ICT Policy for Education - Tanzania

Applying ICT to empower education, and learning about ICT in schools, are considered an asset to overcome the challenges facing the education sector. Together with the Commission for Science and Technology (COSTECH) and in close collaboration with the Ministry of Education, The Swedish International Development Cooperation (Sida) and a number of key stakeholders in the sector, IICD facilitated a process of participatory ‘policy advice’ formulation. The process started in 2005. The advice, on how to use ICT to reach Secondary Education Development Programme (SEDP) objectives, was finalised in April and officially handed over to the Ministry in May 2006.

The multi-stakeholder process resulted in an ICT guideline (or ‘White Paper’) called ‘Thinking through the use of ICT in Secondary Education in Tanzania - Deliberations of a multi stakeholder work group on education.’ It was submitted to the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training in 2006. It has been an input to the national ICT policy for education, launched in 2007.

By mid 2008, funds were allocated from the national budget by the Ministry of Education to equip secondary schools with computer labs. The start up will be on a small scale, but the government intends to gradually enlarge the schools involved.

Key objective is to formulate a guideline ( or 'White Paper') for a national ICT policy for education through a multi-stakeholder approach.

In public sectors like education, the development of an ICT policy is essential to develop the institutional mechanisms to incorporate ICT in the curricula, the teaching and learning practices and in the financing of the sector. Lasting ICT applications only seem to be possible if embedded in a formal framework.

Read more about IICD’s approach towards Education.

Read more about IICD’s Tanzania Country Programme.

The strategising process was intensive and paced over time, yet essential to allow informed decision making and to develop an acceptance and consensus on the “what” and “how” of the use of ICT in education.

A white paper called ‘Thinking through the use of ICT in Seconday Education in Tanzania - Deliberations of a multi stakeholder work group on education’ was submitted to the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training in 2006, and has been an input to the national ICT policy for education, launched in 2007.