Education systems that work for girls: Lessons from Tanzania

A girl leads a community dialogue session in Tanzania, speaking to peers and community members on gender equality and girls’ education. | Lilian Mmbaga, © Plan International

A teacher at a rural primary school in Geita Region of Tanzania described what she recently observed in her classroom.

“What has changed most is not only attendance, but confidence,” she said. “I now see girls raising their hands more often, speaking without hesitation and engaging in ways that were not as visible before. It is a clear shift in how they see themselves in the classroom.”

The shift did not happen overnight. It was the result of several changes working together: teachers adopting more inclusive classroom practices, stronger safeguarding measures within the school and deeper engagement with parents and community leaders on the importance of girls’ education.

Across Tanzania, more girls are entering school than ever before. Globally, enrollment gains since 2015 have been historic. Yet according to a 2025 report by UNICEF, Plan International and UN Women, 122 million girls remain out of school globally — and for millions more who are enrolled, access has not translated into learning, safety or completion. The question Tanzania has been working to answer is not how to get girls into school — but what has to change for them to stay, learn and thrive.

The lesson from Tanzania is that four things have to work together: how teachers teach, how schools are structured, how communities think about girls’ futures and how government embeds change so it lasts. None of these works in isolation.

What does an education system that works for girls look like?

Most education interventions are designed sequentially — get girls enrolled, then worry about quality, then address safety, then engage communities. Tanzania’s experience suggests that sequence is the problem. Structural, economic and social barriers do not present themselves one at a time, and girls do not experience them that way either.

A system that works for girls is one where different parts reinforce one another simultaneously. Teachers apply inclusive, gender-responsive approaches in their classrooms. Schools provide environments where girls feel respected, protected and able to participate fully in learning. Communities recognize the value of educating girls and support their continued participation. Government institutions provide policy direction and oversight that sustain these improvements over time.

The critical shift is from isolated project activities to longer-term institutional change. Strengthening classroom practice becomes more sustainable when teacher professional development is embedded within national frameworks and supported through school-based learning structures. That distinction — between an intervention and a system — is what Tanzania’s experience is really about.

What does it take to change how teachers teach?

Teachers play a central role in shaping girls’ learning experiences. Efforts in Tanzania have therefore focused on strengthening teachers’ ability to apply gender-responsive and inclusive teaching methods — and on building the structures that make those changes stick.

Through the Keeping Adolescent Girls in School project (KAGIS) in Geita and Kigoma, 607 teachers were trained on gender-responsive pedagogy and positive discipline. By the end of the project, the proportion demonstrating gender-responsive teaching practices had risen from 81% to 91%. In Sumbawanga District, a capacity-building initiative under the Girls Get Equal 2.0 project trained 285 school board members, ward education officers and school leaders on governance and internal quality assurance. Knowledge assessment scores rose from 43.47% before the training to 91.3% after, with nearly 88% of participants scoring in the excellent range.

“The training helped us understand that quality assurance is not about fault finding. It is about supporting teachers, improving classroom practices and making sure no learner is left behind.”

— Ward education officer, Sumbawanga District

A teacher works with students during a group activity in a primary school in Tanzania. Improving how teachers teach — and building the structures that sustain those changes — is central to improving learning outcomes for girls. | Lilian Mmbaga, © Plan International

The lesson here is not simply that training works. It is that training works when it is continuous, school-based and connected to accountability structures that outlast the training itself. One school administrator put it plainly: “I saw how motivated the teachers were, following up with children, especially girls, when they were absent from school.” Motivation, accountability and practice reinforce one another — and that cycle is what changes classrooms.

School board members, ward education officers and district officials participate in a school governance and quality assurance training in Sumbawanga District, Tanzania, under the Girls Get Equal 2.0 project. | Lilian Mmbaga, © Plan International

Why do girls need more than a seat in the classroom?

Girls’ education is shaped not only by schools but also by the conditions within them. For girls to thrive in education, schools must be safe and supportive spaces. Addressing issues such as school-related gender-based violence, harassment and discrimination is fundamental to improving girls’ learning outcomes — and it cannot be treated as secondary to academic progress.

Under KAGIS, the proportion of schools meeting safety and inclusiveness standards rose from 37% to 67%. By the end of the project, 100% of targeted schools had inclusive facilities. That progress included 27 gender-responsive latrine blocks, 9 menstrual health labs and 17 dedicated helpdesks where students can access confidential support in secondary schools.

