Republic of Zambia

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION

EDUCATION FOR ALL 2000ASSESSMENT

SEPTEMBER, 1999LUSAKA, ZAMBIA

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EFA ASSESSMENT TEAM

Geoffrey Lungwangwa (PhD): Team LeaderDirector of Research and Graduate StudiesUniversity of Zambia and Senior Lecturer in Educational Administration andPolicy StudiesSchool of EducationUniversity ofZambia

Mr. Emanuel Silanda: National EFA Co-ordinatorActing Director of the Planning Unit,Ministry of Education

Professor Dickson Mwansa: Professor of Adult EducationAnd Head of the Department ofAdult EducationUniversity of Zambia

Martin Kamwengo (Dr.)Senior Lecturer in the Department of Adult Education,University of Zambia

Getrude Mwape (Mrs.)Lecturer in Psychology and Head of the Department of PsychologyUniversity of Zambia

Lawrence Mukuka (Dr.)Lecturer in the Department of Social and Development StudiesUniversity of Zambia

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

PAGEAcronyms...... iv

Executive Summary................................................................................... v

BACKGROUND.. 1

PART ONE

1.1 INTRODUCTION........................................................................... 4

1.1.0 The EFA Goals and Targets Set in 1990........ 4

1.1.1 Early Childhood Care, Education and Development (ECCED) 4

1.1.2 Primary Education.......................................... 5

1.1.3 Adult Literacy................................................................................... 6

1.1.4 Education for Better Living.............................................. 6

1.1.5 Training in Essential Skills.............................................................. 6

1.1.6 Learning Achievement..................................................................... 7

2.0 EFA Strategy/Plan ofAction............................................................ 7

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3.0 EFA Decision Making and Management by the year2000 .

4.0 Co-operation in the EFA ..

5.0 Investment in EFA since 1990 ..

PART TWO

6.0 Progress Towards Goals and Targets ..

6.1 Early Childhood Care Education and Development (ECCED)

6.2 Primary Education ..

6.2.1 Running Agency of Schools ..

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6.2.2.1 Gross and Net Admission Ratios .15

6.2.2 Opportunities for Primary Education16

6.2.3 Gross and Net Enrollment Ratios (GER and NER) .19

6.2.4 Enrollment by Region and Gender .22

6.2.5 Flow rates: Participation and retention ..22

6.2.5.1 Drop-out Rates .26

6.2.5.2 Repetition Rates ..30

6.2.5.3 Progression Rates ..31

6.2.6. Educational Facilities .31

6.2.7 Development of Community Schools .35

6.2.8 Procurement of furniture .35

6.2.9 Procurement Distribution and Use of Educational Materials36

6.2.10 Demand, Supply and Retention of teachers ..37

6.2.11 Distribution of Teachers by Geographical Regions ..39

6.2.13 Pupil-Teacher Ratios .41

6.2.14 Attrition levels of Teachers ..42

6.2.15 Public financing of Education ..45

6.2.16 Learning Achievement .45

6.2.16.1 The SACMEQ Study at Grade 6 ..46

6.2.16.2 National Assessment at Grade 5 ..47

6.2.16.3 Competency testing at Grade4 .. 49

6.3 Education for Better Living.......................................................... 50

6.4 Training in Essential Skills.......................................................... 51

6.5 Literacy......................................................................................... 56

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7.0 Effectiveness ofEFA the Strategy, Plan andProgrammes .

7.1 ECCED .

7.2 Primary Education .

7.3 Literacy .

7.4 Education for Better Living .

7.5 Training for Essential Skills .

8.0 Main Problems Encountered ..

8.1 ECCED .

8.2 Primary Education ..

8.3 Adult Literacy .

8.4 Training in Essential Skills ..

9.0 Public Awareness, Political will and National Capacities

9.1 ECCED ..

9.2 Primary Education ..

9.3 Adult Literacy ..

10.0 General Assessment of Progress .

CONCLUSiON .

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ACRONYMSAEAZBESSIPCSODANIDADTEVTEBSECCEDEFAEMISEMTESIPFAWEZAFINNIDAGDPGERITepflCALCMSMEPSUNACNASNERNGOCCNGONORADPAGEPRISCASACMEQSIDATEVETAUNDPUNESCOUNFPAUNICEFUSAIDZAMNETZCSSZPAZERP

Adult Education Association of ZambiaBasic Education Sub-Sector Investment ProgrammeCentral Statistical OfficeDanish International Development AidDepartment of Technical Education and Vocational TrainingEducation Broadcasting ServicesEarly Childhood Care, Education and DevelopmentEducation For AllEducation Management Information SystemsEducation Management TrainingEducation Sector Investment ProgrammeForum for African Women Educationalists of ZambiaFinnish International Development AidGross Domestic ProductGross Enrolment RatioInter-Agency Technical Committee on PopulationJapanese International Corporation AgencyLiving Conditions Monitoring SurveyMinistry of Education Procurement and Supplies UnitNational Aids CouncilNational Assessment SystemNet Enrolment RatioNon Government organisation co-ordinating committeeNon Governmental OrganisationNorwegian Aid for DevelopmentProgramme for the Advancement of Girls EducationPrivate Schools and Colleges AssociationSouthern African Consortium for Monitoring Education QualitySwedish International Development AgencyTechnical Education and Vocational and Entrepreneuship TrainingUnited Nations Development ProgrammeUnited Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural OrganisationUnited Nations Fund for PopulationUnited Nations Children's FundUnited States Agency for International DevelopmentZambia NetworkZambia Community Schools SecretariatZambia Pre-School AssociationZambia Education Rehabilitation Project

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ZEDUKIT Zambia Education Kit

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

1. THE WORLD CONFERENCE ON EDUCATION FOR ALL

The World Conference on Education for all (1990) was organised in response to thewidespread concern over the inadequacy and deterioration of education systemsduring the 1980s and over the millions of children and adults who remain illiterateand poorly prepared for life in their societies

It was convened by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the UnitedNations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), the UnitedNations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the World Banle The Conference took placein Thailand, 5-9 March 1990 in the small coastal town of Jomten. Altogether, 155governments as well as representatives from 150 organisations agreed to take thenecessary steps to universalize primary education and massively reduce illiteracybefore the end of the decade, as well as to:

• expand early childhood education• improve learning achievement• reduce the male-female literacy gap• expand basic education opportunities for youth and adults• use all available communication channels to promote knowledge, skills and values

for better living

The Conference adopted the World Declaration on Education for All and theFramework for Action to Meet Basic Learning Needs. Through these documents theworld community broadened the scope of basic education to include early childhooddevelopment, primary education, non-formal learning (including literacy) for youthand adults, and learning conveyed through the media and social action. Zambiaparticipated in the World Conference on Education For All and is a signatory to theWorld Declaration on Education For All.

As follow-up to the World Conference on Education For All by the year 2000 theMinistry of Education, in collaboration with the other Ministries, co-operatingpartners and NGOs co-ordinated a national conference on EFA in 1991. Theconference deliberated and adopted the EFA national goals, strategies and plan ofaction. The EFA goals were enriched by the global vision of the World Declaration

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on Education for All and Framework for Action. The national conference identifiedthe following themes:

• Early Childhood Care, Education and Development;• Universal Primary Education;• Adult Literacy;

Essential Skills, Learning Achievements and Education for Better Living wereembedded in YouthJAdult Literacy and Universal Primary Education

2. THE EFA GOALS, TARGETS AND STRATEGIES SET IN 1990

Specific goals, targets and strategies were set in 1990 to guide initiatives towardsEducation For All in the major areas as outlined below

2.1 Early childhood Care, Education and Development (ECCED)

The main goal in Early Childhood Care, Education and Development was thatactivities for the 0-5 year old age-group were to be expanded, with emphasis oncommunity based interventions. The targets included increasing gross enrollmentratio of children in pre-school groups from 2% in 1990 to 25% by the year 2000, withan emphasis on the urban poor and disabled children. The proportion of trained pre­school care givers was envisaged to be increased from 25% to 60% by the end of thedecade, ensuring at least one trained teacher per ECCED centre. Every pre-schoolcare giver was to have access to one kit of teaching and learning materials with a setof play materials for each centre by the year 2000. At least 20% of the pre-schoolgroups were to take the lead in facilitating the integration of existing child services inthe community by 1995; this proportion to increase to 80% by the year 2000.

2.2. Primary Education

In primary education, the main goal was that all children ofprimary school age (7-13years) were to be enrolled in school, and to complete the requirements of a 7-yearprimary cycle by the year 2000. All children of primary age were expected tocomplete the equivalent of 7 grades, beginning with all the 7 year olds in Grade 1 in1992; the output in 1998 was at least to be 95% of the 1992 Grade 1 enrolled.incomplete primary schools (school ending at grade 4 only) were be upgraded to fullprimary school equivalent by 1995, extending the full range of learning experiences,through an appropriate and approved mix of alternative delivery system wherenecessary. The goal was to create 1.2 million additional primary school places by theyear 2000. This would ensure that all primary school age children estimated at 2.4million by the year 2000 would be in school.

All primary school children were expected to have access to appropriate and relevantlearning materials in the core subjects namely English, Mathematics, Science andSocial Studies. Annual average of 4,400 teacher were to be trained between 1991 and2000; this would imply an additional 2,700 teachers per year over and above the 1990

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level of training. Marginalised groups such as girls, street children, the disabled, theurban poor and children in the remote rural areas were to be enrolled, retained andhelped to complete the equivalent of a 7 year primary cycle.

2.3 Adult Literacy

The goal was to reduce Adult illiteracy from 25% as reported in 1990 census, to 12%by the year 2000, female illiteracy rate to be reduced from 33% in 1990 to 12% by theyear 2000, thus ensuring that meal-female illiteracy gap was eliminated. All illiterate11-15 year old out-of-school children were to have access to and be enrolled inliteracy activities and programmes. Training provisions were to be expanded inessential skills required by youths and adults. All community targeted trainingprogrammes in agriculture, health education, nutrition and population education tohave a functional literacy component by the year 1995. All illiterate children, youthsand adults to have access to appropriate and relevant learning materials by the year2000. The capacity of 342 existing social development assistants were to be upgradedso that they could train extension workers in teaching literacy skills. Marginalisedgroups such as the disabled, rural women and girls were to have improved access tofunctional literacy and at least one post-literacy centre to be established in everyaccess to functional literacy and at least one post-literacy centre to be established inevery ward and the Ministry of Sport, Youth, and Child Development to promote postliteracy activities in youth clubs whose aim would be to encourage the use of acquiredskills.

2.4 Education for Better Living

In 1990 there was no explicit goal for education for better living but the theme wasadopted during the mid-decade review. However, an intermediate goal for Educationfor better Living was embedded in the intermediate goals for Adult Literacy statedthus:

Mass media, and other forms of modem and traditional communication and socialaction in literacy activities to be developed to promote the acquisition of knowledgeand values and meet the basic learning needs of individuals and families.

2.5 Training in Essential Skills

Training in Essential Skills was recognised as an important activity in 1990. Its goalwas included in Adult Literacy and stated as follows: At least 80% of 14 year - olds,beginning school at age 7, to achieve or surpass the competencies defined for Grade 7by the year 2000. Learning competencies were not yet defined. Establishment oflearning competencies at each grade level it was assumed, would be one of the mainEFA activities in the course of the decade.

2.7 EFA Strategy of Action

The guiding strategy adopted for implementing the EFA goals was partnership anddecentralisation. The aim was to broaden participation in the control, responsibility,

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and accountability of educational development in the country. The participatingagencies were to include among others, communities, local councils, churches, non­governmental organisations, the government, and private sector. The followingspecific strategies were set:-

• to introduce a structure that would undertake efficient management of theeducation system;

• to build capacity in planning and management of education;

• to re-employ retired teachers on contract basis to meet the short fall orteachers

• to develop alternative non-formal approaches which would assist inuniversalising quality primary education;

• to increase grade 4 progression in 1995 to 95% of the Grade I intake in1992. The aim was to address the problem of incomplete schools found inrural areas which were terminating children at Grade 4 level;

• to develop functional literacy programmes as a basis for the acquisition ofknowledge, skills and values;

• to develop Early Childhood Care, Education and Developmentprogrammes through family and community based interventions;

• to sharpen the focus of life skills in primary school curriculum;

• to develop and produce selected reading materials and work books in 4local languages and English for Grade 1 to 4 in all primary schoolsestimated at 3,500 in 1990;

• to produce and distribute an EFA magazine to 3,500 primary schools;

• to introduce mastery of learning and remedial teaching techniques;

• to orient 1,500 primary school teachers in new methods and utilisation ofnew and revised materials for Grades1 to 4;

• to develop innovative ways in which to train teachers;

• to introduce a basic learning continuum (benchmarks) over the 7 yearprimary cycle over 1992;

• to define competencies for each grade and core subject up to and includinggrade 7 beginning in 1992;

• to ensure that all 10 year olds achieve or surpass competencies defined forgrade 4 or its equivalent by the year 1995;

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• to revive, modify or discard regulations that inhibit maximum communityparticipation in education;

• to liberise the production ad distribution of textbooks and othereducational materials;

• to use all education channels, the mass media and other forms of modemand traditional communication for transmission of knowledge, values andskills for better living and sound sustainable development;

• undertake studies on the conditions of marginalised groups like girls,disabled;

• develop a clear and effective system ofmonitoring all EFA activities;

• review the primary school examination by 1992; and

• to introduce continuous assessment techniques as a means of evaluatinglearning achievement, starting in Grade 1 in 1992 and reaching Grade 4 by1995 and Grade 7 by 1998.

