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ISSN 2690-3644 (Print) ISSN 2690-3652 (Online) 

Vol. 4, No. 1, 2023 

www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/elsr 

31 
 

Original Paper 

Emphasizing Kiswahili as a Medium of Instruction for Effective 

Education Output in Tanzania 

Catherine David Hiza1 & Mahona Joseph Paschal 2 

1 Centre for international Education, University of Sussex, Brighton, United Kingdom 

2 Department of Educational Foundation, St. Augustine University of Tanzania 

 

Received: February 16, 2023    Accepted: March 7, 2023    Online Published: March 16, 2023 

doi:10.22158/elsr.v4n1p31           URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.22158/elsr.v4n1p31 

 

Abstract 

The use of mother tongue as a medium of instruction is usually encouraged by scholars and 

educationists for its many benefits that include intellectual growth of students, and promoting national 

development, amongst others. In some cases, however, it can lead to problems when not properly 

implemented. In preparing this policy brief, we built on our intimate knowledge of Tanzania and its 

language situation as both are teachers and citizens of the country. We also relied on internet research 

using search engines, particularly Google scholar using key terms like ‘Education Policy in Tanzania’, 

‘Kiswahili in Tanzanian Education’, ‘Mother Tongue Influence in Schools’, ‘Language Policy in 

Tanzania’ and the like. In addition to this, we made extensive use of the University of Sussex library 

services. This is the case of Tanzania where Kiswahili is primarily used as the medium of instruction in 

primary schools with English as a subject of study. However, at the secondary school level, there is 

usually an abrupt change as students are formerly taught in English, with informal use of Kiswahili. 

This policy brief reviews the language of instruction in Tanzania highlighting problems of secondary 

school students due to the switch to English in secondary schools. It advocates for continuous use of 

Kiswahili formally up to university level without neglecting English but allowing it to be offered as a 

subject. The study concluded that there is an obvious problem of the language of instruction in 

Tanzania that is leading to several issues in the educational sector. A determined and deliberate step in 

adopting either English or Kiswahili as a continuous language of instruction with proper 

implementation will lead to overcoming most of these obstacles. The study recommended that Kiswahili 

should be used as a medium of instruction throughout the educational process of students, right up to 

tertiary institution. 

Keywords 

Education Policy in Tanzania, Kiswahili in Tanzanian Education, Mother Tongue Influence in Schools, 

Language Policy in Tanzania 

 

 



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1. Introduction and Background  

In order to ensure active teaching and learning, Language is one of the most powerful tools that can be 

used by teachers to support students’ engagement as they are learning. This paper is based on a critical 

review and synthesis of current literature related to policy and the language of instruction in Tanzania 

highlighting problems of secondary school students due to the switch to English in secondary schools. 

It advocates for continuous use of Kiswahili formally up to university level without neglecting English 

but allowing it to be offered as a subject. Driven by the published policy by the Ministry of Education 

that spoke of the aim of the nation’s education to be: “Building a nation with high quality of education 

at all levels, this study seeks to understand and deliberate step in adopting either English or Kiswahili 

as a continuous language of instruction with proper implementation will lead to overcoming challenges 

related to the language of instruction in Tanzania. 

Tanzania is a multilingual nation with over 126 languages spoken. Kiswahili, a language spoken in 

Uganda, Kenya, Burundi, Mozambique, Somalia, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo and South 

Africa was adopted as a national language for the country and as a language of unity. This has been 

seen as a positive sign especially with the upholding of a ‘local’ language as a lingua franca to unite 

people with different ethnicities. In this regard, shortly after independence, the language was adopted 

as the official language of government and also the language of instruction in schools with English 

used as a subject of study (Barrett, 1994). Over the years, the role of English has come to take a more 

important place in the Tanzanian educational system with its official use as the medium of instruction 

in post-primary education. In this wise, the ministry of education’s policy notes that “The medium of 

instruction in pre-primary schools shall be Kiswahili and English shall be a compulsory subject… The 

medium of instruction for secondary education shall continue to be English except for teaching of other 

approved languages and Kiswahili shall be a compulsory subject up to ordinary level” (MEC, 1995, p. 

35, p. 45). 

