Understanding Tanzania’s Basic Education System: A Diagnostic Insight Note

The purpose of this research insight note is to describe the basic education system in Tanzania using a systems approach. This analysis distills findings from a larger research exercise, the RISE Tanzania Systems Diagnostic, conducted between 2019 and 2022. The analysis presented here is intended to be accessible to multiple audiences: researchers, government officials, and other parties with an interest in the functioning of the system. After a brief background on the education system and an overview of recent reforms, we examine accountability relationships between important actors in the system: citizens, high-level ministry officials, government executives, teachers, and school managers using a framework proposed in Prichett (2015) and adapted in Spivack (2021). We believe a more nuanced understanding of the basic education system can help policymakers, civil society members, and others design reforms and interventions with a greater chance of success.