculum between the first to the fourth form (lower secondary),” says Dr. Aneth Komba, Director General of Tanzania Institute of Education. “Together we are launching the new subject of Business Studies, which is compulsory for all secondary students.”
Why CBE Matters
CBE develops the skills and behaviors needed to learn, work, and thrive in the 21st century, moving away from a traditional focus on rote-memorization of facts.
UNESCO highlights that a competency-based curriculum emphasizes what learners are expected to do, rather than what they are expected to know. Through practical tasks, projects, and real-world problem-solving, students learn to apply skills to everyday situations.
It’s thought that education systems adopting a CBE approach increase student engagement and retention rates.
Regular project-based assessment plays an important role in tracking and understanding student development.
Complementing traditional exams with continuous assessment supports teachers to better tailor learning experience to students’ needs, skill levels, and abilities.
Partnering to Transform Learning: Memorandum of Understanding with Educate!
In accordance with the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), Educate! will assist the Tanzania Institute of Education in building a Teacher Continuous Professional Development model (TCPD) for Business Studies teachers.
Known locally as Mafunzo Endelevu ya Walimu Kazini or ‘A Guide to Implementing Continuous On-the-Job Training for Teachers’ (MEWAKA), the TCPD model focuses on in-service training that provides teachers with the updated skills and knowledge to improve their teaching practices, in turn enhancing student learning outcomes.
MEWAKA will support Business Studies teachers through communities of learning, where they can meet regularly to exchange best practice for using CBE tools and pedagogy. Teaching methods will directly address youth employment and work readiness.
The MoU also covers strengthening the digital literacy skills of teachers. Educate! will support integrating the use of learning management systems within secondary education and preparing Business Studies teachers to use technology to plan, deliver, and assess learning.
Building on Evidence to Support Tanzania’s Reform
Drawing on years of experience as a trusted partner to governments, Educate! is engaging in an extensive co-design process with policymakers in Tanzania, school leaders, national education officials, and teachers to make CBE a reality.
We are leveraging lessons from Rwanda, where we collaborated with the government to support CBE implementation in the national education system using a three-stage strategy. The first stage encompassed the curriculum and related policy, the second involved teacher training and management, and the third and final stage covered continuous and project-based assessment.
Following a similar strategy in our partnership with the Tanzania Institute of Education, we conducted user research with students and teachers to gather their suggestions and feedback on a new Business Studies syllabus. This was in addition to a mini-pilot of the subject across six schools in three different districts, involving 24 teachers. This pilot helped test the proposed teacher training framework and assess the impact of active teaching methods.
Teachers who participated in the pilot reported that the Skills Lab pedagogy significantly improved student engagement and understanding, as well as making lessons more fun. As with any reform, there will be challenges moving forward but we will continue learning alongside the government of Tanzania through further pilots to ensure a solid foundation for the rollout of their CBE reform.
Scaling Skills and Impact to Millions of Students
Tanzania’s ambitious learning reforms are a testament to the government’s commitment to quality education and to equipping young people with the tools they need to succeed in today’s labor market. Given Tanzania's size and growing population, the implementation of the 2023 Education and Training Policy is an exciting development in the region’s movement towards CBE.
As we celebrate the country’s efforts and the signing of the new MoU, Educate! is eager to contribute to system-level changes so that every young Tanzanian develops the skills to build a livelihood and pursue their dreams. In the words of the Tanzanian slogan, "KAZI IENDELEE," (Let the work continue).