Tanzania - Education



Education is compulsory for children aged 7 to 14. In 1997, there were 4,057,965 students and 109,936 teachers in the 11,290 primary schools. In the same year, there were 234,743 students and 12,496 teachers in secondary schools. The pupil-teacher ratio at the primary level was 40 to 1 in 1999. In the same year, 47% of primary-school-age children were enrolled in school, while 5% of those eligible attended secondary school. The University College in Dar es Salaam opened in 1961 and achieved university status in 1970. The Sokoine University of Agriculture, at Morogoro, was founded in 1984. Other educational facilities in Tanzania include trade schools, the Dar es Salaam Technical College, University College of Lands, Architecture and Survey (Formerly Ardhi Institute of Dar es Salaam), the Institute of Finance Management and a political science college (both in Dar es Salaam), the College of African Wildlife Management at Mweka, the Institute of Development Management at Morogoro, and the College of National Education in Korogwe. The School of Art at Bagamoyo, devoted to preserving traditional cultures, is one of the few national art schools in sub-Saharan Africa. In 1995, an Open University was established to offer distance learning programs to students in remote areas. The first university to be established on Zanzibar, the University of Zanzibar, opened in 1998.

Projected illiteracy rates for 2000 stand at 24.8% (males, 24.8%; females, 15.9%). In 1997/1998, all higher-level institutions had 17,812 students and 1,822 teaching staff. As of 1999, public expenditure on education was estimated at 2.1% of GDP.

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