USAID partners with the Government of Tanzania to improve reading and arithmetic in the early grades.

USAID

Education is a key component of the Government of Tanzania’s development agenda. The country has made significant gains in access and equity in primary education, with girls’ enrollment close to parity with boys’ at all primary education levels. Despite these successes, many challenges persist related to retention, completion, and transition to secondary education, as well as quality of education, actual learning outcomes, and the relevance of skills that graduates bring to the economy. Many children enrolled in school drop out before completing primary education, especially girls. Furthermore, the 2013 national early grade reading assessment found that only 8 percent of standard two pupils were able to read with grade-level comprehension. At higher levels of the education system, the situation is even worse: the net enrollment rate for lower secondary education is 33.4 percent, and for upper secondary education only 3.2 percent.

USAID/Tanzania’s flagship education program, Tusome Pamoja (Let’s Read Together), supports improved student outcomes in reading Kiswahili, the local language, for grades one through four. By partnering with the Government of Tanzania to resolve policy and institutional issues, the program works with key stakeholders on teacher guides, student materials, and the training needed to use them; providing coaching and mentoring for teachers; and collecting data that will guide future decision-making and educational reform. Education advocacy and awareness components focus on creating an appreciation of literacy, while guiding communities and parents on how to support reading in their communities, schools, and households. Launched in 2016, Tusome Pamoja aims to benefit an estimated 1.4 million children from 3,000 primary schools over the five-year program.