Re-engineering Quality Assurance Functions to Support Implementation of CBC in Secondary Schools Lessons for Tanzania: A Literature Review

Abstract

The significance of quality assurance (QA) function in supporting CBC implementation should not be underestimated. Major functions of QAs are to supervise the implementation of the curriculum, organize in-service courses for curriculum implementers, and conduct research on the best practices on QA of the delivery of education. Regardless of the aforementioned QAs functions, a review of literature indicates that QA officers in many African countries do not visit secondary schools as it is required, instead they prefer visiting primary schools to execute their QA activities. This casts doubt on their capacity to carry out their responsibilities in the setting of CBC in secondary schools. Therefore, the purpose of this desktop paper was to find out how QA functions should be re-engineered to match with CBC principles to enable QA officers to supervise implementation of CBC in secondary schools. The specific objectives of this study were to identify the challenges that hinder the execution of QAs functions, recommend strategies for QA officers to enhance their performance and find out lessons which Tanzania can learn from other countries in order to improve QA operations in secondary schools. To find answers to these questions, the study reviewed literature and found that the QA departments were understaffed. Tanzania's QA department, for example, has 1185 officers, with 218 officers assigned to Secondary and Teachers' Colleges. Furthermore, review of literature revealed that lack of in-service training among QAs officers has hampered their ability to carry out QA activities in compliance with CBC principles. Based on the findings, the study recommends that there should be adequate staffing of QA department and capacity building for QAs Staff to enable them to execute their roles effectively in the context of CBC.