The policy aimed at insisting the use of Kiswahili in lower learners which will enable students to 

understand their culture and preserve it and also to free Tanzanians from colonialism ideologies and 

later use English language as medium of instruction in secondary education which will be good for 

international use and the capital after graduating school to look for a job. This point of view has been 

supported by Paschal (2022), who noted that English language is essential to student success, 

collaboration and internationalization.  

In 2007, the Ministry of Education published a policy that spoke of the aim of the nation’s education to 

be: “Building a nation with high quality of education at all levels; a nation which produces the quantity 

and quality of educated people sufficiently equipped with the requisite knowledge to solve the societal 

problems, meet the challenges of development and attain competitiveness at regional and global 

levels.” By 2015, the Tanzanian government launched a more formal education and training policy 

(2014) which promised to give more roles to Kiswahili in education. Despite this, the 1995 policy 

remains in full effect giving more emphasis to English as a medium of instruction in public schools at 



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post-primary levels. This brief looks at some of the problems that arise from this and recommends that 

Kiswahili should be taken more seriously and students given the chance to learn in the language 

without an abrupt change to English in secondary school when they have a weak foundation in it, 

thereby causing a myriad of problems. 

 

2. Methods 

In preparing this policy brief, we used a qualitative approach by building on our intimate knowledge of 

Tanzania and its language situation as both are teachers and citizens of the country. We also relied on 

internet research using search engines, particularly Google scholar using key terms like ‘Education 

Policy in Tanzania’, ‘Kiswahili in Tanzanian Education’, ‘Mother Tongue Influence in Schools’, 

‘Language Policy in Tanzania’ and the like. In addition to this, we made extensive use of the 

University of Sussex library services.  

 

3. Literature Review 

3.1 Language Policy  

As noted earlier, the Tanzanian educational system uses two languages in teaching: Kiswahili at the 

primary level with English taught at post-primary levels. The switch to English at the secondary level is 

abrupt without students having a strong knowledge of the language since it was only taught as a subject 

of study. This is against the projection of the system which believes that they should be able to know 

English when no measure has been put in place to actualize this (Msanjila, 1990; Yogi, 2017). Indeed, 

there is a policy gap during the transition from primary education where language of instruction is 

Kiswahili to secondary education where language of instruction is English. The current policy does not 

look on the level of language proficiency most students, particularly those in public schools, have. It is 

almost taken for granted that children of the affluent can go to private schools where they will learn 

English or take private lessons while those who are poor will be forced to get what they can learn from 

the public schools. This latter group form the majority of students in the educational system. 

Majority of students get admission into secondary schools and are meant to learn essential subjects in 

the sciences and arts like Chemistry, Mathematics, Biology, Physics, Literature-in-English and the like 

in a language that they can barely have a conversation in (Telli, 2012; Yogi, 2017). Also, Paschal and 

Gougou (2022) noted that the lack of proficiency makes teachers to use rote pedagogic methods that do 

not aid adequate learning. Yogi (2017) narrates that in a series of research, the system of teaching was 

largely by copying to a blackboard with little communication taking place between the teachers and 

students. The students would copy verbatim, many times not understanding what they had written and 

later, failing the exams. 

It is important to note that language plays important role in ensuring students understanding, 

performance and communicating better in school between themselves and their teachers but lack of 

understanding the English language can cause student’s dropouts, repeating class and even lack of 



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interest and increase rate of absenteeism in schools, code mixing and code-switching during teaching. 

From this noted standing point (Ofodu, Fatimayin, & Paschal, 2022) pointed out that in order to ensure 

active and interactive learning, the effective use of language helps teachers make more engaging, 

meaningful and productive learning. Therefore, in order to ensure responsive learning, teachers from 

lower to higher education are required to use language effectively in their classroom. 

This is noteworthy since Tanzania has a high rate of drop-outs in terms of children generally and 

especially in terms of lower secondary school age. The number of students reported to start secondary 

school in 2007 to 2011 was 50.2% of the total population enrolled in school and the number weakened 

to 35.8% at the time they are entering form four and one of the reasons for students’ dropout was the 

language of instruction (Gibbons, 2017). The Human Rights Watch (2017) notes that “Millions of 

Tanzanian children and adolescents do not gain a secondary education or vocational training. It is 

estimated that a total of 5.1 million children aged 7 to 17 are out of school, including nearly 1.5 million 

of lower secondary school age.” 

