In a bold move to enhance the quality of education in Tanzania, the President’s Office – Regional Administration and Local Government (PO-RALG) has launched a nationwide training programme targeting education officers from all 26 regions and 184 local government authorities across Mainland Tanzania.
The three-day leadership and governance training—opened today, July 29, 2025—aims to sharpen the managerial and supervisory skills of education officials as part of broader efforts to drive meaningful reforms in the education sector.
The training is taking place at the Agency for the Development of Educational Management (ADEM) in Bagamoyo, Coast Region.
Officiating the event on behalf of PO-RALG’s Deputy Permanent Secretary Atupele Mwambene, the Director of the Education Management Department, Dr Emmanuel Shindika, said the initiative is a deliberate government strategy to empower frontline education leaders to better manage schools and deliver quality education outcomes.
“We want education leaders who are visionary, accountable and highly competent. That is the kind of leadership required to ensure that every Tanzanian child receives quality education,” said Dr Shindika.
He underscored the government’s substantial investment in the education sector—including construction of school infrastructure, teacher employment, and provision of teaching and learning materials—saying such investment must translate into improved learning outcomes.
According to Dr Shindika, under the BOOST Primary Student Learning Programme, the government has already trained 17,794 public primary school headteachers in effective school leadership and governance. Ward education officers in 12 regions have also benefited from the initiative.
“This training is a continuation of the government’s commitment to build strong leadership in the education system, aligned with principles of good governance,” he noted, urging the participants to implement what they learn and drive positive change in their respective areas.
“The government, alongside development partners, has provided resources and training opportunities to improve your performance and accelerate the goals of the BOOST programme,” he added.
ADEM Chief Executive Officer, Dr Maulid J. Maulid, said the training marks the first national phase targeting ward education officers from 12 regions—namely Tanga, Kilimanjaro, Dodoma, Lindi, Mbeya, Arusha, Coast, Morogoro, Iringa, Njombe, Mtwara, and Singida.
He noted that the initiative is part of a broader transformation agenda to strengthen education leadership and ensure reforms are felt at the grassroots.
“Education officers must be at the heart of this transformation. The government expects you to be the champions of change in your respective councils,” said Dr Maulid.
He revealed that during the last financial year, ADEM trained over 17,800 school headteachers and nearly 4,000 ward education officers, with post-training assessments indicating substantial improvement in performance.
“This is a long-term investment by the government to ensure that educational reforms are led by empowered, well-trained leaders,” Dr Maulid said.
The training programme is being implemented in two phases. The first phase targets officials from 12 regions, while the second phase—scheduled to follow soon—will cover the remaining 14 regions, completing the nationwide rollout.