Education for Self Reliance (ESR) was the most important educational principle, which presented the educational philosophy of Tanzania. The purpose of ESR was to set down principles of education, which would serve as a revolutionary influence in the creation of the new social society. ESR is about gaining self-independence, responsibility and democratic involvement; it is education, which is meant to liberate individual from over-reliance. However, the extent to which education in most African countries like Tanzania has been able to meet its objectives in terms of creating a sense of independence is still speculative. The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the general aims of Education for Self Reliance and to highlight Nyerere’s recommendations for the policy of Education for Self Reliance with reference to Tanzania. The recommendations include the following: education should be of relevance to the society; educated individual must serve the society, education must be problem solving and education must be work oriented. Under these self reliance educational provisions, Nyerere comprehensively presents the direction that education should be able to take for countries like Tanzania. Overall, this paper provides a framework upon which tenets of education for self-reliance can be applied in today’s education policy formulation and design of practical-oriented education systems in Africa developing economies