Teacher Education Support Project (TESP)

Background and Rationale

The Teacher Education Support Project (TESP) is a five-year program with an investment of about CND $53 million (TZS 84 billion) provided by government Canada. The project was developed with and at the request of MoEST to support the long-term training of new teachers, through the national teacher training college system. The project will focus on improving the core training that teachers receive at the 35 Government teacher colleges, all of which provide two-year residential training at certificate and diploma qualification for primary and secondary schools. Two partners jointly implement the TESP. The Government of Tanzania’s Ministry of Education and a Canadian Implementing Agency to provide technical services to the MoEST to deliver on the project results. The main issues, which prompted the development of TESP, are highlighted. These issues are not strictly separated but rather connected and each perpetuating poor learning outcomes in respective levels. The issues are:

1. Under qualified primary school leavers transit to secondary level education with inadequate foundations of education outcomes, unsatisfactory due to teaching and learning environments (overcrowding, dilapidated buildings, lack of textbooks and materials) and, these graduates serve as a pool for teacher education admission;
2. Teacher education institutions (teacher colleges and universities) recruit student teachers from a pool of least qualified male and female secondary school graduates, thereby perpetuating poor education outcomes;
3. Inadequate teacher educator’s professional skills giving rise to newly qualified teachers with little or no practical teaching experience;
4. Least qualified and at times unmotivated teachers (primary and secondary) are challenged in using effective teaching styles, this in turn fail to provide suitable candidates for pre-service teacher education;
5. Inherently, gender issues combined with inability to care for children with special needs prevail among teachers. This translates itself in the use of ineffective pedagogical knowledge and skills in literacy and numeracy, which compromises the improvement of educational outcomes.

TESP Strategic Objectives

The TESP is focused on achieving the following strategic objectives:

1. Improvement of the qualifications of college instructors from a gender perspective, and student teachers they train, ultimately contributing to improved reading, writing and mathematics skills and better learning outcomes for primary and secondary students in Tanzania;
2. Improvement of the quality of education by increasing access to teaching and learning materials for instructors and student teachers with a high consideration of gender issues especially in reference books, supplementary books, ICT (text and non-text materials);
3. Improvement of the quality and relevance of teacher education curriculum and instruction for student teachers in government teacher colleges;
4. Strengthen the capacity of the MoEST to manage the national teacher college system;
5. Strengthening various interventions and programs on gender for principals, teacher educators, student teachers and college community;
6. Improvement of effective, reporting, information sharing, collaboration and M&E of the sub sector plans including the TESP.

TESP Major Activities

1. Supply of text (books & printed education materials with gender consideration) and non-text (ICT-based facilities - laptops, tablets, desktops, projectors/screen, scanners, speakers to mention a few) teaching and learning materials to teacher colleges;
2. Reviewing of the pre-service teacher education and training curriculum
3. Facilitation of block teaching practice for teacher trainees;
4. Facilitate training of tutors through the tutors’ education program (TEP)
5. Facilitate training of tutors in science and mathematics methodology including laboratory practical skills;
6. Train tutors on early grade, inclusive education, black board work (BBW), health education, ICT for teaching and learning, and develop the pre-service teacher education learning and management information system;
7. Upgrade ICT infrastructure in government teacher colleges
8. Support and build capacity of HQ Staff in financial management, planning, delivery, monitoring, evaluation and reporting project staff planning and reporting; and
9. Build capacity of teacher colleges management teams in pedagogical leadership and college development planning;
10. To facilitate supply of adequate food for student teachers in 35 TCs
11. Support and build capacity on gender in teacher colleges as per TESP gender equality strategy recommended interventions.