“Now there is water at school and the toilets are clean. The private room helps us when we are on our period, and we don’t feel embarrassed anymore. We can wash, change and return to class quickly.”

— Leminatha, 15, student at a KAGIS-supported school

These efforts demonstrate that school safety is not only about infrastructure but also about building a culture of respect and accountability within the school community. What Leminatha describes is not a small comfort. It is the difference between staying and leaving.

How do you change what a community believes about girls’ education?

Girls’ education is shaped not only by schools but also by the expectations within families and communities. In some areas, social norms related to gender roles or household responsibilities influence whether girls remain in school — and those norms cannot be addressed through school-level interventions alone.

Through KAGIS, 15 ward-level intergenerational dialogue sessions across Geita and Kigoma brought together 1,580 participants, including 846 adolescents aged 9–18, alongside parents, caregivers, teachers and local leaders. The sessions created structured space for communities to examine their own assumptions.

A student speaks during an intergenerational dialogue session in Tanzania. Sessions brought together adolescents, parents, teachers and community leaders to discuss gender equality and girls’ education. | © Plan International

“I used to think controlling a girl showed love. Now I understand that respect means listening and not using violence.”

— Adolescent boy, intergenerational dialogue participant

For women in the room, the conversations carried different weight. “I was forced into marriage when I was 14,” one participant shared. “I will never allow my daughter to go through the same experience.”

What these dialogues demonstrate is that norm change is not passive. It requires deliberate, intergenerational conversation — and it requires involving young people as participants in that conversation, not just as its subject. Over time, stronger community support reinforces the progress taking place within schools.

Ester, 18, addresses community members during a girls-led event in Kibondo District, Tanzania. Across Geita and Kigoma, girls reached more than 32,000 community members through 198 events. | Lilian Mmbaga, © Plan International

How did Tanzania make these changes stick?

Sustainable improvements in girls’ education depend on strong government leadership. In Tanzania, collaboration with national and local education authorities has been essential in ensuring that successful approaches align with national priorities — and in ensuring they continue beyond individual programs.

The PlayMatters project, implemented across Kigoma Region over five years, reached 119,907 children in 101 schools by embedding Learning through Play into everyday classroom practice. At the national closeout, Dr. Aneth Komba, Director General of the Tanzania Institute of Education, confirmed that Learning through Play has been formally integrated into Tanzania’s national curriculum. The project ended. The approach did not.

Students practise cooperation and problem-solving through a block-building activity in Kibondo District, Kigoma Region, Tanzania. Learning through play is now part of Tanzania’s national curriculum. | © Plan International

KAGIS tells a similar story. By working alongside district and ward education officials on gender-responsive planning and budgeting — and contributing to the development of Tanzania’s National Gender-Responsive Budgeting guideline — the project helped shift not just school-level practice but the institutional frameworks that govern how education resources are allocated and monitored.

Working alongside government partners from the outset strengthens institutional ownership and increases the likelihood that innovations continue beyond project cycles. Sustainability is not an outcome of good programming. It is a design choice made at the beginning.

What’s still standing in the way?

Despite encouraging progress, challenges remain. Overall dropout rates declined from 6.4% to 4.9% under KAGIS, with girls’ dropout rates at lower secondary falling from 7% to 4.4%. But the work is far from finished.

Teachers often manage large classes with limited resources, making it difficult to sustain new teaching practices without continued support. Infrastructure and services that support girls’ wellbeing still vary across schools. Economic pressures and expectations surrounding girls’ roles in the household can still interrupt educational pathways. These are not implementation failures. They are structural realities that require sustained, cross-sectoral investment.

A systems approach is not a guarantee of success. It is a framework for addressing complexity honestly — and for staying in the work long enough to see it through.

The lesson Tanzania offers

The shift that a teacher in Geita described — girls speaking without hesitation, seeing themselves differently in the classroom — happened because teachers, schools, communities and government moved in the same direction at the same time. That is harder to design than a single intervention. It is also the only thing that lasts.

Globally, 122 million girls remain out of school. The question is not whether education systems can work for girls. Tanzania shows they can. The question is whether the commitment exists to build them that way.

This Insights blog was written by Amani Msumari, Inclusive Quality Education Advisor, Plan International Tanzania. To learn more, get in touch at Amani.Msumari@plan-international.org.

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