Tanzanian educators are in Shanghai to learn about math education from Shanghai’s education officials and teachers. The visit marks the first international delegation to the Teacher Education Center, which is based in Shanghai and operates under the auspices of UNESCO, since its launch in 2021.
Improving Math Education in Tanzania
Tanzania is reviewing its national education policy, and math has been given significant importance in the curriculum. As Tanzania develops collective measures to improve the performance of students in basic education, Rwezimula, deputy permanent secretary of education at mainland Tanzania’s Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology, hopes that the delegation will learn best practices and experiences in Shanghai to help improve Tanzania’s education policy and teachers’ capacity building.
Tanzanian Math Educators Trained Online
The Shanghai Normal University’s research institute of international and comparative education, where the education center is located, organized an online training session for Tanzanian math educators to improve their teaching capabilities. Albert Paul Kissima, a curriculum developer from the Tanzania Institute of Education, participated in the online sessions from 2021 to 2022. Kissima said that the educators appreciated the sessions and are ready to share their experience with their counterparts who did not get the opportunity to participate in the sessions.
Math Education Exchange
Over the next two weeks, the delegation will have the opportunity to visit local schools and see how math classes are delivered. They will be able to hear Shanghai education officials and teachers share experiences in math teaching. The exchange comes at a critical time for Tanzania, as recent data showed that 89 percent of students failed in mathematics. Liang Xiaoyan, lead education specialist of the World Bank, noted that since Shanghai students achieved remarkable results in the PISA test in 2009 and 2012, Shanghai Normal University and the education center have provided technical and financial assistance to various African countries, including Kenya, Zambia, Sudan, and now Tanzania on teacher education and math education.
In overall, the visit by the Tanzanian delegation to Shanghai will provide the opportunity for educators to learn best practices in math education and improve math teaching capabilities in Tanzania. The collaboration between Shanghai Normal University and the education center and various African countries, including Tanzania, underscores the importance of international cooperation in improving education.
