Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, 24 July 2026 – The Agency for the Development of Educational Management (ADEM) and the African Centre for School Leadership (ACSL) have delivered three interconnected milestones for school leadership reform in Tanzania: new national evidence, a research agenda, and the establishment of a national School Leadership Task Force — strengthening the foundations of a coordinated, evidence-informed approach to improving education quality.
The milestones emerged during the Tanzania School Leadership Engagement Week, held from 14 to 16 July 2026 in Dar es Salaam. Organised by ADEM under the Leaders in Teaching (LiT-LEAD) initiative in partnership with ACSL, the Engagement Week brought together more than 120 policymakers, education leaders, researchers, universities, development partners and civil society organisations to align priorities for strengthening school leadership across Mainland Tanzania and Zanzibar.
Opening the Engagement Week on behalf of the Minister for Education, Science and Technology, Hon. Prof. Adolf Mkenda, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, Prof. Carolyne Nombo, reaffirmed the Government’s commitment to school leadership as a key pillar of education reform.
“When we invest in school leadership, we invest in teachers. When we invest in teachers, we invest in learners. And when we invest in learners, we invest in the future of our country,” said Prof. Nombo.
The first milestone was the national dissemination of the Tanzania School Leadership Mapping Report and the School Leaders’ Training Needs Assessments for Mainland Tanzania and Zanzibar. Together, the studies offer the most comprehensive assessment of school leadership in Tanzania to date, giving Government a robust evidence base for policy, leadership development and institutional coordination.
The findings informed high-level discussions involving the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MoEST), the Prime Minister’s Office – Regional Administration and Local Government (PMO-RALG), the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training (MoEVT) Zanzibar, universities and development partners. Participants focused on turning the evidence into practical action: strengthening instructional leadership, expanding professional development, promoting gender-responsive leadership and improving coordination across the school leadership ecosystem.
The second milestone was the launch of the National School Leadership Research Agenda, a strategic framework to guide future research and strengthen the role of evidence in education policymaking. Participants also met and interacted with the inaugural cohort of ACSL School Leadership Research Grantees, whose studies will generate locally relevant evidence on instructional leadership, competency-based curriculum implementation, digital leadership, gender-responsive leadership, school-community partnerships and system leadership.
Delivering the keynote address, Prof. Tage Biswalo, a member of the ACSL Research Advisory Committee, urged researchers to embrace the principle of “For Us, By Us” — producing research that reflects Tanzania’s realities, responds to national priorities and supports evidence-informed decision-making.
The third milestone built on recommendations from the School Leadership Mapping Report, with participants shaping the approach to the functionality of a national School Leadership Task Force. The Task Force will serve as the national mechanism for coordinating school leadership work across the institutions responsible for it, strengthening collaboration, improving information sharing and better aligning investments, while remaining firmly anchored within Government systems.
Closing the Engagement Week, the Deputy Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, Dr. Hussein Mohammed Omar, challenged stakeholders to sustain the momentum generated over the three days and to translate the commitments made into tangible action.
“First, let us move from dialogue to implementation. The recommendations we have agreed upon should not remain in reports. They must guide our future programmes, policies and investments,” said Dr. Omar.
The Engagement Week reinforced Tanzania’s commitment to a nationally led approach to school leadership reform, and demonstrated how Government, academia, researchers and development partners can work together to shape policy, strengthen institutions and generate locally grounded solutions for school leaders. The evidence and research generated in Tanzania will also contribute to the wider body of African knowledge on school leadership that ACSL is building with governments across the continent.