# **VI. POLICY IMPLICATIONS**

# **Improve the quality of secondary education**

The analysis reveals that a worker with secondary education or TVET qualification makes no greater contribution to firm’s performance, on average, than a person with primary education. This finding most probably reflects the universally acknowledged poor quality of secondary education.<sup>38</sup> Most secondary-school graduates entering the job market have inadequate skills; those who manage to gain the required academic and other competencies to continue their education do so, but they comprise just 5 percent of the population. This represents a substantial loss to households or the government, which have borne the cost of educating these students.

This recommendation is especially relevant in light of the Tanzanian government’s recent commitment to universalize secondary education. In such an ambitious expansion of the secondary education system, the government must not lose sight of the importance of improving the quality of that education. Quality improvement should focus especially on improving English and IT skills that have broad application in many jobs, as well as ensuring basic proficiency in writing, critical thinking and problem solving. As various other studies have shown, the lack of qualified mathematics and science teachers and English teachers is one of the key factors undermining quality at the secondary level. TVET education and training requires reforms in curricula, faculty recruitment and training as well as instructional practice oriented to industry requirements. In addition, an improvement in the knowledge and skills of incoming secondary students will also improve quality. If the quality of secondary and TVET education improves, firms could hire secondary graduates into jobs requiring higher skills than primary graduates and thereby improve their productivity.

# **Expand the pool of tertiary-educated people across geographical regions**

Study findings show that tertiary-educated workers have an impact on productivity, but the pool is currently very small in Tanzania compared to its competitors. University-educated top managers are also associated with higher labor productivity. Because they recruit more skilled workers, they are most likely to rate education deficiencies as a big obstacle, possibly because they are aware of the gaps between what is available in Tanzania and the rest of the world. A significant finding is the heavy reliance on Dar es Salaam for tertiary educated workers, which raises costs for firms in other regions, pointing to the need for greater coverage of the country by institutions providing

> 38 Poor learning outcomes at the primary level are well-documented in Tanzania through various learning assessments, such as UWEZO and the Early Grade Reading and Math Assessments. Learning assessments at the lower secondary level are not available. Examinations are not a reliable indicator of student learning, as one of their main aims is to regulate student flow to higher levels. Nevertheless, they provide some information on quality for employers and policy makers.  According to the Government of Tanzania’s education national key results report, pass rates of the Certificate of Secondary Education Examination (CSEE) declined from 90 percent in 2007 to 35 percent in 2012. These data show that Tanzania has a critical issue of quality in service delivery of education (World Bank, 2014b).

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