The political changes that took places in 1991 almost created a stand still in the EFAinitiatives started in 1991. This was because the leaders were more concerned withestablishing a new national development direction for the country. There was moreeffort directed at formulation of new policies. However, the policies of the newgovernment were not different from the EFA principles set in 1990. The policiesreinforced EFA vision. For example, the Ministry of Education policy documents likeFocus on Learning, and Educating Our Future have stressed the importance of givingspecial focus on: decentralisation of the educational system; establishment of strongpartnerships with various stakeholders like NGOs, Community Based Organisations,Co-operating partners, Churches etc.; rehabilitation of schools; supply of educationmaterials; promoting equity in access, participation and achievement; establishment oflearning competencies, capacity building in planning and general management of theeducation system; strengthening gender equity; universalisation of basic education by2005. Other policies have stressed Adult literacy campaign; and allowingcommunities and other agencies establish pre-schools and other Early Childhoodprogrammes. The policies of the new government did embrace the EFA vision inalmost every respect.

3. EFA 2000 NATIONAL ASSESSMENTS

After the Jomtien Conference the International Consultative Forum on Education forAll or the EFA Forum, as it is generally known was set up to guide follow-up actionand provide a forum for continuous consultation among governments and theirpartners. Its goal was to expand and improve the provision of basic education in orderto meet the basic learning needs of all children, youth and adults.

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The Forum periodically brings together senior policy-makers and specialists fromdeveloping countries, international and bilateral development agencies, and non­governmental organisations and foundations. At its first meeting (Paris, December1992) the Forum focused on the prospects of achieving universal primary education.At its second meeting (New Delhi, September 1993), the Forum examined theprospects of providing quality education for all. The Forum's third meeting (Amman,June 1996) reviewed overall progress towards EFA at the mid-decade, and its finalcommunique (the Amman Affirmation) outlined priorities for action during theremainder of the decade.

The Forum's main activity at present is the EFA 2000 Assessment, the most in-depthevaluation of basic education ever undertaken. Some 175 countries are participatingin this global exercise, which is a unique opportunity for countries to take stock of theprogress made during the 1990s towards the goals of Education for all.

Ten regional technical advisory groups have been set up to co-ordinate regionalassessment activities and organize regional EFA meetings. The EFA 2000Assessment will reach its high point in April 2000 when the international communitywill meet at the World Education Forum in Daka, Senegal (26-28 April 2000).

The EFA assessment in Zambia started in September, 1999. It was conducted by ateam of consultants from the university. The assessment was participatory. Four taskforces consisting of individuals from various organisations including governmentMinistries were formed. The Task forces were involved in collection of data andcritical and analysis of the draft report prepared by the consultants. At the end of thedata collection process together with the task force reports, the consultants went for aretreat to put together a draft report. The report was discussed at a one day workshopof the stakeholders. The input from the workshop was later incorporated in thedocument.

4. RESULTS OF THE EFA ASSESSMENT

Available evidence indicate that efforts were made since 1990 to create opportunitiesfor basic education for children, out of school youth ad adults. Enrolment figures inbasic education and adult literacy levels show increases in the numbers of people withopportunities to access basic education. Judging efforts towards Education For All interms of access, Zambia could be considered to have made significant progress overthe past decade since 1990.

The picture emanating from enrolment data is that more primary school age childrenare enrolled in schools, the gap between boys and girls in school enrolments hasnarrowed almost to the point of parity, the rural urban gap in school enrolments hasnarrowed, school enrolments have risen in all regions of the country, disadvantagedchildren like orphans are finding opportunities for basic education through alternativepaths like community schools whose numbers are on the increase, adult literacy levelin the population aged 15 years and above has increased above the 1990 level. Thefemale literacy levels have risen. the only area where little gains in enrolments havebeen made is in Early Childhood Education.

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4.1 Early Childhood Education

Pre-school education is the predominant mode of early childhood education reportedin official statistics in Zambia. Preschool education is only a privilege of a fewchildren in the country. Only 2% of the children had opportunities for pre-schooleducation at the beginning of the decade. The official statistics for 1998 indicate that8.5% of the children entering Grade 1 had pre-school education. In rural areas only2.8% of the children in Grade happen to have had preschool education. In urbanareas, 23.7% of the children entering Grade 1 had pre-school education experience.This official data indicate that pre-school education is predominantly for childrenliving in urban areas. The number of girls having opportunities for pre-schooleducation is slightly more than that of boys. Children in rural areas have very littleopportunities for pre-school education. The lower numbers of children with pre­school education indicate that the majority of Zambian children enter primaryeducation without having been well prepared for it.

4.2 Primary Education

Quantitative data on primary education point to significant increases in primaryschool enrolments among schools age children Zambia since 1990: Enrolment inprimary education which fluctuated from 1991 to 1996 registered some upwardincrease by 1998. There has been a development towards a decrease in GrossEnrolment Ratio (GER) meaning that the system is moving towards accommodatingchildren of rightful school age. The gap between GER and Net Enrolment Ratio(NER) has been closing with the NER showing significant rise from 69% in 1996 to85 in 1998

With almost half of the children of primary school age were enrolled in school insome rural regions of the country like Eastern Province by the middle of the decade,the condition had changed by 1998 with all regions having experienced significantincreases in primary school enrolments. The rural urban gap in primary schoolenrolments is however still noticeable. According to available data, regions likeLusaka and Copperbelt which are predominantly urban have reached Net enrolmentlevels of more than 90% vehicle some rural regions still register NER of 62%.

The enrolment levels of girls increased significantly by 1998 in all the regions of thecountry. Enrolment data has demonstrated a trend towards gender parity meaning thatthe enrolment gap between boys and girls has closed significantly since 1990. In factenrolment data on primary education indicate a condition of almost gender parity inprimary school enrolments in the country.

The dropout rate in primary schools is more pronounced in the rural areas than in theurban areas. On average the dropout rate for girls is slightly more than that of boys.Economic factors account for much of the dropout rates in primary schools.Repetition rate is generally very low and it is not more than 6% between grades 1 to 6.The repetition rate is higher in grade 7 because of the tendency by those who do notget selected in grade 8 to try a second chance.

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Enrolments have not only been confined to government schools. Rather, the pastdecade has seen the emergence of community and private schools. Data is notavailable on private schools. However, data on community schools shows significantincreases in efforts made by the communities to provide education opportunities tochildren left out of the formula primary education system.

Community schools emerged as a response to the unmet demand for school placesamong the poor and other marginalised groups. These schools are initiated byCommunity Based Organisations (CBOs), NGOs and Churches. They are allinexpensive, less demanding in entry requirements and emphasize inculcation ofliteracy, numeracy and problem solving skills.

The number of community schools grew from 55 in 1996 to 373 in 1999. Equally,enrolments increased from 6,599 in 1996 to 47,276 in 1999. The number of registeredcommunity schools increased seven times in three years from '996 to 1999. Becausenot all community schools are registered with the Zambia Community SchoolsSecretariat (ZCSS), their number are likely to be much higher. The increase can beattributed to the facilitating role of the government which has encouraged instead ofdiscouraged the growth of these types of school. If the growth in the number of theseschools continues they will in fact be another alternative path to accessing basiceducation on the part of children.

A major contribution of community schools is that they are trying to meet the basiceducation needs of disadvantaged children like orphans and girls. Enrolments of thesecategories of disadvantaged children is on the increase in the community schools.

Without community schools these children who are coming forward to enroll in themwould never have any opportunities to acquire basic education.

The gains in school enrolments that have taken place over the past decade were,however, accompanied by constraints in the system. Available research shows twomajor negative conditions in primary education. First, while enrolments may haverisen significantly over the decade, school attendance is still low in some parts of thecountry. In rural areas, 38% of children enrolled in school do not attend school andthe proportion in urban areas 19%. More girls have been found not attending school.Some of the factors accountable for non attendance are poverty, natural factors likedrought, and local traditions. Poverty dictates that school children have to assist theirfamilies in income generating activities and this affects their attendance in school. Insome case children do not attend school because the parents and or guardians cannotafford the PTA levies, school fund or school uniforms. Some children stop attendingschool because of the loss of parents. The number of orphans has reached more than400,000 and many of them have difficulties attending school because of lack ofsupport. Local traditional ceremonies in some parts of the countries still contribute topoor school attendance among children.

The second negative factor in primary education is low learning achievement levels ofchildren. Although many children are enrolled in school, the majority are not learning

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as much SACMEQ). The Southern Africa Consortium for the Measurement ofEducational Quality (SACMEQ) study sponsored by the International Institute ofEducational Planning found very low performance levels among Zambian children onthe reading ability tests designed for grade 6 pupils. The study recorded that only25.8% of the Grade 6 pupils in Zambian schools reached minimum mastery level inreading. The percentage of children reaching desirable mastery reading level wasonly 2.4%. Most rural schools performed lower than urban schools and boysperformed better than girls. The proportion of the boys who attained minimummastery in reading was 28% compared to 23.1% of the girls. Pupils from high socio­economic groups performed better than those from low socio economic groups.

Factors accountable for the low achievement levels of primary school childreninclude: short contact hours at school, poor school attendance, low instructional time,poverty in the home, low teacher morale because of poor conditions of service, highproportion of untrained teachers especially in rural areas, inadequate supply ofeducational materials especially in rural areas and the use of English in schoolsinstead of home languages of children and teachers not trained to promote a reading areading culture.

\Education for All entails universal access, universal partICIpation and universallearning achievement. Enrolling children in school should be accompanied bymeasures to ensure that they are attending school, and learning at expected levels.Keeping children in school and helping them to learn is a task that has to be tackledseriously in Zambian education.

4.3 Adult Literacy

The data on literacy shows some improvements in national literacy rates since 1990.National literacy level for the population aged 15 years and above increased from54.8% in 1990 to 67.8%. The literacy level of females rose from 46.7% in 1990 to59.9% in 1996. Illiteracy in the rural areas stood at 62.1% of the rural population in1990. The proportion of illiterates in rural areas was 50% of the rural population aged15 years and above in 1996. The urban illiteracy level on the other hand was 16.9%in 1996 an improvement over 1990 levels of 31 31.5%. This shows that there is a gapin literacy levels between the rural and urban problem and female than male problem.

5 FACTORS ACCOUNTABLE FOR INCREASE IN ACCESS TOPRIMARY EDUCATION

The decade witnessed high political will to meet basic learning needs of children,youth and adults, on the other hand more public awareness about the need to sendchildren especially the girl child increased during the decade.

The gains in access to primary education has to a large extent come as a result ofpartnership among the governrnent, community based organisations, non­governmental organisations, churches, co-operating partners and individuals. Unlikethe situation before the 1990s when education was considered a governrnentresponsibility the past decade has seen more involvement of the civil society in

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education. Programmes like PAGE, Community school, school construction andrehabilitation, education materials procurement and supply and others initiated in thecourse of the decade appear to have created some impact on raising educationenrolments. The major achievement of the EFA initiatives was to enable more girlsget enrolled in school.

The education activities of the civil society witnessed over the decade included:advocacy for the right to education of excluded groups like girls and orphans,establishment of schools, provision of education materials to schools, rehabilitation ofschools, material support to needy children and training adults in literacy skills. Thegovernment with support from co-operating partners has expended, the BasicEducation Sub-Sector Investment Programme is likely to create more opportunitiesfor quality basic education among children.

The major problems of over the past decade have been poor school attendance andlow achievement levels. Poor school attendance means that the affected children arenot benefiting much from available education opportunities. Low achievement levelson the other hand means that those accessing basic education are not acquiring theknowledge, skills and values necessary for their development and effectiveparticipation in their communities. These problems are likely to erode the effortsbeing made in creating opportunities for basic education for more people if notadequately handled. The roots of these problems are in the escalating poverty andeconomic decline which has engulfed the country.

6. CONCLUSION

The past decade has witnessed more concerted efforts to meet the basic educationneed of children, youth and adults. The political will to do this has generally beenhigh. Several initiatives were made to create more opportunities for basic educationin the country. These included liberalizing participation in provision of educationalinstitutions, allowing civil societies to advocate for the education of children,relaxation in regulations requiring the wearing of school uniforms, rehabilitation ofschools, supply of education materials, literacy campaigns among others. Theseinitiatives have contributed to the increases in enrolments primary schools and adultliteracy programmes.

7. RECOMMENDATIONS

The key word in education should be sustainability of the gains recorded over the pastdecade. The gains are at three levels. First the political will to meet basic learningneeds of the children, youth and adults which developed over the past decade shouldbe sustained and raised even further. No achievements in Education for All can bemade without political will to do so from the leadership. Second, there is need tosustain the momentum for democratisation of the education system which has comethrough involvement of other agencies including the civil society in various educationareas including power and control over educational institutions. More advocacyactivities for education of girls should be encouraged because they do yield positivegains by enabling more girls to be enrolled in school. Third, the enrolment levels in

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basic education indicate some marked increases and they should be improved upon inorder to have universal basic education in the country. More efforts should be givento strategies that enable children attend school and learn at expected levels ofachievement.

Given the general outcry about the high cost of education in Zambia among lowincome groups efforts should be made to reduce the direct costs of education for suchgroups. This can be done through: targeting donor and public resources to schools inlow income areas for direct costs like repairs of school buildings, and desks,procurement of education materials, and construction of classrooms. The objective isto cut on demands for direct contributions to school projects by PTAs.

