Schools in United Republic of Tanzania

Gross enrolment overall: 56.4% (2012)

Primary female–male ratio: 1.03:1 (2012)

Secondary female–male ratio: 0.88:1 (2012)

Primary pupil–teacher ratio: 45.6:1 (2012)

Secondary pupil–teacher ratio: 26.4:1 (2012)

There are seven years of compulsory education starting at the age of seven. Primary school comprises seven years and secondary six, with cycles of four and two years. Some 81 per cent of pupils complete primary school (2009). The school year starts in January.

During the government campaign for free universal public education in the 1960s and 1970s, the government nationalised all private schools, whether missionary or NGO-run, to become state-owned public institutions. From 1994 onward, the restrictions on the registration and operation of schools was relaxed, permitting private schools at all levels of education, and the number of these institutions in Tanzania is growing rapidly. The highly valued International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma is offered in four schools in Tanzania, including the International School Moshi, which was the first school to adopt the IB programme in 1977, and the Aga Khan Mzizima Secondary School, which is one of Tanzania’s leading non-governmental schools.