Stakeholders' views towards decentralization of secondary education in Tanzania

This study investigated stakeholders' views towards decentralization of secondary education in Tanzania based on the three research tasks, the study was destined to: (i) examine stakeholders' views towards decentralization of secondary education; (ii) investigate strategies of making decentralization of secondary education effective, and (iii) find out the challenges hindering effective implementation of decentralization process. Data pertinent to the study was collected from teachers, students, members of the school board, parents, and education officers in songea municipality and Dar es salaam. Purposive, stratified, and random sampling techniques were employed to obtain participants. Interviews and document search were used to collect and generate data. The review of literature covered aspects relating to theories, historical overview of decentralization, forms, advantages, empirical studies, knowledge gap, and a summary. The study revealed that education stakeholders had positive and negative views towards decentralization. The views included improved service delivery, enhanced school ownership, emergence of tribalism, and unequal distribution of teachers. The strategies for making secondary education effective were identified as: appointment of education officers, paying teachers on time, and involvement of stakeholders in education. The challenges inherent in decentralization were difference in economic, and long distance from home to school. The study concluded that stakeholders have both positive and negative views towards decentralization. The study recommended that stakeholders' expectations on service delivery are meat.