Tanzania: Turning the Page On Literacy in Ludewa

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Dar es Salaam — IN the quiet corridors of primary schools across Ludewa District, a quiet revolution is taking place, one page at a time. For years, the Tanzanian education system has grappled with a learning crisis that exists despite high enrolment rates. Children are in classrooms, but are they learning?

According to Uwezo Tanzania Executive Director, Baraka Mgohamwende, the data tells a sobering story. “In 2011, we released our first report on children’s learning which showed that in Tanzania, out of every 10 children aged 5 to 17, most were failing to master three Rs: Reading, Writing and Arithmetic (locally known as KKK -Kusoma, Kuandika na Kuhesabu) at a basic level or handle simple arithmetic,” he said. By the time the 2025 assessment was conducted, the needle had moved, but only slightly.

“The level has risen very slowly,” Mgohamwende explained. “Among 10 children, only four have now mastered KKK at the minimum level.”

“We cannot wait any longer,” Mgohamwende says. “A child who cannot read by the age of ten is a child whose future potential is being dimmed.” To fight this trend, Uwezo Tanzania launched the Kijiji Changu (My Village) project.


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The philosophy is simple: Education is a community responsibility, not just a school one. While the government provides the infrastructure, the project seeks to fill the gaps that often go unnoticed, specifically the dire shortage of reading materials and the lack of parental engagement.

This week, that mission received a massive boost. In a tripartite partnership between Stanbic Bank Tanzania, the Tanzania Library Services Board (TLSB), and the Ludewa District Council, a 32mil/- investment has brought 45 new libraries to 45 schools.

Mr Mgohamwende said the distribution of these books is strategic. Each school receives a curated collection of 350 to 500 books. While 70 per cent are curriculum aligned textbooks designed to help students pass their exams, the remaining 30 per cent are storybooks.

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“These are the seeds of a reading culture. They aren’t just for memorising facts; they are for sparking imagination and building the habit of independent study,” he said.

He added, “To measure whether these books have brought impact, our institution conducts baseline and endline surveys before and after implementing the project.” Mr Mgohamwende further said they also look at national statistics provided by National Examinations Council of Tanzania (NECTA).

These data points help us know exactly how these libraries have brought about change. This data-driven approach allows Uwezo to pinpoint exactly where students are falling behind. Currently, the biggest gap is the proficiency level, the stage where a child moves from basic recognition to actual comprehension.

Mgohamwende said that even when teachers are present, the lack of textbooks and storybooks often prevents children Turning the page on literacy in Ludewa from practicing enough to reach that next level.

Senior Manager, External Affairs, Communication and Reputation at Stanbic Bank Tanzania, Dickson Senzi, views this investment through the lens of long-term national development.

“We have been in Tanzania for 30 years, our commitment to Vision 2050 is clear. To reach our national goals, we need highly skilled human capital. You cannot build a modern economy on a foundation of illiteracy. “We estimate that over the next two decades, more than 33,000 children in Ludewa will pass through these libraries every year. That is a generation of thinkers we are helping to cultivate,” he said.

The impact is already being felt in the way teachers approach their craft. District Executive Director for Ludewa District in Njombe Region, Sunday Deogratius, said that the project hasn’t just brought books it has brought knowledge to the educators themselves.

“Through Uwezo’s funding, teachers in 96 schools have been trained in alternative teaching methods innovative ways to engage students who struggle with traditional rote learning,” he said.

Mr Deogratius said in a show of local ownership, the Ludewa Council even dipped into its own internal revenue to fund the training of teachers in an additional 20 schools that weren’t initially covered by the donor budget.

“We are grateful to this initiative whereby out of 184 councils countrywide, we were chosen. We had to step up,” he said. Perhaps the most challenging hurdle highlighted by the Kijiji Changu project is what happens after the school bell rings. Uwezo’s research found a startling statistic only 30 per cent of Tanzanian parents are actively involved in their children’s learning.

In many rural communities, parents often view education as the sole domain of the teacher. To bridge this gap, the project has turned to technology, using SMS platforms to send reminders and encouragement to parents, urging them to sit with their children and listen to them read.

“When a parent asks a child what they learned today, or encourages them to read a storybook at night, the child’s motivation skyrockets,” says Mgohamwende.

He added, “We are tackling the barriers of distance to school and the outdated use of corporal punishment, but parental engagement is the final piece of the puzzle.”

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The National Library Services Board is also looking toward the future. TLSB Representative, Rehema Ndumbaro said that while physical books are being handed over, the Integrated National Digital Library is the next frontier.