The impact of the secondary education development plan phase one in the provision of quality secondary education in Tanzania

The study sought to assess the impact of SEDP I on provision of quality secondary education in Serengeti district, Tanzania. Also the study sought to examine the extent to which SEDP I interventions led to improvement in the quality of secondary education and established lessons to be learnt that will serve as tools for streamlining the implementation of subsequent phases of SEDP. The study utilized both qualitative and quantitative approaches. The area of the study was Serengeti district in Mara region, covering four secondary schools from urban and rural areas. Data were collected through documentary review, interviews, focus group discussion, observation and questionnaires. Qualitative data were subjected to content analysis and where necessary direct quotations were made, while quantitative data were extracted, classified, tallied and analyzed by means of descriptive statistics using SPSS programme version 16. The key findings revealed several achievements and constraints in the process of implementing SEDP I including expansion of Form One enrolment from 57 percent in 2004 to 93 percent 2010; construction of classrooms, teachers’ houses, pit latrines, and increased availability of teaching and learning facilities. Also there was improved recruitment and deployment of teachers, with Serengeti district recruiting and deploying more than 230 teachers since the inception of SEDP I. Nevertheless, SEDP I faced several constraints, which include a poor teacher student ratio, lack of textbooks, lack of library, lack of laboratories, lack of enough funds, and poor teaching and learning facilities. Furthermore, SEDP I had failed to eliminate gender imbalances in primary and secondary education, as well rural and urban disparities in secondary education, which had negative impact in the provision of quality education. It was, therefore, concluded that neglecting teacher’s professionalization and capacity building for head of schools as well as schools’ board members could affect the district’s vision of improving quality of secondary education in the district, hence failing to achieve SEDP I targets. It was therefore concluded that SEDP I implementation had more quantitative success than qualitative ones. Basing on the study findings, it is recommended that capitation and development grants allocation should consider social, cultural and geographical location of the school rather than distributing equal amount of funds to all secondary schools all over the country.