Examining the Niche of Secondary Education within the Framework of Industrial Economy in Tanzania

Abstract

This paper examined the position and roles of current secondary education planning towards achievement of the new framework of industrial economy in the context of Tanzania. The paper focused on examining: i) the contribution of secondary school graduates towards industrial economy; ii) the influence of modern industrialization in the rural development within the framework of five year development plan 2016-2020 and iii) the role of industrialization process in plummeting rural-urban migration of the youth and mitigating unemployment rate in rural setting. The study was guided by the Human Capital Theory. A mixed research approach using a cross-sectional survey was adopted. Random sampling was used to select 52 undergraduate students majoring in educational planning and management from Tanzania while data were collected using questionnaires. The findings revealed that science and technological aspects should be included in the lower secondary school curriculum to enable learners develop industrial skills. In order to achieve the National Development Vision 2025, the government should vocationalize the lower secondary education to support current industrialization process for the rural development in the framework of five year plan 2016-2020. Furthermore, the respondents opined that, if the lower secondary education planning was properly linked to the current industrialization process and well oriented to rural areas, there would be a likelihood of reducing rural-urban