Efforts of NGOs and communities to establish pre-schools and community schoolsneed strong support. Community schools in particular deserve more support becausethey provide learning opportunities for the most needy. There should be a budget linefor community schools in the government budget. Research to assess the educationopportunities of disadvantaged children in all parts of the country is necessary.

Information management is generally very weak in all the EFA related programmes.Capacity building in Education Information Management System should be a centralconcern. Closer monitoring of EFA initiatives through a coordinating body like aTask Force might assist in knowing what is happening in the area of meeting the rightof very individual to basic education. Further, there is need for periodic assessmentswhich might give indications of what is happening in various EFA initiatives

Twenty-two points, plus triple-word-score, plus fifty points for using all my lettersGame's over. I'm outta here.

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BACKGROUND

Zambia is a landlocked country surrounded by eight countries namely: the DemocraticRepublic of Congo, United Republic of Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique, Zimbabwe,Botswana, Namibia and Angola. It is a fairly large but sparsely populated country. It covers aland area of 752,614 square kilometers. The total population is estimated at 10.7 milliongiving a population density of 11 persons per square kilometer.

Zambia is not only a big country but it is also one of the highly urbanised in sub-saharanAfrica. The 1990 population census put the population living in urban areas at 42%. Thepopulation density in big urban areas like Lusaka stands at more than 200 persons per squarekilometer. Since slightly more than 50% of the population is below fifteen years of age, thegreatest pressure exerted on educational provision is that there is high demand for increasedprovision of education in the urban areas because of big numbers of children whoseeducational requirements have to be met. On the other hand the sparseness of the populationin some rural areas poses the challenge of providing education to small populations ofchildren who are geographically very distant from each other. The urban and rural differencesentail adoption of educational provision strategies that take into account varied geographicalcircumstances.

A major social characteristic of Zambia is that it is multiethnic and by extension multiculturalas well. There are seven major languages and seventy-three dialects. The diversity of ethnicgroups entails existence of several traditions and cultural practices which have theirimplications on the education of children. Some of the traditions have been found to havenegative effect on school attendance despite the existence of school facilities. Low schoolattendance ratios in certain rural parts of the country have been attributed to prevailingtraditions and cultural practices.

In 1991 Zambia experienced a major political change comparable only to that of politicalindependence in 1964. This was the transition from a one party state to a multi party systemof political governance. The political change was accompanied by major changes ineconomic, social and political policies. Liberalisation and privatisation of the economy hasbeen the guiding national policy framework for the new government since 1991. In the socialsectors the new policy framework has involved elimination of state subsidies and free socialservices and a greater demand for cost sharing. Liberalisation and privatisation has alsocreated an environment in which individuals and other agencies can participate as equalpartners in various sectors including education.

Currently, participants in educational provision include the government, communities,individuals, religious organisations and non-governmental organisations NOO(s). Since 1991,there has been a growth in the number of private schools and colleges. The new book policyhas liberalised the education materials market in such a way that several private publishingcompanies are now competing for the supply of books and education materials to schools.The educational system is increasingly becoming diverse giving alternative paths of access toeducational opportunities.

The political and economic policy shift in the country has brought new internationalrelationships. Economically, the country has strictly adhered to the Structural AdjustmentProgram dictates of the World Bank and the IMF. Measures like budget balancing, meetingdebt servicing schedules, and adherence to financial discipline through cash budgets havebeen at the center of macro economic policies. Some of these economic measures haveaffected the government's ability to mobilise financial resources for real investments in socialsectors like education. In some cases the conditionalities of the Structural AdjustmentProgram have resulted in deep cuts on the education budgets.

The country's economy has not been stable over the years. The local currency the Kwachahas depreciated considerably against other currencies. For example, in 1991 the exchange rateof the Kwacha to one United States dollar was 1:90. In 1999, the exchange rate between thetwo currencies stand at 2,400 Kwacha to 1 United States dollar. The liberalisation andprivatisation of the economy has been accompanied by retrenchments of the workforce andemployment prospects have not risen. These economic changes have affected educationinvestments at the household levels in particular. Many families have faced the difficulties ofmeeting the educational needs of their children. One positive development that hasaccompanied these changes, however, has been the willingness of families and individuals toaccept that they have a responsibility to meet the educational needs of their children. Costsharing has come to be accepted as a way of life in the country.

Major education policy developments have taken place since 1991. Immediately after thechange of government, Cabinet approved a new education policy entitled Focus on Learningin 1992. The goal of the new education policy was improving access, equity, efficiency andquality of education through: rehabilitation of school infrastructure, construction of newschools, training of education managers, and procurement and supply of education materialsto schools. A major outcome of Focus on Learning policy was the Zambia EducationRehabilitation Project, which started in 1993 and ended in 1998.

Another policy development was the publication of the national education policy entitledEducating Our future in May 1996. Educating Our Future created a path for educationaldevelopment, which is in line with the country's new political, economic and social direction.The benchmarks of the new education policy are decentralisation, partnership, equity,efficiency, quality, democratisation and effectiveness.

Educating Our Future sets new frameworks for developing the national educational system.Basic education has been defined to mean the first nine years of school. Every child isexpected to have access to nine years basic education by the year 2015. In the interim, 2005was set as the year for achieving universal primary education. One of the outcomes ofEducating Our Future has been the current policy development directed at adopting a sectorapproach to the development of basic education through the Basic Education Sub SectorInvestment Program (BESSIP). The objectives of BESSIP are to increase access, decentralisethe educational system, build capacity in the educational system, raise equity, develop betterpartnership and improve quality and coordination in basic education.

2

THE WORLD CONFERENCE ON EDUCATION FOR ALL

The World Conference on Education for All (1990) was organized in response to thewidespread concern over the inadequacy and deterioration of education systems during the1980s and over the millions of children and adults who remain illiterate and poorly preparedfor life in their societies.

It was convened by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the UnitedNations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the United NationsChildren's Fund (UNICEF) and the World Bank. The Conference took place in Thailand, 5-9March 1990 in the small coastal town of 10mtien. Altogether, 155 governments as well asrepresentatives from 150 organizations agreed to take the necessary steps to universalizeprimary education and massively reduce illiteracy before the end of the decade, as well as to:

• expand early childhood education

• improve learning achievement

• reduce the male-female literacy gap

• expand basic education opportunities for youth and adults

• use all available communication channels to promote knowledge, skills and values forbetter living.

The Conference adopted the World Declaration on Education for All and the Framework forAction to Meet Basic Learning Needs. Through these documents the world communitybroadened the scope of basic education to include early childhood development, primaryeducation, non-formal learning (including literacy) for youth and adults, and learningconveyed through the media and social action. Zambia participated in the World Conferenceon Education For All and is a signatory to the World Declaration on Education For All

The International Consultative Forum on Education for All, or the EFA Forum, as it isgenerally known was set up after the 10mtien Conference to guide follow-up action andprovide a forum for continuous consultation among governments and their partners. Its goalwas to expand and improve the provision of basic education in order to meet the basiclearning needs of all children, youth and adults.

The Forum periodically brings together senior policy-makers and specialists from developingcountries, international and bilateral development agencies, and non-governmentalorganizations and foundations. At its first meeting (Paris, December 1992) the Forum focusedon the prospects of achieving universal primary education. At its second meeting (New Delhi,

3

September 1993), the Forum examined the prospects of providing quality education for all.The Forum's third meeting (Amman, June 1996) reviewed overall progress towards EFA atthe mid-decade, and its final communique (the Amman Affirmation) outlined priorities foraction during the remainder of the decade.

The Forum's main activity at present is the EFA 2000 Assessment, the most in-depthevaluation of basic education ever undertaken. Some 175 countries are participating in thisglobal exercise, which is a unique opportunity for countries to take stock of the progressmade during the 1990s towards the goals of Education for All.

Ten regional technical advisory groups have been set up to co-ordinate regional assessmentactivities and organize regional EFA meetings. The EFA 2000 Assessment will reach its highpoint in April 2000 when the international community meets at the World Education Forumin Dakar, Senegal (26-28 April 2000).

PART ONE

1.0 INTRODUCTION

As a follow-up to the World Conference on Education For All by the year 2000 the Ministryof Education, in collaboration with other Ministries, co-operating partners and NGOsco-ordinated a national conference on EFA in 1991. The conference deliberated and adoptedthe EFA national goals, strategies and plan of action. The EFA goals were enriched by theglobal vision of the World Declaration on Education for All and Framework for Action. Thenational conference identified the following themes:

• Early Childhood Care, Education and Development;

• Universal Primary Education and

• Adult Literacy

Essential Skills, Learning Achievements and Education for Better Living were embedded inYouthlAdult Literacy and Universal Primary Education.

1.1.0 THE EFA GOALS AND TARGETS SET IN 1990

1.1.1 Early Childhood Care, Education and Development (ECCED)

Main Goal

• Early Childhood Care, Education and Development activities for the 0-5 year old age­group to be expanded, with emphasis on community based interventions.

Targets

4

• The gross enrollment ratio of children in pre-school groups to be increased from2% in 1990 to 25% by the year 2000, with an emphasis on the urban poor anddisabled children;

• The proportion of trained pre-school caregivers to be increased from 25% to 60%by the end of the decade, ensuring at least one trained teacher per ECCED center;

• Every pre-school caregiver to have access to one kit of teaching and learningmaterials with a set ofplay materials for each centre by the year 2000;

• At least 20% of the pre-school groups to take the lead in facilitating theintegration of existing child services in the community by 1995; this proportion toincrease to 80% by the year 2000.

1.1.2 Primary Education

Main Goal

• All children of primary school age (7-13 years) to be enrolled in school, and tocomplete the requirements of a 7-year primary cycle by the year 2000.

Targets

• All children of primary age to complete the equivalent of 7 grades, beginning withall the 7 year olds in Grade 1 in 1992; output in 1998 should at least be 95% of the1992 Grade 1 enrollment;

• All incomplete primary schools (schools ending at grade 4 only) to be upgraded tofull primary school equivalent by 1995, extending the full range of learningexperiences, through an appropriate and approved mix of alternative deliverysystems where necessary;

• 1.2 million additional primary school places to be created by the year 2000. Thiswould ensure that all primary school age children estimated at 2.4 million by theyear 2000 would be in school;

• All primary school children to have access to appropriate and relevant learningmaterials in the core subjects namely English, Mathematics, Science and SocialStudies;

• An annual average of 4,400 teachers to be trained between 1991 and 2000; thiswould imply an additional 2,700 teachers per year over and above the 1990 levelof training; and

5

• Marginalised groups such as girls, street children, the disabled, the urban poor andchildren in the remote rural areas to be enrolled, retained and helped to completethe equivalent of a 7 year primary cycle.

1.1.3 Adult Literacy

Main Goal

• Reduce Adult illiteracy from 25% as reported in 1990 census, to 12% by the year 2000,female illiteracy rate to be reduced from 33% in 1990 to 12% by the year 2000, thusensuring that male-female illiteracy gap was eliminated.

Targets

• All illiterate 11-15 year old out-of-school children to have access to and be enrolled inliteracy activities and programmes;

• Training provisions to be expanded in essential skills required by youths and adults;

• All community targeted training programmes in agriculture, health education, nutritionand population education to have a functional literacy component by the year 1995;

• All illiterate children, youths and adults to have access to appropriate and relevantlearning materials by the year 2000;

• The capacity of 342 existing social development assistants to be upgraded so that theycould train extension workers in teaching literacy skills;

• Marginalised groups such as the disabled, rural women and girls to have improved accessto functional literacy;

• At least one post-literacy centre to be established in every ward and the Ministry of Sport,Youth, and Child Development to promote post literacy activities in youth clubs whoseaim would be to encourage the use of acquired skills.

1.1.4 Education for Better Living

6

In 1990 there was no explicit goal for education for better living but the theme was adoptedduring the mid-decade review. However, an intermediate goal for Education for better Livingwas embedded in the intermediate goals for Adult Literacy stated thus:

Mass media, and other forms of modem and traditional communication and social action inliteracy activities to be developed to promote the acquisition of knowledge and values andmeet the basic learning needs of individuals and families.

1.1.5 Training in Essential Skills

Training in Essential Skills was recognised as an important activity in 1990. Its goal wasincluded in Adult Literacy and stated as follows:

• To expand training opportunities in Essential Skills for youths and adults.

1.1.6 Learning Achievement

In 1990, Learning Achievement was not isolated as a separate theme. It was integrated as agoal in Primary Education and was stated as follows:

• At least 80% of 14 year - olds, beginning school at age 7, to achieve or surpass thecompetencies defined for Grade 7 by the year 2000.

Learning competencies were not yet defined. Establishment of learning competencies at eachgrade level it was assumed, would be one of the main EFA activities in the course of thedecade.