 

 

Figure 1. Percentage of Dropouts in Secondary Schools (From MoEVT in Vuzo 2018, p. 809) 

 

However, the problems of learning and teaching are not exclusive to the linguistic incompetence of the 

students alone also but also that of teachers too, most of whom do not have proficiency in the use of 

English or teaching generally. In a few select cases, though, there are teachers who try to translate the 



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English syllabus into Kiswahili for easier understanding by the students. Interestingly, research shows 

that students were more enthusiastic in learning when teachers balanced the teaching of modules by 

translating (Hilliard, 2014; Tibategeza & Du Plesis, 2018). The idea of using code-mixing and 

code-switching is supported by students as it helps them to understand what the teacher is teaching in 

the class as is seen in Figure 2. 

 

 

Figure 2. Code-mixing and Translation for Teaching (Excerpt from Brick-Utne, 2005, p. 11) 

 

Unfortunately, using this method of teaching is not particularly emphasized or encouraged by schools 

and in many scenarios, punitive measures are putting in place for anyone who speaks in the 

vernacular—which refers to any language that is not English (Yogi, 2017; Msanjila, 1990). 

The general implication of all of this is that there is increased dropouts and inequality created in society 

since English is actually offered in private schools and to families that can afford to pay for 

after-school tutorials with teachers. Such students do better academically and proceed to the university. 

Upon graduation, these privileged class get jobs while most of their colleagues who had only learnt 

Kiswahili in the primary school and struggled in secondary school in many cases, do not have the right 

qualification and therefore remain jobless and/or in mediocre jobs. In turn, this leads to increased 

poverty in many circles and can increase crime rates when such individuals turn to crime (Barrett, 1994; 

Yogi, 2017). 

 

4. Conclusion 

In conclusion, one notes that there is an obvious problem of the language of instruction in Tanzania that 

is leading to several issues in the educational sector. A determined and deliberate step in adopting 

either English or Kiswahili as a continuous language of instruction with proper implementation will 

lead to overcoming most of these obstacles. This informs the above recommendations. Without taking 

these steps, there is a high risk of continued failure and dropout rates by students in post-primary 

institutions which can lead to a myriad of problems in society. Students’ self-confidence will also be 



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shaken and the value of Kiswahili as a national language will be reduced. Thus, language must be taken 

serious with Kiswahili giving a dominant place in the curriculum and as a language of study to enhance 

learning and promote the language generally. 

 

5. Recommendations 

a) The Education and Training Policy (2014) that emphasizes increased roles for teaching and 

learning Kiswahili across should be implemented widely across the country. Kiswahili should be 

used as a medium of instruction throughout the educational process of students, right up to tertiary 

institution, especially in private schools. This will give them continuity in learning as opposed to 

having to learn new terms in a language they are not competent in. Relatedly, learning in Kiswahili 

which is a mother tongue to most of the students will enhance their learning. This is in line with 

several studies that show that learning in one’s mother tongue general increases learning and 

academic performance (Heugh, 2006; UNESCO, 2003).  

b) Kiswahili should also be used as an entry point examination language in order to enhance its 

strength in the curriculum. This measure, in particular, will ensure that all students devoid of 

whether they are in private or public schools will take learning of Kiswahili serious. In the end, 

this will promote the language and increase its value in society. 

c) The government, non-state actors and schools should invest in training teachers in both Kiswahili 

and English so that they can have the relevant competence in both languages to effectively teach 

students for better educational output. This is necessary for current students who are going into the 

secondary school with only the knowledge of Kiswahili and for younger students too. While this 

might take considerable resource to achieve, it will be an essential step in the right direction. 

d) English should also be given more learning time at the primary school level so as to enhance their 

global opportunities in an increasing globalized world. In essence, giving students chance to learn 

English language as the foreign language which will later give students access to both languages 

without destroying their performance in school as the good performance will give them chance to 

continue with their education (Hillard, 2015) not just in Tanzania but anywhere else in the world. 

English clubs can also be created in schools so that students can have an informal platform to 

practice the language and enhance their skills in it (Paschal, Nyoni & Mkulu, 2020; Adamson, 

2014). 

 

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