On 2nd March 2026, DVV International held the first Technical Working Group meeting on Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) for Adult Basic Education and Training (ABET) at the DVV International office in Dar es Salaam. It was a full day of focused conversation, and honestly, a moment we have been looking forward to.

So what is RPL and why does it matter?

Think about how many people in Tanzania have spent years developing real skills through work, community involvement, and everyday life, but have never had those skills formally recognised. RPL is about changing that. It creates a pathway for people to have what they already know and can do acknowledged, certified, and connected to formal education or employment. It is about fairness and opening doors that have been closed for too long.

In East Africa, RPL has become an increasingly important topic because of how many people participate in non-formal learning and yet find themselves excluded from formal employment or academic progression because they lack a paper qualification. As DVV International's Regional Director for East Africa, Frauke Heinze, noted at the 1st East African Conference on RPL held in Kampala in December 2024, non-formal education must be acknowledged as a valid route to skills certification, employment, and formal education pathways.​

DVV International works under a Memorandum of Understanding with the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MoEST) and the President's Office, Regional Administration and Local Government (PO-RALG), providing both technical and financial support to strengthen Adult Learning and Education (ALE) systems in Tanzania. Their work spans policy development, capacity building for government actors, and piloting community-based learning centres in regions like Dodoma and the Coast.​

RPL sits at the heart of this work. Tanzania, like many other countries, is working to establish a functioning National Qualifications Framework (NQF), and RPL is a critical component of that system. It allows competencies gained through non-formal pathways to be validated and recognised within the national qualifications structure, creating real progression opportunities for learners.​

This first TWG meeting was about building the foundation. In attendance were Fredrick Salukele, Director of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET), Director of Compliance, Monitoring & Evaluation of the National Council for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (NACTVET), Dr Jofrey Oleke, a representative from the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, and the Institute of Adult Education.

The group came together to prepare the Terms of Reference for the TWG, which will define the mandate, roles, responsibilities, and operating procedures of the group going forward. They also aligned on the roadmap and began discussions on the first major activity: the development of Policy and Guidelines for RPL for ABET in Tanzania.

Part of the session drew on lessons from South Africa's existing RPL policy and guidelines, using them as a benchmark and learning reference. South Africa has been one of the more advanced countries in the region when it comes to embedding RPL in its post-school education and training system, and there is much Tanzania can adapt from that experience.​

Good policy is what makes all of this real and sustainable. Without clear guidelines, RPL risks remaining a concept on paper rather than a functioning system that reaches learners on the ground. That is why getting this right from the start matters.

What Comes Next

The TWG meeting was just the first step. The roadmap ahead includes conducting a situation analysis to understand existing gaps and practices in RPL across the country, drafting RPL guidelines with clear assessment standards and quality assurance mechanisms aligned to the Tanzania Qualifications Framework, developing micro-credentials, building an RPL database, and delivering capacity development for practitioners and assessors.​

All of these steps will be carried out in collaboration with key government bodies, institutions, and development partners, with the TWG serving as the coordination and oversight structure for the entire process.​

We are encouraged by this first step and the conversations that took place. RPL has the potential to open doors for many learners whose competencies have often remained unseen, even though they are valuable and relevant. This is not just a technical exercise. It is about people and the recognition they deserve.