A Study On The Development Of Literacy Education In Tanzania From The Perspective Of The Principle Of Independence

Given that the adult literacy rate in developed countries is close to 100%,while the adult literacy rate in sub-Saharan African countries is only 65%,literacy education has become an inevitable and urgent historical task for sub-Saharan African countries.The success or failure of its development is directly related to the success or failure of African education and even the long-term development of the country.So it is particularly critical to implement effective literacy education programs.Tanzania is an important country along the “Belt and Road” and also an important part of China-Africa Community of Destiny.Compared with Tanzania's twists and turns in the development of literacy,literacy education in New China has a low start,but less fluctuation.Both policy formulation and actual results have shown continuous and stable characteristics,and the scale of reduction in illiteracy and the reduction in the rate of illiteracy have attracted worldwide attention.Why does this contrast appear? Answering this question will help China to share the wisdom of literacy education in the world,and help people-to-people exchanges between China and foreign countries,especially between China and Tanzania.Based on the above,this study uses historical research methods and comparative research methods to try to understand and grasp the development process and characteristics of Tanzanian literacy education at all stages.The study found that Tanzania's literacy education has a twists and turns of development,which is essentially a process of Tanzania's long-term mutual game of practicing and deviating from the principle of independent development.After Tanzania 's independence in1961,under the management of the Nyerere government,it pursued the principles of independence and self-reliance,and implemented a policy of education nationalization for nearly 30 years.Tanzanian government use its own efforts to promotes a nationwide large-scale literacy campaign supported by free compulsory education,formulates specialized literacy policies,establishes related organizational mechanisms,conducts a wide variety of literacy courses,and uses native languages for literacy teaching.These reform measures have achieved miraculous effects.By the mid-1980 s,the primary school enrollment rate was close to 100%,and the adult literacy rate was as high as 90%.However,the principle of independence at this stage was not supplemented by scientific and forward-looking concrete strategic support,which led to human strategic errors,the collapse of the domestic economy,the fall of the adult literacy rate,and the unsustainable results of literacy education.Later,in the late 1980 s,due to high-level political changes and sudden changes in the international situation,Tanzania was passively involved in the trend of globalization,gradually deviating from the independent principle which is emphasized during the Nyerere period,and forming a political pattern that relied on the West.Under the influence of the West,the newly inaugurated Mvini government has initiated the liberalization of education,emphasizing the priority of efficiency,primary school fees,and English has gradually dominated the teaching languages.At this stage,blindly copying the western education model cannot effectively solve the real problems of education in Tanzania,and the development of literacy education is declining.Since the 21 st century,the domestic and international environment in Tanzania has ushered in a turning point,and the government has called for the return of the principle of independent development again.In the field of literacy,the Tanzanian government abandoned the blind worship of Western education in a full sense and began to independently adopt standardized literacy management;increase financial investment;carry out literacy projects;innovate teaching methods;promote gender equality and other measures,and achieve literacy education.Certain results have been gained,but there are still many challenges.The adult literacy rate is generally fluctuating and difficult to develop,and it is still less than 80%.Finally,from the perspective of the principle of independence and based on the development process of Tanzania 's literacy education,the author proposes local experiences,lessons and China 's revelations that can be used as reference for the future development of Tanzania 's literacy.The details are as follows: Tanzania 's local experience includes the power to mobilize the community and the combination of literacy and productive labor;its development lesson mainly refers to failure to adhere to the principle of appropriate independence,there are two extremes of blind exclusion and excessive dependence,and also lack of scientific and forward-looking specific strategic support.The relevant aspects of China include: the principle of independence should be based on national conditions and not influenced by external trends of thought;the principle of independence should independently learn from the beneficial results of human civilization;the principle of independence should be supported by forward-looking development strategies;the principle of independence should be supported by scientific policies and assessments.These experiences can become the ideological guidance and theoretical basis for the future development of Tanzania's literacy education and Sino-Tanzanian literacy education cooperation.