In praise of the single book policy

The idea of improving our education is like a nightmare that keeps recurring all the time.

Indeed, some experts have come up with ideas on how to improve the education that’s currently being provided in Tanzania. But the problem seems to be the lack of persistence to ensure that their proposals are accepted and implemented.

One example of such proposals is the adoption of a single book education policy.

Tanzania is one of the countries in the world that have trouble improving their education systems, especially in terms of its quality and functionality.

However, this is not for lack of trying. The government has, indeed, embarked on several attempts to improve the education through reforms, some of which are said by experts to have been poorly conceived and/or executed.

Examples of such reforms are the fusing of Physics-with-Chemistry for secondary schools in 2015; the use of GPA (Grade Point Average) system instead of Divisions in evaluating Form Four and Form VI examination results in 2014 and 2015 respectively. [Google for NECTA to use GPA in Evaluating Form IV and VI…]

Other reforms are the combination of History-and-Geography to form Social Studies for primary schools, and replacing Personal Development Studies with Civic and Moral Education in the 2016 primary school syllabus.

With several such reforms in our education system, we clearly are not sure where our education would take us as a nation. Some experts in education have questioned the basis for such decisions. But, on many occasions, the government has failed to come up with clear answers.

Regarding the popular saying that “the government is you and me,” we are encouraged to propose measures which could make a positive difference in the type of education, and the way we provide it, in efforts to get the desired results – one of which is to churn out economically-productive graduates.

A ‘single book policy’ is one of those issues which, if properly implemented, can have a positive impact on the quality of the education we provide – and how we deliver it.

There are many reasons to justify the single book policy in the education system. One of the reasons is uniformity in the dissemination of information, education.

With multiple books with varied contents in the system, there is great disparity in the dissemination of information in teaching-cum-learning institutions. There are books whose content is largely irrelevant, while others are written using a complex language which many prospective learners have difficulty in understanding

Needless to belabor the point, this situation impedes the learning processes – thus making attaining the national goals in education a daydream.

Correlation between syllabus and the content being taught is another advantage of a single book education policy. When what is required in a syllabus is also what is found in the teaching/learning books, this would create confidence in teachers and learners alike.

Again, a single book policy would assist teachers in preparing lesson notes, based on the similarity in the contents of the syllabus and the contents of the books.

Assisting a teacher in preparing lessons will mean a lot, as teachers have many tasks to perform – and little time to waste. Easiness in preparing lessons would, therefore, enable teachers to engage in other tasks which are also of paramount importance, such as teaching, setting and correcting exams, and providing academic assessment for pupils.

Fair examination of school pupils is something that also results from a single book policy. If a single book which is a good-enough reflection of the syllabus is what is used to set examinations, then there is assurance of fair examinations.

Additionally, a single book policy would enable education experts to make a correct assessment of the trend of the education that is being provided – partly because there would be no confusion in the selection of materials for teachers to teach, and pupils to learn, as a matter of course.

Also, this would make it possible and easier to determine whether the education being given is functional – or just a waste of resources.

Finally, talking about cost reduction in education, adopting a single book policy would result in the reduction of costs in the education sector. Schools would need only a few books, while parents-cum-guardians would only have to buy a few text books for their children-cum-charges, thus saving money for other uses.

With a single book policy in use, the future of Tanzania’s education and welfare is promising in ways more than one.