I often worry that the phrase “Tanzanians are not stupid anymore” risks fostering overconfidence, encouraging the belief that we have answers to every question and solutions to every challenge. Undoubtedly, Tanzanians are far more educated and knowledgeable than at independence in 1961. Yet it is unwise to assume we now know enough. Too often, confidence is mistaken for competence, a trend that can quietly breed intellectual complacency.
From only a handful of graduates at independence, Tanzania enrolled over 250,000 students in universities and more than 360,000 in other higher education institutions in 2024/2025. Literacy rose from about 10 per cent at independence to a peak of 90 per cent in the 1970s, settling at 82 per cent in 2022. This progress is real – but it does not mean completion.
Believing that we “know enough” is dangerous. It discourages curiosity, limits growth, dismisses expert opinion and confines us to the boundaries of our own understanding. It also reduces complex challenges to simple slogans without offering better alternatives. Instead of engaging opposing views with reasoned arguments our default response has become, “we are not as stupid as we were in 1961.”
Research shows that people with limited knowledge often overestimate their competence. Social media now teems with self-proclaimed experts on health, politics, finance, warfare and economics, many whose expertise comes from watching online videos. They often know too little to recognise their own gaps in understanding. True experts, by contrast, grasp the complexity of their fields and are therefore more cautious and self-critical. Low knowledge breeds high confidence while deep knowledge fosters humility – this is the essence of the Dunning-Kruger effect.
Under Mwalimu Julius Nyerere, education was a foundational policy aimed at preparing Tanzanians to lead the nation’s social and economic development. He insisted that education was a lifelong pursuit, extending beyond formal schooling into work, experience and continued study. Learning thus became a moral and civic responsibility – and a recognition that we rarely, if ever, know enough.
Avoiding the Dunning-Kruger trap requires balancing confidence with awareness of our intellectual limits. Above all, we must listen to experts and give proper weight to informed knowledge, especially on complex issues. Asking better questions instead of rushing to answers deepens understanding. Accepting that we can be wrong is also an essential part of learning.
While Tanzanians are undoubtedly more educated than ever, we must remain teachable. A nation grows strongest when confidence walks hand in hand with curiosity, humility and a willingness to learn continuously, recognising that knowledge is never complete.
