Emerging Issues On Provision Of Free Quality Primary Education In Tanzania: A Case Of Dodoma Municipality

ABSTRACT

This study examined the emerging issues in the provision of free quality primary education in Tanzania where Dodoma Municipality was used as a platform. The study is based on the Classical Liberal Theory of equal opportunity. Specifically, the study investigated the teacher‘s perception on provision of free primary education, the strategies used by the Government to implement the free primary education. Finally, the study proposes the way towards effective practice of free education. A cross-sectional design was adopted to generate data from 110 respondents who were purposively sampled. The data were generated through documentary reviews, questionnaires, interviews protocols and observational checklist. The study found out that teachers perceived free primary education differently. Some of the teachers had a positive attitude while others had a negative attitude. The identified strategies for its implementation were the provision of capitation grants to schools, facilities, and good management skills, among others. Moreover, the free primary education is faced by a number of challenges including, but not limited to, the shortage of teachers, inadequate physical facilities, financial management and inadequate funding, inadequate school facilities, poor learning environment, poor parental supervision, lack of proper monitoring and evaluation. It is hereby recommended that some major policy like capitation grants and parent supervision need to be put in place to improve the implementation of free primary education.