Student recruitment has become competitive, forcing institutions to find efficient, fast and effective means of providing prospective students with information while they are in the process of deciding. The significance of this study is represented by its attempt to examine the effectiveness of promotion tools in terms of enhancing student enrolment in private secondary schools in Tanzania. Independent variables under study are; public relations, advertising, personal selling, internet marketing and word of mouth communication. The dependent variable is student enrolment. The study adopted a descriptive research design which incorporated qualitative and quantitative research approach. Simple random sampling technique and non probability purposive sampling was used to obtain a sample size of 100 respondents from private secondary school in Mwanza region. Statistical program for social sciences (SPSS) version 16.0 was used in data analysis. The results revealed that word of mouth (WOM) communication and electronic media; television were rated highly as the most effective promotion tools in providing information to prospective students. This is due to the wide reach of these tools. The study also found out that the quality of education offered plays a critical role in enhancing student enrolment in private secondary schools. Furthermore the study indicated that most private secondary schools have not embraced the use of news technology to use as student recruitment tools. The study recommends that top management of private secondary schools should incorporate a greater market orientation into their strategic planning and frequently revise promotion tools to determine their effectiveness in order to have a competitive advantage and gain a big market share