Monitoring and evaluation of the e-readers project in rural Tanzania

This study provides recommendations on the monitoring and evaluation conducted for an ICT in Education project in two rural primary schools in Tanzania. The objective of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness of e-readers introduction at the schools. The e-readers introduction aimed at complementing the traditional print books. Print books are insufficient in primary schools in Tanzania; this ultimately leads to lack of reading skills in pupils and poor overall academic performance. As a conceptual framework the study adopted the InfoDev Monitoring and Evaluation framework for ICT in Education projects and adjusted it to local conditions. The study has shown that pupils at both schools considerably improved their reading skills as a result of the e-readers introduction. The introduction of e-readers also resulted in teachers and pupils being more motivated and engaged in learning. Survey results for parents demonstrate readiness on cost-sharing for acquiring the devices. This also indicates the feasibility of up-scaling the project to other schools in the country.