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Katavi gets 3.28bn/- for strengthening pre-primary, primary education

TANGANYIKA District Council (TDC) in Katavi Region has received more than 3.28bn/- to strengthen pre-primary and primary education in the district during 2022/2023 fiscal year.

According to a breakdown, some 2.28bn/ is from Boost Primary Student Learning (BOOST), while the government has injected 1.0bn/-

Updating journalists, the District Executive Director (DED), Mr Shaban Juma said the I.0bn/ – fund from the government will be spent on constructing new schools and eight classrooms at Kafisha Kambanga, Ifinsi and Myagala primary schools where each will be receiving two classrooms.

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“Four new schools will be built, which are Shalula, Kasekese, Kawambwa and Lake Tanganyika primary schools of which each will cost 200m/-, while each classroom will cost 25m/-,” added the DED.

BOOST is part of the Education Programme for Results (EPforR II), an innovative, results-based financing programme now in its second phase and supported by the UK Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), the World Bank, the government of Sweden (SIDA), the Global Partnership for Education (GPE), and the Korean International Cooperation Agency (KOICA).

According to Mr Juma, the council has 27 wards, out of which 11 are beneficiaries.

As part of the council’s effort to strengthen pre-primary education, 32 classrooms will be built under the BOOST programme at a cost of 182m/.

The BOOST programme will also include the construction of 21 new toilet pits and staff quarters.

A World Bank press release issued two years ago in Washington,  emphasizes that  BOOST will support the Government’s Education Sector Development Plan over the next five years by providing results-based financing to catalyze reforms and implement interventions in three main areas.

It aims to strengthen Tanzania’s education system in order to improve quality, equity and access in the public education system by supporting the provision of safer and learning-conducive environments for pre-primary and primary students, assisting schools in meeting minimum infrastructure requirements and implementing a Primary Safe School Programme (PSSP).

According to the statement, this component, which was developed in collaboration with the government and other development partners, will also support the construction of at least 12,000 classrooms and associated facilities, primarily in vulnerable rural communities.

The programme also aims to improve teacher competencies and classroom teaching quality by supporting the nationwide implementation of Tanzania’s Teacher Continuous Professional Development policy through a sustainable school-based approach complemented by a network of at least 800 primary hub schools equipped with ICT-smart classrooms and a Learning Management System that provides digitized teaching and learning resources.

This same programme also focuses on enhancing education financing, increasing community empowerment and strengthening the oversight of local government authorities in improving the quality of education service delivery.

BOOST will also strengthen the capacities of the implementing agencies—the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, as well as the President’s Office, Regional Administration and Local Government. It will also work closely with core education, and technical agencies like the Tanzania Institute of Education, the National Examination Council of Tanzania, and the Teacher Service Commission.

The new programme, according to Xiaoyan Liang, World Bank Lead Education Specialist and Task Team Leader (TTL) for BOOST, carefully balances system strengthening with the direct provision to fill important service delivery gaps, particularly in rural and vulnerable communities.

“It builds on the strong foundation laid by the previous programme for results,” Xiaoyan was quoted as saying, adding that “it goes beyond to expand access to pre-primary education, leverage ICT for teaching and learning and strengthen decentralized education governance.”