2.0 EFA STRATEGYIPLAN OF ACTION

2.1 The guiding strategy adopted for implementing the EFA goals was partnership anddecentralisation. The aim was to broaden participation in the control, responsibility,and accountability of educational development in the country. The participatingagencies were to include among others, communities, local councils, churches, non­governmental organisations, the government, and private sector. Specificstrategies/plan of action were to:-

• introduce a structure that would undertake efficient and effective management ofthe education system;

• build capacity in planning and management of education;

• re-employ retired teachers on contract basis to meet the short fall of teachers

7

• develop alternative nonformal approaches which would assist in universalisingquality primary education;

• increase grade 4 progression in 1995 to 95% of the Grade 1 intake in 1992. Theaim was to address the problem of incomplete schools found in rural areas whichwere terminating children's formal education at Grade 4 level;

• develop functional literacy programmes as a basis for the acquisition ofknowledge, skills and values;

• develop Early Childhood Care, Education and Development programmes throughfamily and community based interventions;

• sharpen the focus of life skills in primary school curriculum;

• develop and produce selected reading materials and work books in 4 locallanguages and English for Grade 1 to 4 in all primary schools estimated at 3,500in 1990;

• produce and distribute an EFA magazine to 3,500 primary schools;

• introduce mastery of learning and remedial teaching techniques;

• orient 1,500 primary school teachers in new methods and utilisation of new andrevised materials for Grades 1 to 4;

• develop innovative ways in which to train teachers.

• introduce a basic learning continuum (benchmarks) over the 7 year primary cycleover 1992;

• define competencies for each grade and core subject up to and including grade 7beginning in 1992;

• ensure that all 10 year olds achieve or surpass competencies defined for grade 4 orits equivalent by the year 1995.

• revive, modify or discard regulations that inhibit maXImum communityparticipation in education;

• liberalise the production and distribution of textbooks and other educationalmaterials.

• use all education charmels, the mass media and other forms of modem andtraditional communication for transmission of knowledge, values and skills forbetter living and sound sustainable development.

8

• undertake studies on the conditions of marginalised groups like girls, disabledchildren and children in difficult circumstances and the findings used to developprogrammes to meet their basic learning needs;

• develop a clear and effective system of monitoring all EFA activities;

• review the primary school examination by 1992; and

• introduce continuous assessment techniques as a means of evaluating learningachievement, starting in Grade 1 in 1992 and reaching Grade 4 by 1995 and Grade7 by 1998.

3.0 EFA DECISION MAKING AND MANAGEMENT BY THE YEAR 2000

The task of translating the vision of Education For All was initially undertaken by the EFANational Task Force. The Task Force comprised Government Ministries, NGOs , Bilateraland Multilateral Donor agencies, and the University of Zambia. The role of the Task Forcewas to initiate EFA activities and programmes and to monitor their development. The TaskForce held monthly meetings from March 1991 until May 1993 when it became inactive.The Task Force was viewed by the co-operating partners as the focus of authority for allactivities related to EFA. At the time, the work of the Task Force was known by the highestauthority in the land.

The concern of the new political leaders with developing a new direction for the country in allsectors led to changes in co-ordination of EFA activities. After 1993 EFA decision-makingprocess was carried out by different committees/organs which were governmental, non­governmental, private and community based. The following are examples ofthese:-

(i) National Steering Committee for the Programme for the Advancement of GirlsEducation (PAGE) at Ministry of Education Headquarters which has beenmanaging all activities related to PAGE;

(ii) The Department of Child Affairs in the Ministry of Sport Youth and ChildDevelopment co-ordinated activities related to policy on Early Childhood CareEducation and Development;

(iii) Zambia Education Rehabilitation Project (ZERP) under the Ministry ofEducation undertook policy research, construction and rehabilitation ofschools; procurement and distribution of educational materials, curriculumreview and Education Management Training (EMT);

9

(iv) The Ministry of Education has established the Basic Education Sub-SectorInvestment Programme (BESSIP) in which it works with co-operatingpartners;

(v) The National Steering Committee on Adult Literacy (later renamed ZambiaAlliance for Literacy) under the Ministry of Community Development andSocial Services co-ordinated the implementation of the national literacycampaign. From 1995 all literacy activities have been co-ordinated by theMinistry of Community Development and Social Services;

(vi) Co-ordination of information, education and communication was done by asub-committee of Inter-Agency Technical Committee on Population (ITCP) inthe Ministry of Information and Broadcasting ;

(vii) Educational Broadcasting was carried out by Educational BroadcastingServices (EBS) in the Ministry ofEducation;

(viii) Zambia Community Schools Secretariat (ZCSS) co-ordinated policy andactivities ofNGOs involved in running community schools;

(ix) Educational activities of the civil society were loosely co-ordinated byNGOCC.

(x) Zambia Pre-School Association closely co-ordinated Early Childhood Careand Development activities;

(xi) The Private Schools and Colleges Association (PRISCA) co-ordinated theactivities of the private sector.

4.0 CO-OPERATION IN THE EFA

With the liberalisation policy of the Government, EFA activities were managed by diversegroups and organisations. Key among them were Zambia Community School Secretariat (Z­CSS) Private Schools and Colleges Association (PRISCA), Adult Education Association ofZambia (AEAZ), Forum for African Women Educationalists of Zambia (FAWEZA), ZambiaPre-school Association (ZPA and Government itself. Central to the implementation of EFAhave been several multilateral and bilateral co-operating partners.

5.0 INVESTMENT IN EFA SINCE 1990

Implementation and achievement of EFA programmes depended upon financial assistancefrom bilateral and multilateral donor agencies as well as funds mobilized from localcommunities, private and individual enterprises. Although activities related to EFA were

10

•

scattered in various programmes after 1993, they nevertheless embraced EFA goalsestablished in 1991. Some of the EFA goals, which became the basis for financialmobilisation between the government and its cooperating partners were:

education opportunities for girls;

learning opportunities for disadvantaged children;

creation of additional school places;

education materials procurement and supply;

training of teachers;

decentralisation of the educational system;

inclusion oflife skills in school curriculum;

capacity building in education planning and management;

establishment of learning competencies;

learning opportunities for adults and out of school youth.

research on education opportunities;

monitoring and evaluation of EFA activities.

These goals did translate into EFA activities which attracted funding from variouscooperating partners. A significant investment development since 1991 has been a shift ininvestment priorities to basic education among co-operating partners.

PART TWO

6.0 PROGRESS TOWARDS GOALS AND TARGETS

6.1 Early Childhood Care Education and Development (ECCED)

Early childhood education is very important because the first five years are the mostfonnative of a child's life. A vast amount of learning takes place during this time. The mostcommon ECCED mode of provision in Zambia is the Pre-school and the discussion in thissection will focus on it.

The number of ECCED centres increased by 11% from 300 in 1990 to 443 in 1995. Data onthe number of centres since 1995 was not available but the trend was towards a growth in thenumber of centres. The main providers of the service were churches, councils, NGOs andprivate individuals.

The target of increasing the gross enrolment ratio of children in pre-school groups from 2% in1990 to 25% by the year 2000 was ambitious. Indications from available data show that only

11

•

7.3% of the 3-6 year old children had attended some form of pre-school centre by 1998 asevident from table 6-1 and figures 6-1 and 6-2.

Table 6-1 Proportion of Grade 1 New Entrants with Pre-school Background 1998Proportion of Grade 1 new entrants with pre-school experience

Location Number of Proportion of Gender ParityGrade one entrants with Pre-Entrants school experience

Zambia Total (MF) 248,698 8.5 1.2Male 126,260 7.7Female 122,438 9.4

Rural areas Total (MF) 179,998 2.8 1.0Male 92,366 2.7Female 87,632 2.8

Urban areas Total (MF) 68,700 23.7 1.2Male 33,894 21.4Female 34,806 25.8

Source: Mmistry of Education 1998

Figures 6-1 and 6-2 show that opportunities for Pre-school education are mainly for childrenin urban areas. The most urbanised regions like Copperbelt and Lusaka are where there arehigh opportunities for pre-school education. Rural areas and predominantly rural regions, asshown by Fig 6-1, have very few children who experienced Pre-school education. Pre schoolsare more in urban areas because that is where the demand is high.

Figure 6-1

12

New Grade One Entrants with Pre­School Background by Residence, 1998

Urban

3025 1-,.J---'-~~---:::-="':'-,.;":":;.::=iIH

20Proportion 15 j,;;.I----......:.,-.."7'""'"~~~""::

10 .,5,":

~i!~o ,.Zambia Rural

Residence

Figure 6-2

Total.MaleoFemale

Provincial Disparities in Grade 1 Entrantswith Pre-School background, 1998

•

Cl)co

1::oQ.e

Q.

30 -r."""'----.---.......~~=~=252015105o

I

---;;;T;;-o"'7"ta-;,,-I!i.Male

o Female

By 1998 out of 248,698 children enrolled in Grade 1, 21,139 had access to pre-schooleducation. This represented 8.5% of the total grade 1 enrolments representing 7.7% malesand 9.4% females. The Gender parity index was 1.2% in favour of female children.

From the data in the table and the figures, the proportion of children with pre-schoolexperience in urban areas was much higher (23.7%) than in rural areas (2.7%). Preschooleducation is more of an urban phenomenon and within urban areas children from high costresidential areas benefit from pre school education than those in low cost residential areas.The number of trained teachers in ECCED centres increased from 473 in 1990 to 1069 in1995 and more than 1,200 in 1997. In addition, there was a big increase in the number of pre-

13

school teacher training colleges established by private individuals and institutions. It mustalso be pointed out that the Zambia Institute for Special Education (ZAMISE) introduced aclass for teachers ofpre-school disabled children.

The goal of making every pre-school care-giver have access to one kit of learning andteaching materials with a set of play materials for each centre by the year 2000 was not metdue to inadequate funding to Curriculum Development Centre. However, ECCED caregivershad access to materials produced elsewhere, both locally and internationally.

The goal of 20% of the pre-school groups taking the lead in facilitating integration of existingchild services in the community by 1995 and this proportion to increase to 80% by the year2000 was not achieved. One reason for that was that owners of ECCED centres were notsensitised to the need to integrate existing child services into their programme. The leadingagent, ZPA, faced financial, organisational and managerial problems.

One significant achievement made over the decade was government's articulation of a ChildPolicy under the Ministry of Sport, Youth and Child pevelopment.

•

6.2

6.2.1

Primary Education

Primary education in Zambia consists of the first seven years of school that is grades 1to 7. The first four years of school are officially known as lower basic while thesenior primary grades (i.e. grades 5 to 7) constitute upper basic. Primary education isstill a complete circle. This means that not all children are expected to proceed tosecondary education. The position all along has been that almost two thirds of thechildren end their education at primary level. Only one third of the primary schoolleavers have opportunities to go to secondary education.

Running Agency of Schools

There are four types of Primary Schools in Zambia namely government schools (orGRZ Schools), Private Schools, Grant Aided Schools and Community Schools.Figure 6.3 shows the types of schools. Community Schools are discussed in section6.2.7. Most of the primary schools are still government controlled.

Primary Schools by Running Agency, (1996 - 1998)

Percentage

1996 1998

Years

I

II'

6.2.2. Opportunities for Primary Education

6.2.2. 1.Gross and Net Admission Ratios

Admission to Grade 1 is at the age of 7 years. The age group which the primaryeducation sector should be absorbing is the 7 - 13 years.

The data in Tables 6-2 and 6-3 show that of all the children admitted in Grade 1 only slightlyover 40% of them were of the right entry age.

Table 6-2 Gross and Net Intake ratios by sex (1994 -1998)

Years Gross Intake Ratio Net Intake RatioMale Female Total Male Female Total

1994 111.4 106.6 109.1 - - -1995 108.0 104.4 108.0 44.0 45.6 44.41996 109.4 113.2 111.2 45.6 51.2 48.31998 92.0 96.7 94.2 40.1 44.7 42.3

• Source: Ministry of Education, Planning Unit.

Table 6-3 Admission ratios by Province, ( 1996 - 1998)

15

Province 1996 Admission Ratios 1998 Admission Ratios

AIR NIR Parity AIR NIR Parity

index- index-

AIR AIR

Copperbelt 127.9 50.0 1.2 89.0 51.6 1.2

Central 107.6 45.1 1.2 89.3 42.3 1.1Lusaka 84.1 36.8 1.1 84.2 39.7 1.1Southern 110.9 48.0 1.1 81.3 38.2 1.1Luapula 122.9 55.3 1.1 114.8 42.9 1.1Northern 117.0 48.7 1.4 111.0 40.6 1.1Eastern 94.3 40.4 1.1 86.4 31.2 1.1N/Western 120.6 58.3 1.2 117.5 53.2 0.9Westerm 127.3 55.1 1.2 109.0 51.3 1.3Zambia 111.2 48.3 1.1 94.2 42.3 1.1

Source: MmIstry of EducatlOn 1998

Figure 6-4

Net Intake Ratios by Sex, (1995 - 1998)

60

50• f/) 40Q) --+- Maleen.5 _FemalecQ)

~ 20 -tr- TotalQ)

0.

10

01995 1996 1998

Years

In other words, more than 50% of the children that found places in Grade 1 were either overage or under age. Eastern Province, a rural province had the lowest Net Intake Ratio (31.2%)meaning that most of the children that found admission in Grade 1 in that Province were overage. Compared to the Copperbelt, Lusaka had a 10werNIR 51.2 and 39.7% respectively.The lower NIR in Lusaka could be attributed to more under age admissions in Grade 1. The

16

high AIR in rural provinces like Luapula, Nothern, North-western and Western indicate that ahigh proportion of the children in these regions do not start school at the official age of sevenyears. Many children in rural regions thus start school after seven years.

Figure 6 - 4 shows the NIR by sex. The NIR of females is higher than that of boys. Thismeans that more girls start school at the official age of seven years.

