Will Work with GPE to Improve the Quality of Learning for Children in Tanzania and Zanzibar

Tanzania this week became one of the newest developing country partners to join the Global Partnership for Education (GPE), including mainland Tanzania and Zanzibar, a semi-autonomous island.

“We welcome Tanzania to the Global Partnership for Education and look forward to working with the Tanzanian and Zanzibar governments and a wide range of development partners to ensure access and improve the quality of learning for all children in Tanzania and Zanzibar,” said Alice Albright, GPE’s Chief Executive Officer.

As a member of the Global Partnership, Tanzania is now eligible to apply for a Program Implementation Grant in the amount of US$ 100 million. Based on indicators such as the size of the school population and available donor funding, this would be divided into US$94.8 million for Mainland Tanzania and US$ 5.2 million for Zanzibar.

Tanzania will join the Africa 1 constituency of the GPE Board of Directors. Mainland Tanzania’s and Zanzibar’s current Education Sector Plans cover the periods 2008-2017 and 2008-2016, respectively.

Tanzania is located in East Africa and has a population of 46 million. According to the World Development Indicators, 33.4% of Tanzanians live below the national poverty line; adults have an average of 5 years of schooling. Tanzania ranks on place 152 (out of 187 countries) on the International Human Development Index.

The Global Partnership for Education is made up of nearly 60 developing country governments, as well as donor governments, civil society organizations/NGOs, teacher organizations, international organizations, and private sector organizations and foundations, whose joint mission is to galvanize and coordinate a global effort to provide a good quality education to children, prioritizing the poorest and most vulnerable.