Tanzania implements smart classrooms to connect schools and solve teacher shortages

The Tanzanian government launched a project to build smart classrooms and provide ICT equipment to schools across all 26 regions of the country.

This initiative, known as the Early Childhood and Primary Education Infrastructure Improvement Project (BOOST), aims to modernize the education system by integrating information and communications technology into daily learning. Deputy Minister Festo Dugange visited schools in the Mwanza region to observe the project in action.

He reported that the technology allows one teacher to instruct students in multiple schools simultaneously. This capability helps the government manage a shortage of educators while ensuring that children in different wards receive high-quality instruction at the same time. At Samia Primary School, the government spent more than Sh 200 million to build 10 classrooms and purchase teaching materials. The school received a smart classroom equipped with 20 computers and one smartboard.

Teachers and students use these tools to practice subjects and gain basic computer skills. In the Kigongo Primary School, officials inspected infrastructure built for Sh 141 million, which includes a modern early childhood classroom and a smart classroom. Parents and community members in the Mwanza region say the upgrades provide rural students with the same educational opportunities as those in urban areas.

The technology also helps teachers manage personnel records and reduces the stress of instruction by using the internet to deliver lessons.