Local Government and Households in Primary Education in Tanzania: Some lessons for Reform

The roles of the formal and informal involvement of local governments, local elites, teachers and households in decision making about primary education in selected rural districts are analysed, as are some of the outcomes of this involvement. Lessons for reforms with respect to decentralization, financing and school choice are drawn. It is concluded that local-level actors, particularly better-off households and teachers, have significant influence on primary education at the local level. Moreover, poverty rather than dissatisfaction with the quality of primary schooling may explain the low enrolment ratios in Tanzania. Finally, it is concluded that both demand- and supply-driven responses to the problems of primary education are needed and must be based on country specific analyses [author]