Prospects and challenges of using school committees for improving school performance in Tanzania: a case study of selected primary schools in Dar es Salaam region

This study investigated prospects and challenges of using School Committees (SC) for improving school performance with a focus on public schools in Dar es Salaam region. Specifically, the study assessed three issues namely, awareness and knowledge on roles and responsibilities, SC members* abilities to discharge their duties as well as problems and challenges encountered. The study also examined views and ideas to address existing problems and challenges. The study adopted both qualitative and quantitative research approaches to obtain data presented in this dissertation. In particular, the study used exploratory research design where the main purpose was to gain familiarity with the study theme. Overall 80 respondents including 33 males (41.3%), and 47 female (58.7%) were interviewed in this study. A variety of research instruments were used to collect data, namely structured questionnaires, focus group discussions (FGD), and documentary review. Overall, study findings reveal that the majority of SC members were aware of their specific roles and responsibilities. Further, the study shows that SC members have the ability and competencies relevant for discharging their roles and responsibilities successfully. However, some few respondents expressed that there are few SC members who did not have the ability, or adequate experience. On the other hand, respondents cited several problems and challenges limiting the effectiveness of SC in discharging their duties adequately. Some of these problems come from various actors including parents, responsible ministries, pupils and faith based organizations. The study suggests that several measures be taken by different actors to address existing problems and challenges facing the SC. Some of these include the following five measures: government should organise training seminars, leadership to monitor and evaluate work by SC, education qualification considerations, motivation package needed, and following good governance practices within the SC in order to improve school performance. Finally, the study suggested areas for future studies to be conducted in other regions outside Dar es Salaam to allow comparative analysis.