ICT Policy for Basic Education in Tanzania: Challenges, Strategies and Prospects

In developing countries, ICT is playing an important role in economic growth and nation-building. New emerging technological changes have made services enabled by ICT a pre-requisite for development of the education sector because it enables teachers, students and administrators to share and exchange information and knowledge. ICT is vital for the sustainable development of education particularly in developing countries like Tanzania where awareness and development is taking place after independence. On the guidelines of World Bank and UNESCO, many developing countries have formulated and implemented ICT Policy for education. To this course, several initiatives have been designed, devised and developed by the Government of Tanzania. The ICT Policy for Basic Education (2007) is a set of guidelines desired to position Tanzania at the universal level for which education is being implemented with concerted efforts for pre-primary, primary, secondary and vocational education. One of the major motivations for drawing this policy has been the desire to transform Tanzania from a knowledge driven society to information and digital driven society. This article delves the role played by ICT in the education sector particularly at the primary level and brings out the objectives, issues, and challenges in basic education that have been done so far in Tanzania. Although significant improvements have taken place in Tanzania, a lot more has to be done in primary level of education if it needs to compete favourably at an African and international stage.