68 UTAFITI (New Series) Vol. 21vos. 1& 2,1995 Non-Government Secondary Schools in Tanzania: Issues Related To Their Characteristics," Financing, Unit Costs and Student Selection J. C J Galabawa * Abstract This article offers a critical examination of the main characteristics of the non-state secondary school eduCation sector in Tanzania. It discusses the issues involved in the financing and unit costs of running these •private' secondary schools. Particular emphasis is places on the sources of revenue for these schools. In the article it is shown that the non-state secondary education sector tends to introduce inequalities in the process of seeking to achieve "efficiency and sustainability. Geographic, socio-economic and gender imbalances in the society are shown to be reinforced by the emerging non-governmental secondary school system which itself is shown to be divided between high quality and low quality sub-systems. Inequalities among religious groups and those between rural and urban areas are also shown to be reinforced by the 'private' secondary school "system. The wide differences in the expenses incurred in running boarding schools as opposed to day schools also reinforce gender inequalities. Most non-state schools are day as opposed to boarding schools which offer a more COnducive environment for the education of girls. Where a non-state school is a bOarding institution the article shows that such a school is likely to be a seminary for boys. Introduction and Conceptual Framework To be able to analyse the characteristics and role of non-governmental participation in the secondary" education sector in Tanzania, a working conceptual framework is important. Indeed, the words 'private secondary * Department of Educational Planning and Administration, Faculty of Education, University of Dar es Salaam Non-govermental Secondary Schools in Tanzania 69 school' should be used with care in the case of Tanzania. In this case 'private' does not mean profit-making schools in which new buildings are financed from bank loans, and recouped from fees. This situation does not yet exist in Tanzania, and is outside the boundaries of this article. Rather. we have three situations which can be illustrated by the different arrangements used to secure new school buildings. The first intermediate position is the one in which a secondary school is non- profit making, but run from a trust. The construction of school buildings and most capital development, expenditures are funded en~ely from trust funds of non-government sources rather than the community .. In this category faIls all schools operated by religious organisations like the Tanzania Episcopal Conference (TEC), the Christian Council in Tanzania (CCT) or the Aga Khan Foundation. These type, of schools obtain funds for new buildings from the org~ations' headquarters (e.g., the Vatican or a parish in the case of Roman Catholic Schools). The same applies to schools built by Islamic bodies whose initial capital funding may have come from Islamic states or other Muslim organisations/estates. The second option which seems to have a stronger element of community support is the one in which new buildings are erected by the parents of children either directly doing the work themselves, or employing a contractor to do it on their behalf. Some of the schools under this category have been built through single efforts of an enterprising parent or individual. And thirdly, the most common situation in Tanzania is the one where the buildings are erected by the whole community-both parents and non-parents. In the case of these two options a fraction of initial capital funds, or 'seed' money, may also be given by an external or local organisation, the purpose of the initial donation being to supplement local efforts. The other conceptual difficulty we are facing is the definition of the Non- Governmental (NGO) community. As an overall concept, a non-governmental community may be defined as "a group of people who share social" economic and cultural interests. Its members recognise social obligations to each other, hold at least some common values, and identify themselves with each other as 'we'" (Bray, 1988: 3). Among others, therefore, the following types and examples of communities exist in Tanzania. Firstly, a geographic community; for instance this would include all locally formed Village Development Associations (VDA) and District Education Trust Funds (DETF). These are now a major force m secondary education provision. They include secondary schools under the Njombe District 70 J.C.J. Gslsbsws Development Fund (NDDT), Mufmdi Education Trust (MET), Several Development Associations in Kagera region (e.g., KADEA, BURUDEA and BWABUKI). Secondly, the world community can also describe ethnic, racial and religious groupings. Examples of these include the schools operated under the Roman Catholic Tanzania Episcopal Conference (TEC), the Christian Council of Tanzania (CCT), the Tanzania Muslim Council (BAKWATA), the Tanzania Youth Muslim and the Ismailia sect. Thirdly, communities can also rise from shared family concerns or from general shared philanthropy. This group would include the Tanzania Parents Association (TAPA) which is based on adults-shared concerns for the welfare of the children, and other community and political functions. Characteristics and Role of Non-Government Participation in Secondary Education After nationalisation of education in 1966, the secondary education policy was that of complete control, and thus with the exception of a few seminaries, secondary schooling was put under the state. However, due to high social demand for secondary education, and also because of a crisis brought about by low transition rates between PrimarY and secondary levels coupled with fiscal _ gaps in financing education in general, the govermnent had to give in to political and social presSure by allowing the opening up of non-state secondary school in the 19808. The result of this hang in policy can be observed in Table 1 which shows that between 1984 and 1992 the number of NGOs' operated secondary sChools increased from 85 to 258 respectively. Also, it can be noted from the same table that enrolment in NGOs operated secondary schools grew from 33,591 in 1984 to 97,116 in 1992. By comparison, the number of state-owned secondary schools increased from 85 in 1984 to 164 in 1992; while in 1992 the NGOs' secondary school sector enrolment represented 55 % of total enrolment in secondary schools in Tanzania. The tremendouS expansion has also generated the following characteristics which can be associated with the NGO secondary schools: (a) Most of the schools are concentrated in the Northern Zone which comprises two regions (Arusha and Kilimanjaro); but much. so in Kil~aro. In this zone alone there are 84 privately owned and managed schools, and 67 out of these are private secondary schools owned and managed by the Christian church dioceses serving a largely Christian clientele. .. ....:::: 00 a N ..; 00 0\ a M ~ \0 8 ~ t a 00 ..... l£) 00 '