Determinants of primary school attendance in Tanzania

Despite the fact that, there is high enrolment in primary schools, actual attendance and completion of seven years of primary education is low and the reasons are not clear. The objective of this study was to examine the performance and determinants of primary school attendance in Tanzania by using secondary data (cross-sectional) from Tanzania HIV/AIDS and Malaria indicator survey 2007-2008 a part of DHS which was conducted in the whole country including Zanzibar for the household members. The logit model was employed in the regression analysis to determine factors influencing primary school attendance. The determinants include education attainment by father and mother, wealth of household, gender of child, and location (urban and rural) orphan hood of child dependence ratio and illness of child. The results show that wealth of household, gender of child and primary and tertiary educational level of parents are positively influencing primary school attendance while dependence ratio, orphan hood of child and secondary educational level of father and mother are negatively influencing primary school attendance. Moreover illness of child variable is insignificant meaning that it has no any impact on school attendance. The implication of these results is that, education for parents should be insisted and reduction of family size should be encouraged through family planning strategy. Improved health condition of individuals and cooperative societies should be emphasized in order to increase family earnings for better livelihood of the community.