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Why education financing needs collective response

4 mins read

Why education financing needs collective response

Habari za Dharura

October 27, 2026 Admin0

Dar es Salaam. Tanzania is currently undergoing one of the most aspiring transformations in its educational history, with the sector expected to drive the socio-economic goals of Development Vision 2050.

However, education financing has come out as a persistent structural hurdle threatens this momentum.

Guided by the Education and Training Policy 2014 (2023 Edition) and a refreshed competency-based curriculum, the nation is expanding compulsory basic education to 10 years, vocationalising secondary schooling, and scaling technical and vocational training across the country.

For years, the government of Tanzania has steadily increased fiscal allocations to the education sector. In the 2024/25 financial year, the ministry of Education, Science and Technology was allocated Sh1.965 trillion, while total education sector spending across government votes reached Sh7.394 trillion in 2025/26 out of a Sh62.33 trillion national budget frame.

Despite these progressive increases, total public expenditure on education remains around 13 to 14 percent of the overall national budget.

This falls noticeably short of the international threshold established under the Education 2030 Incheon Declaration and Global Partnership for Education guidelines, which urge developing nations to allocate at least 20 percent of total public expenditure to education.

As parliamentary education committee chairperson Husna Sekiboko noted during this year’s budget debates, while development spending in education has grown, allocating under 20 percent of the national budget leaves critical gaps in learning infrastructure, qualified teacher recruitment, and technical equipment.

It is against this backdrop that the Tanzania Education Network (TEN/MET)- a coalition of over 265 civil society organisations, is championing a decisive paradigm shift: education financing can no longer remain a burden carried by the government alone.

In a press statement issued on October 23, 2026 in Dar es Salaam, ahead of the 6th International Quality Education Conference (IQEC 2026), scheduled for 11–13 November 2026, National Coordinator of TEN/MET, Ms Martha Makala, delivered a compelling call to action.

“Africa can build a quality, inclusive, and sustainable education system by investing sufficient domestic resources, planning spending efficiently, and ensuring every single cent allocated yields visible results for students and teachers,” Ms Makala emphasised.

She further stressed that fiscal debates must focus on tangible outcomes: “We cannot talk about the quality of education without talking about the funds required to achieve that quality, the sources of those funds, and how they are spent.”

Under the theme, Beyond Aid: Owning Our Future through Domestic Resource Mobilization and Sustainable National Resilience, IQEC 2026 serves as a strategic platform to turn intentions into actionable financing models.

Furthermore, the official Education Sector Development Plan (ESDP 2025/26–2029/30) estimates the total rationalised cost of implementing sector priorities at Sh39.35 trillion over five years—and over Sh64 trillion across a ten-year horizon.

This leaves a projected five-year funding shortfall of Sh3.62 trillion, or roughly Sh724 billion annually.

Financial analysts have warned that relying solely on revenues from the Treasury creates severe fiscal friction, especially when public resources face competing demands from debt servicing and large-scale infrastructure projects.

Reflecting on the limitations of relying strictly on government coffers, an economist, Dr Tom Nassor highlighted that without diversified co-financing, “competition in public resources will put a heavy burden on the government, at a time when the education sector needs more resources.”

Emphasizing why sustainable domestic mechanisms and private participation are essential to offset long-term demand, an education analyst Dr Thomas Jabir noted that public budgets alone, “cannot cope with the number of students who will need funding in some 10 years or more to come.”

TEN/MET advocates for broadening the funding base through public-private partnerships (PPPs), corporate social investments from banking, telecommunications, and extractive industries, faith-based contributions, and active community participation.

With Tanzania’s school-age population (ages 5 to 18) projected to exceed 24 million by 2030, non-state actors and the private sector must step forward as co-investors in human capital.

This pivotal turning point in this national dialogue is set to take place at the Julius Nyerere International Convention Centre in Dar es Salaam. Hosted by TEN/MET, IQEC 2026 will convene over 500 delegates from more than 20 countries, including policymakers, researchers, private sector leaders, and international experts.

Ms Makala stressed: “The conference aims to establish practical frameworks for domestic resource pooling, transparent revenue tracking, and private-sector co-financing.”

Education is the foundational engine of Vision 2050. Expecting the State to single-handedly fund every classroom, laboratory, and digital tool is no longer realistic.

IQEC 2026 offers Tanzania a timely opportunity to build a resilient, shared funding model, ensuring that no child is left behind in the nation’s journey toward sustainable prosperity.

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