Artificial Intelligence and Education Governance in Tanzania: Legal Gaps and Regulatory Challenges

Abstract

This paper examines the adequacy of Tanzania’s existing legal and policy frameworks in facilitating the adoption of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the education sector and assesses the implications of persistent regulatory gaps for ethical, accountable, and rights-based AI deployment. Although AI presents significant opportunities to expand access to education, enhance learning quality, and support personalised teaching and assessment, its effective integration in Tanzania remains constrained by fragmented and outdated regulatory regimes. The study adopts a doctrinal legal research methodology, complemented by comparative analysis. It critically analyses key Tanzanian statutes and policy instruments relevant to AI governance in education, including the Personal Data Protection Act, 2022, the Cybercrimes Act, 2015, and the Tanzania National Guidelines for Artificial Intelligence in Education, 2025. These domestic frameworks are benchmarked against international and regional normative instruments, notably UNESCO’s Guidance for Generative AI in Education and Research (2023), the Beijing Consensus on AI and Education (2019), and the African Union’s Continental AI Strategy (2024), to assess regulatory coherence, alignment, and normative adequacy. The findings reveal significant legal and institutional shortcomings in Tanzania’s AI governance framework for education. The existing legal gap exposes learners to data protection and accountability risks and threatens educational equity. The paper recommends enacting a comprehensive, binding legal framework for AI in education, strengthening institutional oversight, and aligning with international best practices to ensure ethical, inclusive, and rights-based AI adoption in Tanzania’s education sector.