BETWEEN COMPETENCE AND COMPLIANCE: EXAMINING THE CHALLENGES OF COMPETENCE-BASED CURRICULUM IMPLEMENTATION UNDER CENTRALIZED EXAMINATIONS IN TANZANIA

Tanzania’s adoption of the Competence-Based Curriculum (CBC) seeks to foster learner-centered pedagogy, higher-order thinking, and lifelong learning; however, implementation remains constrained by the continued dominance of centralized, summative examinations that privilege content recall over competence demonstration. Using a qualitative document-analysis methodology drawing on national policy frameworks, recent empirical studies, and classroom observation reports, this paper critically examines the structural and pedagogical tensions produced when competence-oriented reforms coexist with exam-driven accountability systems. Findings indicate that high-stakes examinations restrict teachers’ instructional autonomy, narrow curriculum interpretation, and perpetuate rote learning, resulting in superficial compliance rather than substantive pedagogical transformation, especially in rural and resource-constrained contexts where professional development support is limited. The analysis argues that without coherent alignment between assessment structures, teacher capacity-building initiatives, and the philosophical foundations of the CBC, Tanzania risks sustaining a cycle of policy innovation without meaningful classroom change. The paper concludes by recommending an integrated reform strategy that decentralises assessment, strengthens teacher professionalism, and reorients accountability mechanisms to ensure that competence becomes an authentic and measurable educational reality.