6.2.3. Gross and Net Enrollment Ratios (GER and NER)

Table 6-4 shows the trends in enrolments since 1991. From 1991 to 1993 there was anincrease in GER and NER. However, after 1993 both enrolment ratios declined. In 1991, theGross Enrollment Ratio was 96 percent rising to 104 percent and dropping to 93 percent in1996. The Net Enrolment Ratio, on the other hand, stood at 68 percent for children aged 7 to13 in 1991, this rose to 73 percent in 1993 and dropped to 69 percent in 1996. However, boththe GER and NER seem to have improved significantly after 1996. In 1998, the GERdropped to 101 % (from 104% in 1991 which was the highest GER over recorded period) andthe NER rose to 85%.This means that more children of the right age were being enrolled inschool in 1998.

The decline in Net EnroIlment Ratio from 73 percent in 1993 to 69 percent in 1996 showsthat there was high fluctuations in primary school enrollments in the country from thebeginning up to the middle of the decade. However, the rise of the NER to 85% by 1998shows an increase in opportunities for primary education among the primary school agechildren. This signifies an improvement in the numbers of children having opportunities forprimary education in Zambia since 1996. The improvements in GER could be as a result ofthree critical factors:

• It could mean that older children who were enrolled in school were no longer interested inpursuing education and were engaged in other things instead of going to school or;

• It could mean that the system was being efficient in its insistence on enrolling only thosechildren of the rightful age or

• It could also mean that some of the measures taken by the government in education likeconstruction of new schools, rehabilitation of dilapidated infrastructures, communityawareness campaigns on the value of girls education in particular, were beginning to takeeffect.

It is possible that a combination of all these factors has been accountable for the increase inprimary education opportunities among primary school age children. Since this is the firsttime that a clear picture is emerging on what exactly is happening in the primary educationsystem in the country, there is need for further investigations in order to establish what wasaccountable for the increase in the NER that has occurred towards the end of the decade.

17

Table 6-4 Gross and Net Emolment Ratios by Province, (1991 - 1998)

Source: Mlmstry of EducatIOn 1998

Gross and Net Enrolment Ratios

Province Gross Enrolment (%) Net Enrolment (%)

1991 1993 1996 1998 1991 1993 1996 1998

Copperbelt 113 116 103 108 81 84 80 92

Central 103 105 104 109 74 75 76 91

Lusaka 100 103 97 113 76 75 78 98

Southern 100 108 95 89 69 74 71 75 ,

ILuapula 88 106 92 106 65 74 65 88

Northern 95 102 93 110 63 70 61 90

Eastern 77 83 67 76 51 59 52 62

North Western 105 107 87 100 71 72 61 84

Western 77 99 91 98 59 66 69 88

Zambia 96 104 93 101 68 73 69 85..•

Figure 6-5

18

CHANGES IN GROSS AND NETENROLMENT (1991 -1998

•1991 1993 1994 1996 1998

YEARS

Net Enrolment Ratios (NER)

Table 6-5 Gross and net Enrolment by Sex (1994 - 1998)

Years Gender Gross Enrolment Ratios (GER)

Parity Index MALE FEMALE TOTAL

• 1994 0.9 100.1 90.1 95.0

1996* 1.0 100.4 95.4 98.0

1998 1.0 102.4 99.5 101.0

MALE

89.3

84.8

FEMALE TOTAL

78.0 83.6

86.0 85.4

NET ENROLMENT BY SEX (1994 ­1998)

Source: MinlS'1oL.oi.J1::i£b.lC.altu:u:l.....llJI.Y.X. --,

*The 1996

90

w 85C) MALE~z 80 • FEMALEw0 oTOTALIX: 75wQ.

701994 1998

YEARS

Source: Ministry ofEducation 1998

The 1998 data show a general increase in school enrollments in the country. This is a markedimprovement over the situation observed up to the middle of the decade which showed thatenrollments in primary education had stagnated.

•6.2.2 Enrollment by Region and Gender

Positive gains in NER were experienced in all the regions of the country by 1998. At thesame time, the 1998 data show a general increase in the proportion of girls that were in schoolin the provinces and the country as a whole. At the regional level, predominantly urbanprovinces like Copperbelt and Lusaka had by 1998 achieved more than 90% NER. Table 6-4shows that Lusaka achieved a 98% NER by 1998. Even rural regions like Eastern Provincewhich in 1996 registered a 52% NER had by 1998 increased its NER to 62%. The 1998 datain Table 6-4, Figures 6-5 and 6-6 show a general increase in the numbers of girls enrolled inschools. The 1998 data indicate that the proportion of girls' enrollment was slightly higherthan that of boys. Only Southern and Central Provinces registered a decline in theenrollment of girls in 1998.

The gains in NER in the urban regions could be attributed to the Zambia EducationRehabilitation Project whose goal was to reverse negative trends in access to primaryeducation in Lusaka and the Copperbelt by constructing new primary schools in peri-urbanareas.

Source: Mlmstry of EducatlOn 1998

Table 6-6 Net Enrolment Ratios by sex and Province, (1994 - 1998)Net Enrolment Ratio (1994) Gender Net Enrolment Ratio (1998) GenderMale Female Total Parity Male Female Total Parity

Copperbelt 78.1 77.8 78.0 1.0 87.2 97.8 92.3 1.1Central 98.3 94.8 96.5 1.0 89.8 92.7 91.2 1.0Lusaka 79.9 78.5 79.2 1.0 97.6 98.8 98.2 1.0Southern 87.2 83.2 85.2 1.0 75.0 75.9 75.4 1.0Luapula 90.7 81.6 86.2 0.9 89.3 86.6 88.0 1.0Northern 100.0 85.8 92.9 0.9 94.2 85.9 90.2 0.9Eastern 59.3 54.4 56.9 0.9 63.8 60.2 62.1 0.9N/Western 84.6 74.3 80.2 0.9 82.4 85.7 83.9 1.0Western 80.9 75.5 78.2 0.9 85.4 91.3 88.2 1.1Zambia 89.3 78.0 83.6 0.9 84.8 86.0 85.4 1.0Rural - - - 81.1 85.5 83.1 1.1Urban - - - 86.3 88.1 87.2 1.0..

•

20

Figure 6-7

Net Enrolment by sex and Province, 1994.

120

100

'"80

~OIl

'"C 60~

~

~ 40

20

o 11 Male

.Female

o Total

Province

Source:·Ministry of Education 1998

Figure 6-8

Net Enrolment by sex and Prov ince,1998

120 ~"=""",,,"----',=,"""~--=:--"""":'"-"'"':"~~'::""':""'=:"":":::"'"~

100 ~~~80604020o~ ~~ ~~ 0<"<::- ~~ 0<"<::- <t-<::- rzf 0<"<::-

~<t-'Q cl::' 'v,>~'l> oJS' '>~~~o{S' <v~q~~0~0qcP~ g v ~~-

Province

21

III Male

• Female

o Total

Source: Ministry of Education 1998

The increase in girls enrollments in most parts of the country which the data depict needfurther explanation. All researches conducted in the country so far have painted a dismalpicture about girls' participation in school. The conclusions of most research studies has beenthat girls are underrepresented in the primary education system. These conclusions have beenarrived at using secondary data or limited case study findings. Current data from the Ministryof Education statistics show that the enrollment of girls in schools has improved to the pointwhere there seems to be very little disparity in enrollments between boys and girls in theprimary schools in all the regions of the country. The reasons for the trend could be attributedto:

(i) The general improvements in the school environments which has been brought aboutby the rehabilitation of schools in the country and the supply of books and othereducation materials in schools. In other words the rise in girls enrollments could besaid to be due to the perceived value of education among parents because ofimprovements in teaching learning environments.

(ii) It could also be a result of the gender sensitization campaigns through the Program forthe Advancement of Girls' Education (PAGE) which has spread to all the provinces ofthe country since 1996. The community campaigns on the value of educating girls hasbeen carried out in various communities by NGOs like the Alliance for CommunityAction on Female Education (ACAFE).

The increase in the enrollment levels of girls in schools is a significant development in thedecade and it could be said to be a major achievement of the EFA initiatives undertaken inthe country.

Table 6-8 Primary School Emolments 1990 - 1998

BOYS GIRLS TOTAL PERCENTAGE OF GIRLS

1990 761,615 699,896 1,461,511 47.9

1991 778,768 716,049 1,494,817 47.9

1992 770,666 707,007 1,477,673 47.8

1993 803,077 735,902 1,538,979 47.8

1994 800,858 742,078 1,542,936 47.1

1995 803,387 726,951 1,530,338 47.5

1996 791,489 717,767 1,516,919 47.6

1998 819,887 754,538 1,574,425 47.9

SOURCE: Ministry of Education Unpublished data and Kelly M.J., with Msango H. .J.and Subulwa C. M. (1998).

22

Figure 6-9

Percentage Distribution of PrimarySchool Enrolment by Sex, (1990 -1998)

Percentages

100

80

60 ~¥t

40 ~,

20 '-o ~

o(])(])T""

NCDCDT""'

Years

• Girls

.Soys

Source: Ministry of Education 1998

6.2.4 Flow rates: participation and retention

6.2.4.1 Drop-Out Rates

School drop-out was more of a rural than an urban problem as shown in Tables 6-9a, and 6.9b

Table 6-9a Drop-out rates by Grade, Sex, Rural and Urban, 1991

Drop-out Rate by Grade, RurallUrban and Sex

Grade 1 Grade 2 Grade 3 Grade 4 Grade 5 Grade 6

Drop-out Drop-out Drop-out Drop-out Drop-out Drop-out

Rate Rate Rate Rate Rate Rate

Zambia Total 3 3 4 6 7 8

Male 3 3 3 5 6 5

Female 3 4 5 7 9 10

Rural Total 5 5 7 10 11 11

Male 5 4 6 8 10 7

Female 5 6 9 14 12 15

Urban Total 1 1 1 3 5 5

23

I

Male 3 4 3

_____F_e_m_a_Ie_-'-- 2__-L-__2__.L-__

3 6 7__

Source: Basic Educationfor some

Table 6-9b Drop-out rates by grade, Sex, Rural and Urban, 1993

Dropout Rate by Grade, RurallUrban and Sex

Grade 1 Grade 2 Grade 3 Grade 4 Grade 5 Grade 6

Drop-out Drop-out Drop-out Drop-out Drop-out Drop-out

Rate Rate Rate Rate Rate Rate

Zambia Total 3 4 2 5 5 6

Male 4 4 3 5 5 4

Female 2 4 2 5 5 7

Rural Total 4 5 3 7 7 8

Male 5 5 3 7 7 6

Female 2 6 3 7 6 11

Urban Total 2 1 2 3 3 3

Male 1 1 2 2 2 3

Female 2 1 2 3 3 4

Source: Basic Educationfor some

In 1991 the proportion of children who dropped out in rural areas ranged from 5% in Grade 1to 11% in Grade 6, and ranged between 4% in grade 1 to 8% in Grade 6 for 1993. Thus therewas a decrease in the drop-out rate in 1993. This decrease was, however, reversed in 1996when the drop-out rate ranged from 4% in Grade 1 to 16% in Grade 6.

Over the period the drop out rate for girls in rural areas was higher than for boys. In 1991 theproportion of girls (for the whole country) dropping out ranged from 3% in Grade 1 to 10% inGrade 6 as compared to 7% in grade 6 in 1993. In 1996 on the other hand, the drop -out ratefor girls ranged from 3% in grade 1 to 8% in Grade 6.

These figures show that there was a slight decrease in the drop out for girls in 1993. The netgain in the drop-out was, however, lost in 1996.

The drop-out for urban areas was comparatively lower than for rural areas.

Over the period the drop-out rate for children was higher in the upper grades than lowergrades. This problem affected girls more disproportionately than boys and girls in rural areasthan urban girls.

24

The most common reason for the high drop-out rates found by researchers was the rising costof education. Other reasons include early marriages and pregnancies, hannfu1 traditions andcustoms and long distances to school.

Fi Primary School Dropouts by Reasons, 1996

7000060000 l;i1~~~~~~iii~~~~;-;]50000

~ 40000oc. 30000eo 20000

10000

0~~..-r:.....,.-4~~~~~~

-+-Male

_Female

-lr- Total

Source: Minist of Education 1998Primary School Drop outs by Reasons, 1998

80000 ..,..".,.,~=.,......",.,.,....-=~_--.,..~-,.,.:"=~7000060000

~ 500008. 40000e 30000o 20000

10000o~D-~"""""'~~~~~~~

~ _~c\ ~v »~.:~ ~<."<:)1(.) ~'O" ~o ~~ o::s'

~<.~"O «.>cP ~~

Reasons

~Male

_Female

-tJ- Total

Source: Ministry of Education 1998

Figure 6-10c

Primary School Dropouts by Reasons, (1996­1998)

I : 1~1.--1998

Source: Ministry of Education 1998

According to figures 6 - lOa, b, and c, economic factors, standout as the major reason fordropping out of school. Economics factors relate to poverty among households which makesit difficult to meet the cost of education.

One of the reasons accountable for the high dropout rate in the rural areas is long distancesfrom home to school. Long distances to school is a rural phenomenon as shown in Table 6­1O. Available research has found that there were places in rural areas where children walkedbetween 16 and 20 kilometers to school. Available evidence in urban areas indicates thatmost households were within 0 - 5 kilometers radius from schools. On the other hand somehouseholds in rural areas lived 6 - 15 kilometers away from schools. In extreme cases somehouseholds in rural areas were 16 or more kilometers away from the nearest school.

