University of Dodoma

The global education system has evolved in a digital society. This study analyses Tanzania's policy and strategic frameworks for integrating digital technologies into the education system to promote digital education. The study was a narrative qualitative research approach. It involved Tanzania as a case study. The findings indicated that the policy and strategic frameworks promoted the integration of technologies in education. The findings also indicated that nationwide technology initiatives promoted digital education by expanding technology facilities and infrastructure, building teachers' capacity, developing digital pedagogical content, and using emerging technologies. The findings further indicated the presence of strengths that promote digital education and challenges that impede it. The study also revealed that the Tanzanian government has committed to addressing present and future digital education challenges. These strategic commitments form the backbone for a comprehensive and sustainable digital education.

In this study, we explored the implementation of the Fee-Free Education (FFE) policy and its impact on students' learning in secondary education in Tanzania. A qualitative research approach was employed, using an exploratory case study design. The sample comprised 106 participants: 35 classroom teachers, 42 students, 21 parents, seven (7) Heads of Schools (HoSs), and one District Education Officer (DEO). Data were collected through interviews, open-ended questionnaires, and documentary reviews, and were analysed thematically. The findings indicate that the FFE policy has been successfully implemented in secondary schools, as evidenced by increased enrolment and decreased dropout rates in the visited schools. The policy has also enhanced parental involvement in children's education and facilitated greater access to education for girls. It was also found that FFE has reduced the financial burden of schooling for children from poor families. Nevertheless, several challenges were identified, including shortages of teaching and learning materials, classrooms, and teachers, particularly science subject teachers, as well as an increased student-textbook ratio, which negatively affected learning. The findings also revealed that teachers' morale was relatively low due to insufficient and delayed disbursement of financial resources. The key argument of this study is that for the FFE policy to be effectively implemented, the government needs to increase the education budget proportionally, recruit more teachers, and provide adequate textbooks for secondary schools. In addition, constructing more classrooms to reduce congestion and encouraging contributions from parents and community members to school development plans are equally important.

While existing literature suggests that environmental corporate social responsibility (CSR) is related to green customer loyalty (GCL), the mechanisms underlying this relationship have yet to be fully explored. This study examines the serial mediating effects of green reputation and green customer satisfaction (GCS) on the relationship between environmental CSR and GCL. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire from 294 customers in the solar photovoltaic (PV) supply chain in Tanzania. The data were analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM), and the findings reveal that environmental CSR is positively and significantly related to green reputation, GCS and GCL. In addition, green reputation is positively and significantly related to both GCS and GCL. Similarly, the relationship between GCS and GCL is positive and significant. Furthermore, green reputation and GCS partially mediate (individually and serially) the relationship between environmental CSR and GCL. Therefore, green reputation and GCS serve as key mechanisms through which environmental CSR positively influences GCL. This study extends the existing body of literature by shedding light on these mechanisms, i.e., green reputation and GCS through which environmental CSR relates to GCL, thereby confirming a serial mediation model. This study has some practical implications to the policymakers, customers and business managers within solar PV supply chains.

Abstract The effectiveness of conservation areas often depends on the extent to which local people support their implementation. We used mixed methods to assess and contextualize people’s conservation attitudes in a village surrounded by a wildlife corridor and three distinct types of conservation areas in the Tarangire ecosystem of northern Tanzania: a national park, a wildlife management area (WMA), and a multiple-use ranch. Our study employed questionnaire surveys (n = 89) and in-depth interviews (n = 20) to illuminate people’s views. We analyzed the survey data using ordinal logistic regressions to assess demographic factors influencing attitudes and used a grounded theory qualitative approach to analyze the interview data. Across all four areas men held significantly more negative attitudes than women. Participants with formal education were generally more positive towards the national park and respondents with larger farms and livestock holdings held more negative attitudes towards the ranch. Ethnicity was a significant predictor of attitudes towards the WMA. Qualitatively, we found that village residents were primarily concerned with the impacts of conservation on their livelihoods: areas associated with seasonal livestock grazing were favourably received, while those seen to undermine tenure security and increase human-wildlife interactions on village land were viewed in a negative light. While acknowledging the importance of conservation governance and institutional dynamics, we conclude that direct effects on people’s livelihoods and material well-being are perhaps the most important policy-actionable factors affecting people’s attitudes towards conservation areas in this social-political-ecological context.

Smallholder goat production is a vital livelihood strategy in semi-arid areas of Tanzania; however, reproductive efficiency and health constraints limit productivity. The current study employed a cross-sectional survey of 450 households in Dodoma-Tanzania, conducted during the dry season (August 2025), to identify management factors associated with reproductive performance, disease occurrence, and mortality in indigenous goats. The findings showed that the median age at first kidding was 14 months, the kidding interval was 13 months, and the average lifetime parity was 4.0 ± 1.0, while buck sexual maturity occurred at 10 ± 3 months. Access to extension services and communal grazing was associated with earlier puberty and first kidding (p < 0.001), while supplementary feeding unexpectedly lengthened the kidding interval and reduced lifetime parity (p < 0.001). Controlled mating and larger landholdings improved lifetime parity (Incidence Rate Ratio [IRR] = 1.14 and 1.03, respectively). Mineral supplementation significantly accelerated buck sexual maturity (p < 0.001) and lowered disease occurrence (OR = 0.16; p < 0.001) and mortality (OR = 0.28; p < 0.001). Better housing (roofed-shelters and slatted-floors) and semi-intensive systems provided strong protection against disease and lower death risk (OR = 0.25 and 0.24, respectively). Interestingly, supplementary feeding was associated with an increase in diseases (OR = 3.12) and mortality risks (OR = 2.45), possibly due to concentrate-related digestion problems or overcrowding. These findings suggest that mineral supplementation, improved housing, and stronger extension services can have a positive effect on goat productivity and survival in resource-limited smallholder settings of semi-arid regions.