TaRL approach hailed for boosting literacy, numeracy skills in Tanga region

TANGA: THE Teaching at the Right Level (TaRL) approach that groups children according to their actual level of understanding, rather than simply their age or class has shown positive results in helping pupils overcome challenges in reading, writing and numeracy in primary schools across Tanga Region.

TaRL enables teachers to provide targeted instruction based on each child’s learning needs, helping them build essential foundational skills.

Speaking on the sidelines of the Sixth African Curriculum Association Conference, TaRL Project Coordinator Alex Sigalla said an assessment conducted during the implementation of the programme in schools in Tanga has recorded an increase in the number of children who were able to master basic skills after undergoing intervention using the approach.

Mr Sigalla said the challenge of basic literacy and numeracy is not unique to Tanzania, but is also evident in various parts of the world.

Reciting statistics from international studies conducted by UNICEF, he said more than 40 per cent of children worldwide face challenges in reading, writing and numeracy.

He said that in Africa, studies he cited, including those released by the World Bank in 2022, showed that more than 80 to 90 per cent of children aged between six and 10 in some parts of sub-Saharan Africa faced challenges in these basic skills.

In Tanzania, Mr Sigalla said local learning assessments conducted by experts from various institutions, including Uwezo in 2025, has shown that out of every 100 children, approximately 60 faced challenges in reading, writing and numeracy.

He said this situation has prompted the implementation of TaRL, with the aim of bridging the gap by teaching children according to their actual level of understanding.

During the implementation of TaRL in Tanga City, Mr Sigalla said an initial assessment involving about 25,617 children from standard three to standard six found that more than 4,200 children are facing challenges in basic literacy and numeracy.

However, he said that after the children underwent intervention using the TaRL approach, between 80 and 85 per cent were able to master the basic skills in which they had previously faced difficulties.

According to him, the key difference with TaRL is that children are not taught solely according to their class or age, but are placed in groups based on their actual level of understanding.

He said this enables teachers to use teaching approaches that correspond to a child’s level, even when the child is in a higher class but still has difficulties with basic skills.

“You can have a standard six pupil who still has basic difficulties reading syllables. In terms of their level of understanding, that child may be at a level similar to that of a child in pre-primary or standard one,” he said.

He said that during implementation of the programme, children were grouped according to their level of understanding and taught during designated sessions. After the sessions, they were assessed to measure their progress and determine the next stage of learning.

Sigala said TaRL also uses games, songs and participatory activities that make the learner the central participant in the learning process, while the teacher acts as a facilitator.

He added that collaboration among stakeholders, local government authorities and the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology is important to ensure the sustainability of the approach and enable it to reach more children.

A TaRL expert teacher from Changa Primary School in Tanga, Batuli Msuya, said the approach is simple and affordable to implement because it uses teaching and learning materials that can be found in the children’s everyday surroundings.

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“The cost of producing these materials is very low because we use things that are readily available in our environment, including items that would otherwise be discarded,” she said.

Ms Msuya also called on teachers to prepare themselves to adopt and use the approach creatively in order to help children master basic skills in reading, writing and numeracy.