Tanzania
Proposed Second Secondary Education Development Project – SEDP II
Reconnaissance of Issues and Options in Textbook Provision
Terms of Reference
Background
1.
The leadership of the Government of Tanzania had expressed concerns about the lack of
order in the manner by which schools obtained and were provided with textbooks and
other teaching and learning materials. It was cited that schools had a multiplicity of
materials for instructional use, among which were those that had not been approved by
the Ministry of Education for use in schools as required.
2.
From mid 1990 the Government of Tanzania made a decision to liberalize the provision
ot textbooks to primary and secondary schools allowing participation of the private
sector. At the same time the Ministry of Education established the Educational Materials
Approval Committee (EMAC) for quality control and approval of key textbooks for use
in schools. During this process, the DPs, including the World Bank, have been supporting
the development of Tanzania's textbook provision system through the Government's
partnership with textbook publishers in the private sector.
3.
In early 2009, there was a presidential directive to change to a single textbook policy. As
a result the MOEVT set up an internal steering committee to review the textbook policy
and determine the best way forward. The group has not yet engaged the Development
Partners (DPs) or other stakeholders in the process although they have agreed to discuss
the recommendations of the committee before a final circular is issued on how to
proceed. This change could affect the development of the World Bank’s next support to
the education sector in the secondary sub-sector
4.
The DPs’s together with the World Bank wish to review the status and provide
additional information in the discussions on how the textbook policy is to be revised,
hence the development of these terms of reference (TOR) (hereafter called “the study”).
Issues in Textbook Provision
5.
The TOR is grouped in three areas: (i) those related to the supply of textbooks; (ii) those
related to the quality of textbooks; and (iii) those to governance in the selection and
supply of textbooks.
6.
Textbook supply. The current information is that
a) Textbooks are in short supply and textbook prices are high. To be helpful for MoEVT
policy formulation and program planning, this study will seek to establish the following:

Some basic data on supply or the availability of textbooks, both at the publishers'
stores and in the public school classrooms, at as of December 31, 2009. This
would involve surveying book publishers' records with respect to the following:
inventories and printing since January 1, 2009, records of sales to schools and to
the general public through booksellers and other service outlets. It would also
involve a cataloguing of records of a small but randomly selected sample of
public schools classified by level of education (pre-primary, primary, lower
secondary, upper secondary, teacher education); location (urban, rural, remote);
and type of ownership (national government, community, private).

Price or the affordability of textbooks through analysis of basic facts with regard
to the publishers' catalog prices, prices at which schools purchased textbooks, the
total receipts of grant funds recorded by a selection of schools for one complete
academic year (e.g., from September 2008 to May 2009) and the amount reserved
(“earmarked”) for textbook purchases, the actual payments made to publishers by
the same selection of schools. The unit pricing derived from data thus collected
should be compared with prices currently offered at bookstores for over-thecounter sales. To obtain an index of realism with regard to pricing, the per-copy
prices of textbook series in key subjects (mathematics and language-reading)
should be compared with the regional, Kiswahili-speaking textbook publishing
markets in Kenya and Uganda.
b) Few textbook titles have been developed in technical and commercial subjects of
secondary education, and consequently there is low student interest in technical and
commercial studies. The study should:
c)

document the MoEVT's curriculum requirements for textbooks in those subject
areas and the amount of grant funds made available to schools for textbook
purchases.

identify if the publishing industry in Tanzania is unable to meet the demand. This
may include inadequate curricular guidance (unavailable or frequent changes in
curriculum), indeterminate demand (numbers of students who would take the
course are unknown), or uneconomical publishing (low print runs).

determine in what way the lack of textbooks has contributed to low interest in
technical and commercial studies – or in what way low interest in those subjects
made for uneconomical book publishing.
Textbooks are not available, especially after a change in the curriculum. For appropriate
documentation, the study should establish

how MoEVT provides policy guidance on curriculum development. Such
guidance would include the number of years a curriculum is in force before
revisions are introduced, the process of revision, and the process for official
approval of revision or other changes in the curriculum.

7.
8.
The related policy on the effective life of textbooks or textbook series. These
policies allow textbook publishers reasonable time periods during which to sell
textbooks and recover development, printing, and sales costs as well as reduce or
exhaust inventories of books. They also allow reasonable time of use by textbook
buyers and protection from premature obsolescence of books.
Textbook quality. The quality of textbooks across the country is a concern and
identifying the reasons for those differences in quality will be an important part of this
study. The study should:

review the quality of all textbooks and levels of English language usage and
explore if textbook quality plays a role in students’ failure some key subjects
such as in mathematics and.science. The study could also interview a sample of
teachers for their views on the quality of textbooks (accuracy of facts, conceptual
and typographical errors, appropriateness of illustrations, physical attractiveness
and durability)

report on the record of evaluation available at the Educational Materials
Assessment Committee (EMAC) of the MoEVT, especially as regards to ratings
on quality and instructional approach to language.

specifically determine that the currently approved textbook series in English use
English as a foreign language approaches.. With regard to student performance
and availability of textbooks, the study should determine if systematic educational
evaluative research has established the correlation.
Governance issues. The study will need to:

examine issues of accountability and quality control in textbook production
process and quality control from the providers, publishers and MDAs.

analyze the institutional and operational strengths and weaknesses of EMAC as a
regulatory body and identify practices that may be interpreted as not transparent.

describe the current composition of the textbook publishing industry in Tanzania,
the existence of graphic arts, publishers, printers, and booksellers associations as
well as current practices for self-regulation. The study should reflect the book
sector's record regarding corrupt practices in the trade.
Options in Textbook Provision
9.
The study should look at options for effective textbook provision and review the best
practice to be found in the region, particularly in the EAC countries. The areas of review
to concentrate on should include the following: (i) policy guidance, institutional
arrangements, and governance structure; (ii) financing requirements; (iii) development
time estimates; and (iv) likelihood of sustainability.
Outputs
10. A final report, of no more than 25 pages in Word Format.
The report should include options for Government to consider to help resolve the issues
identified
Timeframe
11. The draft report to be completed by February 2010 And finalized by end March 2010.