Poverty and Human Development Report 2009 - UNDP in Tanzania

POVERTY AND HUMAN DEVELOPMENT REPORT 2009
Optimal Allocation of Scarce Resources
Regular re-assessment of budget allocations to education sub-sectors vis-à-vis labour force
needs is required. More children than ever before are completing their primary education at, or
close to, the designated age of 14. At this age, many children have neither the mental maturity
nor physical strength to take on employment, even if it were available, or legal under the age of
15. Despite the increasing proportion of children going on to secondary education, large numbers
of children are left behind without post-primary opportunities. Yet, the increases in education
funding in recent years have not flowed through to technical and vocational training. Expansion
of apprenticeship schemes and mentoring systems are urgently needed, including innovative
partnerships with the private sector. The Vocational Education and Training Authority (VETA) needs
much more support to expand the number of skilled young people entering the workforce.
Efficiency in Sector Spending
Given the high proportion of budget share already allocated to education, ongoing measures to
improve efficiency in sector planning and expenditure are needed, such as the recent change
in government secondary schools from boarding to day institutions. The public expenditure
tracking exercise planned for 2008/09 should help identify additional opportunities for savings.
Three potential areas for review are:
i) The Higher Education Loans Board – interest is not charged on loans and collection rates
are currently under 60%. 58
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ii) The VETA levy – the levy system is not functioning, and a review and restructuring of
procedures is warranted.
iii) Duty and tax on paper for educational purposes. A no-duty, no-tax policy applies to imported
books, but books printed in Tanzania pay duty and tax on paper. This makes it cheaper
to have books printed in India and Mauritius despite shipping costs. To expand the local
production and distribution of educational materials these imposts should be removed.
The Role of the Private Sector
The role of the private sector in providing education and training will become increasingly
significant, particularly in vocational and technical education. Resource constraints will likely limit
the expansion of public provision, and a potential pool of trainees is willing to invest because they
see immediate linkages with the labour market and hence financial returns. Anecdotal evidence,
however, suggests wide variations in the quality of training in this rapidly expanding sector. The
training standards of all institutions entering the market will need to be accredited through VETA
and National Council for Technical Education (NACTE) to ensure the quality of courses and their
relevance to labour market requirements.
58 Education Sector Performance Report 2007/2008, p. 50 (Education Sector Development Programme
(ESDP), 2008).