Table 6-10 Percentage Distribution of Households by Proximity to Primary

Schools Zambia and RuraVUrban: 1996

26

0-5 km 6-15 km 16km+ Number of Households

All Zambia 89 9 1 1,905,000

Rural 83 14 2 1,243,000

Urban 100 - - 661,000

Source: LCMS 1996, Table 14.14

6.2.4.2 Repetition Rates

Tables 6.11, 6.12 and 6.13 show that between 1991 and 1993 repetition rates were relativelystable from grade 1 to grade 6 but increased at grade 7 from 7% in 1991 to 13% in 1993. In1996, however, repetition rates increased across grades. The repetition rates dropped in1998.

The repetition rates between grade 1 and 6 were below 5% for 1991 and 1993. The variationswere more at the grade 7 level where the repetition level reached 13% for girls and 15% forboys. Repetition at grade 7 occurs because children who did not get selected in grade 8 wantto try a second chance.

Table 6-11 Repetition Rates by Grade, Sex, Rural and Urban, 1991

Grade 1 Grade 2 Grade 3 Grade 4 Grade 5 Grade 6 Grade 7

Residence Sex Repetition Repetition Repetition Repetition Repetition Repetition Repetition

Rate Rate Rate Rate Rate Rate Rate

Zambia Total 3 3 4 3 2 2 7

Male 3 3 4 2 2 3 7

Female 2 3 3 3 3 2 6

Rural Total 4 3 4 4 1 4 10

Male 4 4 6 2 2 4 9

Female 3 3 2 5 1 5 13

Urban Total 2 3 3 2 3 1 4

Male 2 3 2 2 2 2 6

Female 2 3 3 2 4 1 3

27

Table 6-12 Repetition Rates by Grade, Sex, Rural and Urban, 1993

Grade 1 Grade 2 Grade 3 Grade 4 Grade 5 Grade 6 Grade 7

Residence Sex Repeat Repeat Repeat Repeat Repeat Repeat Repeat

Rate Rate Rate Rate Rate Rate Rate

Zambia Total 3 2 3 4 3 3 13

Male 3 3 3 4 3 3 14

Female 3 I 3 4 4 3 12

Rural Total 4 2 4 5 3 3 14

Male 3 4 3 5 3 3 15

Female 4 1 4 5 3 2 12

Urban Total 2 2 1 5 4 3 12

Male 3 3 2 2 3 3 13

Female 2 2 1 2 5 3 11

Source: Basic Education for some

Table 6-13: Repetition Rates by Grade and Sex, 1996

Grade 1 Grade 2 Grade 3 Grade 4 Grade 5 Grade 6 Grade 7

Residence Sex Repeat Repeat Repeat Repeat Repeat Repeat Repeat

Rate Rate Rate Rate Rate Rate Rate

Zambia Total 3.9 4.3 4.8 6.2 6.5 8.8 16.0

Male 4.0 4.4 5.0 6.5 6.6 9.2 16.7

Female 3.9 4.2 4.6 5.8 6.3 8.3 15.0

Source: Basic Education for some

Table 6-14: Repetition Rates by Grade and Sex, 1998

I I Grade 1 I Grade 2 I Grade 3 I Grade 4 I Grade 5 I Grade 6 I28

Grade 7

Residence Sex Repeat Repeat Repeat Repeat Repeat Repeat Repeat

Rate Rate Rate Rate Rate Rate Rate

Zambia Total 3.8 3.9 4.1 5.3 5.3 6.7 13.4

Male 3.9 4.0 4.1 5.3 5.4 6.8 13.9

Female 3.6 3.9 4.0 5.2 5.3 6.5 12.7

Source: Basic Education for Repetition rates by Grade and sex,1991

8 ,-~~~---.:~--:::"""'~=~mr.-':"'I7+-,:-'-::,...;.....;":--o~~~~--,-,;.-:;.-'::----t!H6 r---:-:--,------, I

-+-Male5-1-~";":':--'-"':-~~~":7;=f-~~'H-""-I4 -I-~-'":--~~'-"--'----";;'~~'U-~ __ Ferrale

3 ~~~5!PR'Il",,"-":~~~71 -lr- Total2 ~~~....;....,,-.,,..:.,:....;.,..~~~;;.,-;::lft---,,-I '-- ---'1

1 ~~F_..-'-'I..~..,..=.-....-:-~'-"'-'-:--.o__CJ

O-+"-"....:..;..;;r---'.......,.---':O"--""T"""'"=--;--~~~

" '"'V ~ ~ <:> <0 '\00 00 00 00 00 00 00

<::}~ 0<"~ 0<"~ 0<"~ 0<"'l} 0<"~ 0<"~

Grade

Figure 6-12

Repetition Rates by sex and grade,1993

16 T":"'"'7Z""=.,....--:-=::",......,---,..--:<""~~r.--"""7'~

14 -F:;,~~~,..,....:...:~"'""="'"-+~~,....;,-...,....., ......-:-':l

12~__1086~~~~~;.+.;:4i444 -t::+;.;.-~~~~

2o

" '"'V ~ ~ <:> <0 '\00 00 00 00 00 00 00

0<"~ 0<"~ 0<"~ 0<"~ (J~ 0<"~ 0<"~

Grades

11 Male

• Ferrale

o Total

Repetition rates by sex and grade,1998

16 ~-=--":o::~~,,"=,,,"--.-~~=~---.--,14 -t'---;-'~':F-~~~~~~':t-~-;..r~

12 +---:~~~~~~~~~10 i;-::-::M~~~~~7~~:"T:48~~~~;..".....,~~-::.:-~~....:-...;---:-

6~~~"X"'::~~-::"':::±:i~~42 i

o~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

b~ b~ b~ b'lJ b'lJ b~ b'lJ0\1f 0\'lj 0<..1f 0<"'lj 0<"'lj 0<..1f 0<..1f

Grades

Figure 6-14

30

.Male

• Ferrele

o Total

Repetition rates by Grade, (1991 ­1998)

-+-1991__ 1993

---&-19$

~1998

" '" ~ ~ ~ ~ "-efl/ eO eO efl/ eO eO eO0\f{} 0\f{} (Jf{} 0\f{} 0\f{} (:}f{} 0\f{}

Grades

6.2.4.3 Progression Rates

The observable trend in progression rates since 1990 was the disparity between urban andrural areas. In rural areas, the progression rate averaged 85% and while in urban areas itaveraged 92%.

In rural areas, girls faired slightly lower in progression rate compared to boys. For examplethe progression rate for Grade 4 - 5 was 85% for girls compared to 88% for boys.

The experience for the whole period in rural areas was that progression rates for girls werelower than for boys. This implies that fewer girls than boys progress to the final grade ofprimary schooling.

31

6.2.6 Educational Facilities

To attain the goal of creating 1.2 million school places, the Ministry of Education and itscooperating partners embarked on a programme of school rehabilitation and constructionwhich resulted into:

• More than 2,300 classrooms and 1,100 teachers' houses; 2,100 pit latrines and lOO-waterborne toilets;

• Rehabilitation of more than 2,100 classrooms and 1,200 teachers' houses

Creation of 2,325 new classrooms translated into provision of93,000 new school places(7.8% of the intended goal). The average annual increase in school places was thus 10,000

32

which was below the estimated 120,000 school places annually between 1990 and the year2000.

Table 6 - 18 and figure 6 - 16 show the rehabilitation and construction work done in twoyears between 1996 and 1998.

Figure 6-16

Construction and Rehabilitation ofSchool Facilities (1996 -1998)

• New

• Rehabilited

HousesClassroom

~ 2500 ~~~~IOOl--,-~~=~--;~ 2000.~

If 1500

'0 1000" ...! 500

"S;:, 0Z

School Facilities

The goal of absorbing marginalised groups such as girls, the disabled, street children andorphans, was partially met in community schools established by various agencies incommunities.

6.2.7 Development of Community Schools

Community schools emerged as a response to the unmet demand for school places among thepoor and other marginalised groups. These schools are inexpensive, close to home, lessdemanding in entry requirements and are managed by communities. In tuition communityschools emphasize inculcation of literacy, numeracy and problem solving skills.

The number of community schools grew from 55 in 1996 to 373 in 1999. Equally,enrolments increased from 6,599 in 1996 to 47,276 in 1999. The number of registeredcommunity schools registered with the Zambia Community Schools Secretariat (ZCSS)increased seven times in three years from 1996 to 1999. In ZCSS, an umbrella NGO, wasformed in 1997 to enable communities to participate in the running of community schools.Because not all community schools are registered with the ZCSS, their number are muchhigher. The increase can be attributed to the facilitating role of the government which hasencouraged instead of discouraged the growth of these types of school. If the growth in thenumber of these schools continues they will in fact be another alternative path to accessingbasic education on the part of children.

33

.BOX2:.. ..~ '. "b"'.'.<,.-c.• '......"

Cbaracteristics ofCommunitY Scliools~ .' . '. . '-,• "'~~J~ . . " : ......; ;>~:..~ .' i-.... , ~ .-:_ ".,.~. ';::~:j~.,'e - Non-profit.rilaking .institutions that~ch~ enough.to allow the- ~ ~

. '. disadvaD~td chiJd.reil:t6have access to 'edueatioriaI:opportunity; U

.'e:.., ..Serve children aged betW~ 9 and·il> Who are eithe;drojH.)uts or" ..

.; ':;;'"oeverbeens''' .' :: ,c...' .-.... -,~ _ ~ .. :0&

....UnifomiSfDot a schoolre;quitement . . . .... ::.. ...~,~ Use pred6~inantly ~fra:iped ,volunteer teachers from the communitY;:':e ' Manag'Cd'by c6mmuni& Conimittee;~~'; . ':. , .....- . (I .

, e 'Have small classes uP to a maximP,rit of3S pupU~;. • . . '. r

.':.: Futidiogtrom'a,v!lrf~'~fsourceS:' :' - .. ,' . -, -

In 1998 a memorandum of understanding (MOD) was signed between the Ministry ofEducation and Zambia Community Schools Secretariat (ZCSS) which recognised the roleplayed by the community schools in the provision of education and obliged the ministry toprovide learning materials, educational advisors and pay an agreed number of trained teachers

Table 6-19: Enrolment and Staffing in Community Schools (1996-1999)YEAR

1996 1997 1998 1999

Numbers of schools 55 123 220 373

Enrollment for boys 3,051 8,002 13,479 23,323

Enrollment for girls 3,548 11,048 15,125 24,044

Total enrollment 6,599 19,050 28,604 47,276

Orphans as percentage of 3% 19.5% 17.9% 20%total enrolmentNumber of female teachers 67 - 278 361Number of male teachers 64 - 290 438

Total number of teachers 131 - 568 799

Figure 6-17

34

Number of Community Schools (19961999)

(I) 400 373'00

300.c(,)

U)- 200 I_ Schools I0~

CD 100~

E0~z

1996 1997 1998 1999

Years

Table 6-18 Construction and rehabilitation of school facilities1996 -1998

CLASSROOMS TEACHERS' TOILETSHOUSES

New Rehabilitated New Rehabilitated Pit Water-Latrines Borne

2325 2155 1157 1299 2,188 129

Enrolment in Community Schools bysex, (1996 - 1999)

50000 -r--:~--~--::"""-:-:-"""'----:-=""1

... 40000 r~D""""";~*~~':;t:;:::':'~

~ 30000 +--,:---.,.-~:,.o;,.;;;~~-F-~~~-i

"2 20000 -I+L.-;,;..q,....,.:...,~*F-~~~~~.,:tcW 10000 -I4c~;Z~~~~~~~

o +--~:"'=~~~'"-'-'="";"-=:;;;;;";;"-i

1996 1997 1998 1999

Years

-+-MaJe__ Female

-0- Total

35

Figure 6-19

Orphans as percentage of totalenrolment in Community schools,

(1996 - 1998)

Percentage

1997 1998 1999

Figure 6-20

YearsI_Orphans I

Community School Teachers by sex,(1996 -1999)

800

600Number of 4001~'~"~'~~~Teachers .

200 .~~~

o1996 1998 1999

Years

6.2..8 Procurement of furniture

Male

• Female

o Total

Between 1990 and 1998 more than 160,000 desks were procured and distributed to schools.Despite this achievement the shortfall in supply of school desks ranged from 70% for

36

Luapula to 40% for Western and Southern provinces. Because of this shortage, many pupilslearn while sitting on the floor, logs, bricks, mats or over crowded few desks.

6.2.9 Procurement Distribution and Use ofEducational Materials.

In 1991 the goal was to enable all primary school children have access to appropriate andrelevant learning materials in core subjects. Some of the efforts directed at realising this goalwere mobilisation of resources, revision of syllabi, establishment of a mini library at eachschool, liberalisation of the provision of educational materials and streamlining of the processofprocurement.

Between 1991 and 1998 a total of 14.5 million textbooks, supplementary readers andteachers' guides for grades 1 - 7 were procured and distributed. This led to improvements intextbook-pupil ratio of 1:2 in some subjects. The main problems encountered in theprocurement and distribution of books were:-

• Wear and tear in an environment where the book life span is only 3 years;

• not all distributed books reached their targeted schools;

• lack of transport;

• inaccessible road network;

• inadequate funding;

• lack of teacher capacity to use the books productively;

• delays caused by the procurement procedures; and

• lack of store rooms

Figure 6-21

Supply of Educational Materials, (1990-1998)

68,fmOO5

•• oass Books

• Library

o Other14,526,009

Other achievements the procurement and supply of education materials were:37

• Syllabi in core subjects were revised, produced and distributed and teachers oriented to

their use.

