Tanzania 21st Century Basic Education Program (TZ21) Project Year 1, Quarter 1 Report

Funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in partnership with the Government of Tanzania (GOT), the program has a budget of $48.927 million and is implemented under a Cooperative Agreement No. 621-A-00-11-00007-00 awarded to Creative Associates International, Inc. The program's overarching goal is to provide technical and material support to the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training (MOEVT) in the mainland and Zanzibar to enhance the teaching and learning process through the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) as an enabler and good pedagogy. The program also aims to ensure a meaningful use of educational data by communities, schools, districts, regions, and national MOEVTs to enhance decision-making processes leading to improved learning in reading, mathematics, and science in lower primary education. The program's work plan for the first quarter of the first year focused on developing a common understanding of project goals among government counterparts, TZ21 partners, Education Global Development Alliance (EGDA) partners, and other stakeholders. Efforts were also made to establish project operational offices in-country and promote an agenda to describe and define the internal and external linkages of the project in the context of coordination, technical, and managerial dynamics introduced by the TZ21, EGDA partners, and host government. During the reporting period, January 1 to March 31, 2011, the program made progress in implementing the approved work plan for quarter one. The program's prime contractor, Creative Associates International, Inc., established project operational offices in-country, including a hub office in Dar es Salaam and sub-offices in Mtwara and Zanzibar. The program also recruited long-term project technical and support staff, including a Project Director, Deputy Chief of Party, and Program Associates. The program's monitoring and evaluation plan is still being developed, and the reporting period has been mainly devoted to project start-up activities. However, the program has identified several cross-cutting issues, including gender, public-private partnerships, and sustainability mechanisms, which will be addressed throughout the program's implementation. The program's stakeholders include the Government of Tanzania, the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training, and other partners, including EGDA and international sub-recipients. The program's management and staffing structure includes a Project Director, Deputy Chief of Party, and Program Associates, who will be responsible for implementing the program's work plan and achieving its goals. The program's planned activities for the next quarter (April 1 through June 30, 2011) include continuing to establish project operational offices in-country, promoting an agenda to describe and define the internal and external linkages of the project, and developing a monitoring and evaluation plan. The program will also continue to recruit long-term project technical and support staff and establish a project hub office in Dar es Salaam and sub-offices in Mtwara and Zanzibar.