Educating a nation towards self-reliance: Tanzania's journey in search for an education that is meaningful to its people

Since independence in 1961, Tanzania’s political ideology (known as Ujamaa-familyhood) has gone hand in hand with the country’s education philosophy. The most important feature of this combination is that people should be educated to fit in Tanzania’s environment and culture. Education should emancipate man from mental slavery inherited from colonialism and help this very person to be master and conqueror of own environment. This is education for self-reliance introduced in 1967 during the Arusha declaration. It sounds ideal: But, where are we standing now? Has Tanzania’s education succeeded in its mission to transform Tanzanians into both African socialists as well as being able to develop from own resources?