Primary schools in Tanzania are operating with a 37 percent shortfall in teachers, while secondary schools are missing 16.4 percent of their required staff, according to figures presented in the National Assembly in Dodoma and reported by Daily News.
Dr Festo Dugange, Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Office for Regional Administration and Local Government (PMO-RALG), said the government would keep recruiting every year to close the gaps and improve conditions for learning.
He was responding to Jasson Rweikiza, the CCM MP for Bukoba Rural, who asked when the shortage would be brought under control.
Why it matters
Teachers are the most direct input into classroom learning, and a gap of more than a third in primary schools means many pupils are taught in crowded classes or by staff stretched across more subjects than they were trained for.
According to Daily News, Dr Dugange told the House that the problem has been made worse by two developments: rising enrolment after the introduction of fee-free education, and the expansion of school infrastructure. More children in more classrooms has widened the distance between the number of teachers needed and the number available.
Recruitment figures and how new teachers are placed
Dr Dugange said 64,772 teachers were hired across the 2021/22 to 2025/26 financial years. Of those, 15,054 were recruited in the 2025/26 financial year alone.
He said the recruitment approach would give priority to replacing teachers who leave the service, and that new hires would be sent to regions according to their staffing needs. Additional teachers are expected to be taken on in the 2026/27 financial year, he said, and they will be allocated on the same needs-based basis.
The deputy minister also said preparations are under way for the double intake of Form One students expected in 2028. Those plans include expanding classrooms and recruiting enough teachers to absorb the larger cohort.
Volunteer teachers and priority districts
Arif Suleman, the CCM MP for Mtwara Rural, asked whether long-serving volunteer teachers would be given preference in employment. Dr Dugange said volunteers go through the normal recruitment process run by the Public Service Recruitment Secretariat, and that many have already secured jobs.
He said priority is decided in part by the year a candidate finished their studies, with earlier graduates given consideration, alongside how they performed at interview.
Rashid Shangazi, the CCM MP for Mlalo, asked what would be done about shortages in Lushoto District Council. Dr Dugange said districts with the largest staffing gaps are given priority when recruitment permits are issued, and named Lushoto as one of the areas facing significant shortages that need priority when newly recruited teachers are distributed.
He said the recruitment strategy would also take account of volunteer teachers, in line with the 2026 Public Service guidelines.
What to watch: whether the 2026/27 hiring round is large enough to shift the primary school figure, and how the 2028 double intake preparations translate into actual classrooms and staff.
