USAID/Tanzania Tusome Pamoja Program Pre-Primary Inception Report, Draft

The quality of teaching and learning in public pre-primary schools and the support to teachers and students is limited. The pre-primary teaching and learning situation in Mainland Tanzania and Zanzibar varies, thus requiring two strategic plans for support to pre-primary that are bespoke for Zanzibar and Mainland Tanzania, in spite of the similarities in need. The Revolutionary Government of Zanzibar and the Government of the United Republic of Tanzania can benefit from Tusome Pamoja support in several areas. These include the development, testing, finalization, and roll-out of a pre-primary curriculum, the development of teaching and learning materials consistent with the curriculum, the design and structuring of a national pre-primary teacher professional development strategy, the implementation of pre-primary teacher professional development, and the design, development, and implementation of an annual review of pre-primary curriculum, materials, and teacher professional development. The approach to pilot in 25 schools in both regions in year one does not provide much leverage for USAID to positively impact pre-primary policy and national programming. It is recommended that Tusome Pamoja provides support to all Mtwara pre-primary teachers and classrooms and a proportion of Zanzibar pre-primary teachers and classrooms, subject to the extent of development and implementation partner joint support. The pre-primary teaching and learning situation in Mtwara, Mainland Tanzania, was assessed through a classroom observation tool and interviews. The findings indicated that the quality of teaching and learning in public pre-primary schools is limited, and the support to teachers and students is inadequate. The assessment also revealed that the pre-primary curriculum is not well-structured, and the teaching and learning materials are not consistent with the curriculum. The assessment of the pre-primary teaching and learning situation in Mtwara and Zanzibar revealed that there is a need for knowledge/understanding as to the impact of pre-primary learning outcomes in relation to the 3Rs to inform Tanzanian policy makers and others of what are the key variables for positive early childhood learning and development.