• 68,000 library books were produced and distributed.

• Anti-Aids books, SPARK manual of life skills, Community School Calendars andZambia Education Kit (ZEDUKIT) were produced and distributed.

• A globe, a map, educational charts, usable chalk board and mathematical instrumentswere supplied to almost each school.

• In an effort to sensitise the entire society to the importance of girl-child education 2,977girl- child calendars, 5000 PAGE News letters, 10,000 girl-child education kit and 10,000copies ofModule 7 for teacher-in-service training were produced and distributed.

• Many of the schools were still under supplied. This in turn affected learning achievementlevels in different grades of basic education. This was confirmed by the SAQMEC studyin late 1995.

6.2.10 Demand, Supply and Retention of Teachers

The goal was to produce 4,400 teachers. every year between 1990 and 2000. The annualoutput of teachers from colleges was 2,226 resulting in a shortfall of 2,174 teachers. As aresult there was a dependence on untrained teachers. On the whole, the majority of teachers inprimary schools are trained. Untrained teachers contribute only 23% of the total number ofteachers. A large number of the untrained teachers are concentrated in rural areas. Since the80s the admission to teacher training colleges has been the completion of grade 12.

6.2.11 Distribution of Teachers by Geographical Regions

The distribution of teachers has not been balanced. The tendency among female teachers inparticular has been to seek postage in urban areas. Close to 45% of the female teachers arefound in urban centers like Lusaka and Copperbelt; Provincial and District urban centres.This is attributed to the fact that majority of female teachers are married and have to live withtheir husbands. The unmarried female teachers are reluctant to accept rural postings becauseof poor prospects for marriage. Studies on this subject have found that some female teacherstry to obtain fake marriage certificates in order to prove their 'marital status'.

38

TABLE 6-23 Distribution of Primary School Teachers by Province, Sex andTraining Status, 1996

PROVINCE TRAINED UNTRAINEDMale Female Total Male Female Total

Copperbelt 2,334 4,251 6,585 598 287 885Central 1,818 1,399 3,217 785 284 1,069Lusaka 1,678 2,659 4,337 204 133 337Southern 2,091 1,812 3,903 731 340 1,071Luapula 1,612 632 2,244 680 244 924Northern 1,979 969 2,948 1,100 574 1,674Eastern 2,149 1,048 3,197 761 362 1,123N/Western 1,077 470 1,547 520 321 841Western 1,593 1,034 2,627 818 369 1,187Zambia total 16,331 14,274 30,605 6,197 2,914 9,111

Rural 12,579 6,085 18,664 5,729 2,560 8,289

Urban 3,752 8,189 11,941 468 354 822

TABLE 6-24 Distribution ef Primary School Teachers by Province, Sex andTraining Status, 1998

PROVINCE TRAINED UNTRAINEDMale Female Total Male Female Total

Copperbelt 2,288 4,264 6,652 119 68 187Central 1,997 1,682 3,679 224 170 394Lusaka 1,973 3,794 5,767 47 16 63Southern 1,763 1,732 3,495 297 151 448Luapula 1,546 701 2,246 186 112 298Northern 1,978 1,058 3,036 503 235 738Eastern 1,963 1,141 3,104 331 248 579North-western 994 410 1,404 215 105 320Western 1,439 1,099 2,538 362 178 540

Zambia total 15,941 15,880 31,821 2,284 1,283 3,567

Rural 11,962 6,254 18,216 2,202 1,206 3,406

Urban 3,979 9,626 13,605 83 78 161

39

Figure 6-22

Proportion of CertifiedlTrainedTeachers by sex, (1996 -1998)

100 --rn::::--:::-~"":"'1'1It1l===-~........,.""....".qp...""""""::~-il!J-,...--,

80 +---:~~Q)Cl)

J! 60c~ 40

:. 20

o1996

Years

1998

I_Male. Female 0 Total I

Figure 6-23

Proportion of CertifiedlTrainedTeachers by Residence, (1996 -1998)

120 --=-:i~~=~~~~~~~~~=="""100 +-;,---..,;:........:.,,.....:,.-...,.....:.~..,..:.....:...;..;...:;..;;.;..,;..;.;,;~

& 80 +,."..~!:!£UJ!C 60Q)

~ 40-0. 20

o1996

Years

1998

I_ Rural. Urban 0 Total I

40

The number of trained male teachers in primary schools is almost the same to those of trainedfemale teachers. The disparity in the numbers is among untrained teachers where the numberof male untrained teachers was by 1998 almost twice that of the females. Table 6- clearlyshows the differences in the distribution of male and female trained teachers. The number offemale trained teachers in urban areas like Lusaka and Copperbelt is almost twice those ofmales.

6.2.13 Pupil - Teacher Ratios

Much has been done to improve pupil- teacher ratios. In 1990 the ratio was 44 but dropped to39.1 in 1995, and to 37 in 1996. There were variations in pupil-teacher ratios betweengeographical locations. Urban provinces had higher ratios than rural areas because of largeand over-crowded classes in urban areas caused by high demand for classes.

Table 6-25 Pupil-Teacher Ratios by Residence, (1996-1998)Residence 1996 1998

Pupil-Teacher Pupils per Pupil-Teacher Pupils perRatio Trained Ratio Trained

Teacher TeacherRural 38 55 48 57Urban 39 41 39 40

Zambia 37 48 44 49

41

Figure 6-24

Pupil-Teacher Ratios by Residence,(1996 - 1998).

40Cl)o;:; 30cv0:

20

10

oPTR PTIR PTR PTIR PTR PTTRRural Urban zambia

Residence

42

•

TABLE 6-26 Pupil - teacher ratios (1996 - 1998)Province 1996 1998

Pupil-Teacher Pupils Per Pupil-Teacher Pupils PerRatio Trained Teacher Ratio Trained Teacher

Copperbelt 41 46 41 43Central 37 50 44 49Lusaka 42 46 43 44Southern 40 52 45 51Luapula 34 48 45 50Northern 31 43 55 68Eastern 34 52 44 52N/Western 35 57 50 61Western 32 47 38 46Zambia 37 48 44 49

Pupil per trained teacher ratio was higher than the general pupil teacher It was higher inEastern, North Western and Southern provinces because teachers are not willing to stay insuch rural areas.

6.2.14 Attrition levels of Teachers

In 1990 there were 28,480 trained teachers. This number increased to 31,627 in 1996. Thetarget was to increase by 93% but due to lack of resources for teacher tra;ning this target wasnot met. One significant observation about the Zambian teacher training colleges is that while2,226 teachers are being trained 1,500 teachers are being lost annually from the systemthrough various reasons. This leaves a net of 700 teachers which is far lower than therequired teacher supply.

Teacher attrition in Zambia's public schools is increasingly becoming a major source ofconcern. Records show that 680 died in 1996, 624 in 1997 and 1,331 died between andOctober 1998. They died from many causes including HIV/AIDS. Those who are remainingare underpaid, poorly housed, demoralised, poorly deployed, provided with little support inthe field and given little instructional time.

Steps being undertaken to reduce attrition rates of teachers include:

• increased teacher supply from the teacher training colleges;

• sensitisation of teachers on HIV/AIDS;

• rural hardship allowances;

• increased salaries;

• high salary entry notch for rural areas;

43

•

• decentralisation of payroll;

• home ownership scheme for teachers; and

• freezing postings to urban areas.

6.2.15 Public financing of Education

Inadequate public financing underlies much of the Ministry's inability to meet its obligationsto provide the necessary facilities and ensure universal availability of quality education. Thescale of this inadequacy is apparent from the following:

• actual government spending per student, at all levels averaged US$50 in 1996;

• public spending per primary student in 1996 was $29 for all purposes, including teachers'salaries;

• currently, about 11% of the total public budget IS spent on education compared tobetween 20-25% in neighbouring countries;

• in recent years, expenditure on primary education has accounted for about 2.5% of theGDP, 8-10% in neighbouring countries, and 5% in Sub-Saharan Africa;

Public current expenditure on primary education has since 1990 been increasing in nominalterms as a share .of total education expenditure and national income. In 1990, PrimaryEducation expenditure as a percentage of total expenditure on education and national Incomestood at 28.7 and 0.8 percent respectively. This expenditure was almost doubled by 1998.However, the increase does not take into account the fluctuations in prices due to lack ofmonetary stability. On the other hand, public current expenditure on primary education perpupil as a percentage of National Income per capita has almost remained below ten percentsince 1990. The proportion ofthe GNP going to primary education has remained below 1.5%

44

Figure 6-25

Public Current Exependiture onPrimary Education, (1990 -1998)

60 ....--------"-......,.....-~_=~=,,,.,.,...._._,,~

50 -J:$#G:£i~U~~~~~~~

10;-;.,...""'""=~~~

O..f-,..;;;.....;..........-.:.:...r;...,;..;:.:....:;:;~......-----....,...;;..-,;....,..:-.~::=--..:..::..;:;~~

~ ~ ~ w ~ ~ ~ ~ ~~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Years

I-+- Percentage of Total Education Expenditure i

• Figure 6-26

Public Current Exp. on PrimaryEducation per pupil as % of GNP per

Capita

~*~1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998

Years

10 -r,;;:---:r;::~~:E:"~~;:::;:;:~~::::::i~~~@8

CD

E 6c:e 4:. 2

o

I_ % of GNP per Capita I

45

Figure 6-27

Public Current Exp. on PrimaryEducation as Percentage of GNP

2

G) 1.5Cl)Cl!...

1cG)

eG) 0.5Q.

01990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998

Years

I_ Percentage of GNP I

Figure 6-28

Percent ofPrimary Education Expenditure on

Salaries, (1990 - 1997)

• 120 --r;;;i~;:;;:::

1008060

4020

O-F........,.---.,......~"'---I-~--,.::....;....,....---::l

Years

I-+-Percent I

46

6.2.16 Learning achievement

The goal for learning achievement was that at least 80% of 14 year olds, beginning schoolage at 7, should achieve or surpass the competencies defined for grade 7 by the year 2000.

The process of defining the learning competencies has started beginning with grade 4 level.The development of a national testing instrument has been done. Nevertheless, theestablishment of benchmarks is in its infancy.

6.2.16.1 The SACMEQ Study at Grade 6 1995

•The Southern Africa Consortium for the Measurement of Educational Quality (SACMEQ)study was sponsored by the International Institute of Educational Planning. The study hadspecially prepared tests that were designed to measure reading ability of Grade 6 pupils. Thetests indicated minimum and desirable performance standards. The following were thefindings of the study:

• only 25.8% of the Grade 6 pupils reached minimum mastery level.

• only 2.4% reached the desirable mastery level.

• with the exception of schools in the Western and Luapula provinces, rural schoolsperformed lower than urban schools;

• boys performed better than girls. 28% of the boys as compared to 23.1 % of the girlsattained minimum mastery level.

• pupils from high socio-economic groups performed better than those from low socio­economIC groups.

47

Table 6-27: Reading achievement of grade 6 in the SACMEQ Study

Province Percentage reaching the Percentage reaching the

minimum mastery level desirable mastery level

Central 16.9 0.9

Copperbelt 29.7 2.3

Eastern 25.1 2.0

Luapula 32.8 4.3

Lusaka 30.1 1.9

Northern 26.0 1.5

North-western 27.3 6.8

Southern 16.0 3.2

Western 33.0 2.1

Zambia 25.8 2.4

Boys 28.0 2.5

Girls 23.1 2.2

The study was an indicator of the levels of achievement in schools. Factors which might havecontributed to low levels of learning achievement included:

• short instructional time.

• Poverty in the homes;

• low teacher morale;

• too many untrained teachers;

• inadequate supply of educational materials

• use of a foreign language, English, in the school instead of their home language• teachers not trained to promote a reading culture.

6.2.16. National Assessment at Grade 5

The National Assessment System (NAS) has been established to measure levels of learningachievement in reading and numeracy. NAS also assessed contextual factors and their effecton learning achievement. It is designed for pupils in Grade 5 and implemented by theExaminations Council of Zambia. The assessment was first conducted in mid- 1999.However, data have not yet been processed.

48

6.2.5 Competency testing at Grade 4

The National Education For All Conference in 1991 suggested that clearly defined nationalcompetency based on achievement should be established in such skill areas as literacy andnumeracy. The 1996 National Education Policy went a step further by calling on theappropriate authority to specify the levels of competency pupils should attain at differentstages of basic education. Progress has been made in this direction. Literacy and numeracycompetencies have been clearly specified for Grade 4. Tests have also been developed andadministered to pupils in the field. Data is being processed and by the end of 1999 the resultsof competency testing will be disseminated.

