Research and innovations developed by secondary school students could provide a practical foundation for Tanzania’s drive to expand vocational education and equip young people with skills for employment and self-employment, the government has said.
The projects, covering agriculture, energy, health, environmental conservation and other areas, demonstrate how students can apply classroom knowledge to address challenges facing their communities, Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office (Regional Administration and Local Government), Prof Riziki Shemdoe, said.
Prof Shemdoe said the work aligns with the government’s plan to establish more than 103 vocational schools, which are intended to give students greater access to practical skills and improve their prospects beyond formal employment.
He made the remarks on September 17, 2026, at the University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM), where he toured an exhibition of research and innovations developed by young scientists from secondary schools across Tanzania and presented awards to the winners.
“I believe the research and innovations I have seen here are the kind that should be given priority in implementing the Education and Training Policy of 2014, 2023 edition, as well as the improved curriculum,” Prof Shemdoe said.
He said students exposed to research, science and innovation at an early stage would have a stronger foundation for turning their skills into businesses and other income-generating opportunities after completing school.
The minister also linked the initiative to the government’s Samia Scholarship programme, which supports students excelling in science, technology, mathematics and innovation.
His comments highlight a broader push to make education more responsive to the skills young people need in a labour market where formal jobs cannot absorb all school leavers.
Prof Shemdoe said he was impressed by the quality of the students’ projects and their ability to explain their work, noting that their presentations were comparable to those expected from university students.
“The way they prepared and presented their work was of a high standard. You could sometimes think they were university students, not secondary school students,” he said.
He commended Young Scientist Tanzania for identifying students with an interest in research and innovation and giving them a platform to develop their ideas.
The competition attracted students from secondary schools in different regions, with projects designed to find solutions to challenges affecting communities, according to Young Scientist Tanzania co-founder Dr Godbless Kamugisha.
Dr Kamugisha said 1,330 innovations were submitted for the competition, of which 45 were selected for exhibition.
The projects focused on practical challenges in agriculture, energy, the environment and health, areas that directly affect households and communities.
He called for continued government support to enable more students to take part in the programme, arguing that wider participation would help strengthen interest in science, research and innovation among young people.
For Tanzania’s planned expansion of vocational education, initiatives such as the young scientists’ competition could offer an early pipeline of students already accustomed to identifying problems, conducting research and developing practical solutions.
The challenge, however, will be ensuring that promising ideas developed in school can move beyond competitions and exhibitions into further research, commercialisation and solutions that can be used by communities and businesses.