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History The history of the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training, like the history of Tanzania itself, is characterized by distinct political and economic changes in different periods. The major periods are:
Pre-colonial and early colonial periods During the Pre-colonial period, the system of formal and informal education was intended to create a ‘good’ African. The instructors were invariably elders in the community. The system inserted in the minds of those taught, the virtues, manners and the whole life they were to lead. Education to equip the learners with literacy skills was introduced between 1860s and 1870s by voluntary agencies. The first government school was opened in 1893 and gradually the number of schools grew to 1800 by 1918. Schools owned by voluntary agency schools out-numbered those owned by the German Government. However, there was no co-operation between the two. Schooling virtually collapsed during the First World War period (1914-1918). The Mandate Rule period During the period of the Mandate Rule (1919-1945), progress was made in education sector. In 1920, the first Director of Education was appointed and several central schools and teacher training centres were opened. In 1927, the first Education Ordinance was passed. Among others, it forging cooperation between the colonial government and the missionaries. This was also the time when an Advisory Committee for African Education was established. By the end of this period, there were 92 Government and Native Authority schools and 3044 mission village schools. The trusteeship period During the Trusteeship period the Colonial Government tried half-heartedly to patch up discriminatory practices by expanding the responsibilities of Local Authorities over education. It is during this period when the Tanganyika African National Union (TANU) pressed the colonial government to open more technical schools and to create a separate ministry for education. Post independence period The education system after independence changed drastically compared with the system under the previous epochs. It assumed national characteristics of an independent state with more of the indigenous Africans controlling the system as well as the curriculum. The period was based on quantitative development plans and in line with political aspirations of the ruling party. Basically, the plans were aiming ant producing skilled manpower for the different social and economic sectors of the independent state. There was been massive and rapid expansion of schools and abolition of a racial system. There were also deliberate efforts and strategies to attain universal primary education in line with the Education for All commitments without jeopardizing quality. The sequence of the education system management and notable events just before and after independence, is as shown below
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