Over 400,000 primary students in Zanzibar, out of which half of the girls, will have access to a better conducive learning environment with decreased class sizes and boosted teacher support to enhance their ability to transition to secondary school. This support and a host of additional modifications will be funded by the new Zanzibar Improving Quality of Basic Education Project (ZIQUE), approved today by the World Bank.

The $50 million credit from the (IDA) International Development Association is ready to enhance teaching competencies and learning outcomes and help lessen the gender gap in transition rates within fundamental education.

Nathan Belete said Zanzibar had made significant progress in delivering universal access to basic education, World Bank Country Director for Tanzania. Belete added that, however, to increase development and eliminate poverty by 2050, significant investments are required to improve foundational learning outcomes.

The Government of Zanzibar annulled school fees in pre-primary and primary schools in 2015 and secondary schools in 2018, leading to a significant boost in enrollment in government schools that accommodate more than 467,000 students. However, challenges remain to ensure all students progress via the education system with adequate learning levels. ZIQUE will help manage the education sector’s major challenges via procedure and policy changes in the education system that will serve to improve the quality of service delivery.

World Bank Senior Education Economist Tanya Savrimootoo said Critical innovations supported by ZIQUE, such as the deployment of a school-based modality for the delivery of (CPD) continuous professional development. The use of education technology to improve classroom teaching and teacher CPD and a large-scale learning assessment will permit the government to monitor and report on learning outcomes systematically and to develop strategies to address learning gaps and challenges.

ZIQUE beneficiaries involve students living with disabilities, especially the visually impaired, through the development of adapted learning materials. Others will also profit from the inclusive building design of new classrooms and schools. ZIQUE will also benefit more than 13,000 primary and secondary teachers in government schools (69% of whom are females) and up to 520 school headteachers in the public school system. Other direct beneficiaries will be ministry officers in critical departments and roles crucial to the successful execution of each component.

The design of the project was informed via discussions with several development associates, including the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, the Kwarara Media Education Center, and the United States Agency for International Development.