49

6.3 Education for Better Living

Education for Better Living refers to all education channels, the mass media and other forms ofmodem and traditional communication for transmission of knowledge, values and skills forbetter living and sound sustainable development

The performance of this aspect was as follows:

• During the decade Educational Broadcasting Services (RBS) transmitted 31 schoolradio programmes, 13 for upper primary, 16 for secondary and two for teachers;

• The school radio programmes targeted grades 5 to 7;

• Two radio programmes were broadcast to improve teachers' competencies.Additionally, the government also introduced an in-service training face-to-faceprogramme directed at teachers of English, Mathematics and Science. The

, programme was executed at nine provincial resource centres established throughoutthe country. At school level, teachers were also organised in self study groups;

• The Ministry for information with support from the United Nations Population Fund(lJNFPA) introduced a number of broadcasts aimed at Education for Better Livingfor the general public;

• There was increased use of new information technology following the introductionof Zambia Network (ZAMNET) a company that linked Zambia to the informationhighway on the internet. Internet connectivity increased flow of information as moreand more people acquired access to computers and received training provided non­fonnally by private providers;

• In the second half of the decade, government liberalised the use of air waves andthere was an increase in licensing of radio stations. Four private radio stations(Radio Icengelo, Phoenix, Radio Maria, Christian Voice) were licensed and all ofthem carried out some educational programmes aimed at Education for BetterLiving;

• During the decade the number of newspapers with educational columns emerged. Atthe beginning of the decade there were two dailies (Times and Daily Mail) oneweekly (Sunday Times), one fortnightly (Mirror) and one monthly (Mining Mirror).In 1996 there were 15 newspapers including the Post. The increase in the number ofnewspapers was due to the change to democratic governance which granted freedomofthe press. Articles were written to educate the general public on various aspects ofgovernance including elections and human rights;

51

• Six local language newspapers with a total run of 60,000 copies per edition andcarrying articles on health, civic education and obligations and rights of citizenswere established. One privately owned Catholic local language newspaper Icengeloproduced and circulated between 75,00- 80,000 copies per week and reached thelargest audience than any other publication in the country. One English newspaper,Post News with focus on reproductive health, population and sustainabledevelopment, general health and environment and health was produced and targetedschools and teacher training centres.

• At the beginning of the decade there was no organization specifically registered toact as an umbrella body for theatre groups engaged in the promotion of educationthrough theatre. In 1990, the Zambia Popular Theatre Alliance was registered and toit were affiliated over four hundred theatre groups that promoted education throughthe arts. The groups performed plays which carried educational messages. In 1994through an act of parliament the government created a National Arts Council (NAC)which became the co-ordinative body for arts and culture. The NAC promotesEducation for Better Living through theatre, music and paintings and organisesawards for the arts. During the decade the NAC organised three major awardsceremonies. Above this the government through the Ministry for CommunityDevelopment and Social Services promoted cultural ceremonies during which.people participated in enjoyment of music and art related their own cultures.

• A number of national campaigns were carried out to increase public awareness andknowledge of preventable diseases. Anti-polio campaign was carried out four times(1997, 1998 and 1999) leading to immunization of 90% of the children; anti-choleracampaigns were carried out nine times from 1990 to 1998 and resulted intoreduction in deaths arising from the outbreak of cholera, epidemic; anti-aidscampaigns were carried out nine times and anti-measles one time. Other campaignswere anti diarrhoea diseases; use ofVitamin A and environmental awareness.

• In 1996 an information and media policy was articulated whose educationalobjectives were to promote civic education, create awareness of environment,population and gender issues and promote HIV/AIDS awareness in communities.The policy liberalized use of air waves and promoted establishment of independentmedia.

• Government ministries that used media for basic education included the Ministry ofEducation, Ministry of Sport, Youth and Child Development and the Ministry ofCommunity Development and Social Services. Other promoters of basic educationincluded the Catholic Church through News papers, Radio and Televisionprogrammes.

6.5 Training in Essential Skills

The goal in the area of essential skills was to expand training provisions in essential skillsrequired by youths and adults. Progress towards this goal was undertaken through variousNOOs and government ministries. Under the Ministry of Science, Technology and Vocational

52

Training the targeted population for the skills training under the Department of DTEVT wereout-of-school Youths Grade 9 drop-outs and Grade 12 schoolleavers.

Training programmes for these groups were undertaken at Trades Training Institutes. Althoughthere were institutions; 9 of them located in urban areas and 3 in rural areas.

Towards the end of the decade the department (Technical Education and Vocation andEntrepreneurship Training) formulated a policy which incorporated entrepreneural skillsdirected at the infonnal sector.

The Ministry of Community Development and Social Services provided essential skills trainingin the following areas:

• Vocational rehabilitation skills

• Skills training for women

The target population for the training were:

• Disabled persons

• The youth and adults

'The Ministry of Sport, Youth and Child Development has provided training in agriculture,carpentry, tailoring, plumbing and others. The target population was female and out-of-schoolyouths aged between 15 and 24 years.

Altogether there were 14 training centres under the Ministry. Over the decade the Ministryformulated a youth policy on out-of - school youths.

The Department for Continuing Education in the Ministry of Education provided training incarpentry, agriculture and vocational skills at 24 skills training centres. The target populationwas out-of-school youths and adults.

A number ofNGOs were involved in the provision of essential skills training for women, out­of-school youths, street children, orphans and other disadvantaged groups.

There was no clearly articulated strategy for realisation of the goal for essential skills training.

Over the decade a number of efforts were made by a number of government ministries and

NGOs to provide training in essential skills. These efforts remained isolated and unco­

ordinated.

6.4 Literacy

53

The goal of enrolling 11-15 year olds of the out-of-school children in literacy classes was notdeliberately addressed by the Ministry of Community Development. Instead literacy trainingwas provided for this group by the Department for Continuing Education in the Ministry ofEducation. It was provided through open learning centres and the National CorrespondenceCollege. The Ministry of Sport Youth and Child Development expressed interest in introducingfunctional literacy for the out-of-school youths but did not do anything. NGOs were alsoinvolved.

Altogether 46,000 youths and adults were catered for by the open learning centres and distanceeducation over the 1990 - 1999 period.

• The national literacy campaign was launched in 1990 and its achievements were revisionand reprinting of 95,000 primers, training of 1926 instructors, provision of instruction to98,701 participants between 1992 and 1998. In terms of enrolment the national literacycampaign enroled, 73% women,

Table 6-28 Enrolments in the national literacy campaign 1992-1998

1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998

MF 15,514 10,444 9,956 10,330 16,188 16.523 19468

F 11,514 7,434 7,084 6,584 11,610 12,158 15660

M 4,278 3,010 2,872 3,746 4,578 4,365 3808

F/M 1:2.7 1:2.5 1:2.4 1:1.8 1:2.5 1:2.8 1:4.5

Enrolments in Literacy Campaign bysex, (1992-1998)

~Male

_Female

---tr- Total

25000 -r.--~~=~=---~="",-,

20000 ;--,....-:;;...~~iE-'~~~S; 15000 +-:41M-'~~~"'-'~~~E

~ 10000 1Ii~~~~I~~Hw 5000 ~ '-------'1

o

Highest enrolment figures in the national literacy campaign were recorded between 1996 and1998. High levels of participation were recorded in rural areas because most of the efforts weredirected at reaching rural women among whom levels of illiteracy were higher than any othergroup. The gender participation ratio was 1:2 in favour of women. Figure 6-11 shows thegender disparity in enrollments in literacy classes between men and women. More women wereenrolled in literacy classes than men.

Participation of local government institutions in the provision of literacy was minimal andrestricted to basic literacy. During the 1990- 1998 period few municipalities and city councilsprovided basic literacy. The capital city of Lusaka had a full time staff of 18 communitydevelopment assistants who organised classes for literacy with enrolment of 2,000 participantswho included both men and women.

Participation in the provision of literacy by NGOs and the private sector was limited butshowed a trend to increased provision particularly in the second half of the decade. UNESCOsourced funding from the Korean Fund in Trust and the Arab Gulf Fund to carry out a needsassessment and produce instructional materials.

Table 6-29 Literacy Rates by sex and age group, (1990-1996)Age 1990 Literacy Rates 1996 Literacy RatesGroup Male Female Total Male Female Total15-24 69.4 62.8 65.9 79.6 73.6 76.515 & over 63.4 46.7 54.8 76.1 59.9 67.8

Figure 6-30

Changes in Literacy rates, (1990-1996)

• Male

• Female

o Total

15-241990

15+ 15-241996

15+

Age Group and years

55

Table 6-30 Literacy Rates by Provinces and age group, (1990-1996)Province 1990 1996

15-24 15+ 15-24 15+Copperbelt 82.1 72.9 90.1 83.7Central 65.3 54.7 79.7 69.9Lusaka 78.9 72.0 89.5 85.5Southern 67.2 55.9 76.7 65.9Luapula 58.7 47.9 70.1 62.9Northern 75.2 46.2 70.0 60.6Eastern 45.4 34.9 53.5 45.7N/Western 54.1 38.4 62.8 52.0Western 58.0 55.7 71.2 56.6Zambia 65.9 54.8 76.5 67.8Rural 53.6 41.5 66.3 56.2Urban 82.6 75.0 91.6 86.8

Figure 6-31

Literacy rates by Province, (1990 ­1996)

100

III 80Q)-ns 600::>-u 40l!Q)-::::; 20

015-24 15-24 15+ 15+1990 1996 1990 1996

Age group and Years

• Copperbelt

• central

o Luasaka

o Southern

• Luapula

• Northern

• Eastern

rnNlWestern

• Western

The data on literacy point to the following trends:

56

(i) There were some gaps in literacy levels between males and females in certain provinces.Eastern province only registered a female literacy level of 34.7% The other provinceswith low female literacy levels were North-western (43.5%), Western (49.3%) andNorthern (49.9%)..

(ii) Literacy level in age group 15 -24 years was higher than in the entire adult population.It ranged between 47.8% in the Eastern province and 89.9% in Lusaka.

(iii) National literacy rates increased from 54.7% to 67.8%(iv) Female literacy was higher in the age group 15 - 24 years and lower in the 25 and above

age group.(v) Rural illiteracy was 50% of the rural population aged 15 years and above. This was an

improvement over1990 levels of 62.1 %.(vi) Urban illiteracy of 16.9% in 1996 was a marked improvement above that of 1990 which

was 31.5%. Thus illiteracy is more of a rural than urban problem and female than maleproblem.

Government funding to literacy increased minimally from K900,000 in 1990 to Kl,OOO,OOO in1991 and then rose to K206,000,000 in 1997 . In 1997 it slumped to KI00 million the level atwhich it has remained.

Table 6-31 Government Funding to Literacy 1990 -1998

Year Amount in Kwacha1990 900,0001991 1,000,0001992 56,000,0001993 130,000,0001994 123,000,0001995 117,000,0001996 111,000,0001997 206,065,0001998 100,000,0001999 100,000,000

57

70 Effectiveness of EFA the Strategy, Plan and Programmes

The general strategy adopted for EFA in Zambia was that of partnership among variousagencies, institutions, communities and individuals. The EFA Task Force was expectedto be the co-ordinating body of the plans and programmes. However, the dissolutionEFA Task Force in 1993 affected the EFA plans and activities in the country. Sincethen there has not been a national torch bearer of the EFA vision in the country. All theactivities related to EFA have been undertaken by the individual agencies as earlierstated.

7.1 ECCED7.2 The policy was not clear on who should do what in the area of ECCED in relation to

monitoring standards and encouraging the establishment of ECCED centres TheMinistry of Education did not have a structure to support the growth ofECCED

• The identified strategy of developing ECCED through communities did not identifyan agency to effectively mobilize communities. The Ministry of Education aimedat providing professional resources by training teachers for pre-schools, developingcurriculum materials, monitoring standards at pre-schools. and helping developpolicy guidelines for early childhood education;

• The Ministry of Education however,' only participated in training of teachers andinclusion ofearly childhood education in the Education Policy.

One major disadvantage was that little was done in letting children from disadvantaged groupsgain access to pre-school education. Children from better off families benefited more.

Major developments made in advocacy for child survival care, protection and developmentwere that the Department of Child Affairs in conjunction with Ministry of Health the Child-to­Child programme in schools and NGOs mounted national campaigns for the immunisation ofchildren, and community sensitisation on the general health of children. These efforts havebeen frusted by high levels of child malnutrition and mortality.

7.2 Primary Education

The strategy in primary education centred on expansion of educational opportunities throughdecentralisation of the system of education and partnership in education provision. Someprogress was made in the direction of decentralisation of the system through establishment ofthe Education Management Boards. This strategy is still being pursued as evident from theMinistry of Education's policy on BESSIP. There has been significant development towardspartnership in primary education provision, communities, for example, own and run their ownschools. The number of schools owned by private individuals have increased since 1990.

Expansion in primary school places was however rather low. The average expansion in schoolplaces by 10,000 annually was far below the target of 120,000 school places per year.

58

The major observable achievements in primary education were:-• General increase in access, extension of coverage to disadvantaged groups like girls and

orphans, and reductions in the gap in education emollments between children in rural andurban areas .

• Increase in the supply of teaching and learning materials particularly in schools located inurban and peri-urban areas.

• Opening of new schools and expansion of school infrastructure.

• General rehabilitation of school buildings throughout the country.

• Improvements in the provision of toilets, water and sanitation, and to a limited extent,supply of desks.

• Provision of full primary education in remote rural areas through multigrade teaching

• Articulation ofaffirmative policy on girl-child education as exemplified by programmes likePAGE and the advocacy activities of such NGOs as FAWEZA.

• Implementation ofpolicy on children with special learning needs.

• Formulation of the Basic Education Sub Sector Investment Programme aimed atunversalising primary education by the year 2005 and achievement of nine years basiceducation by 2015.

59

7.3 Literacy

The strategies that were adopted for adult literacy were:-

• Development of functional literacy progranunes imparted through community-basedprogrammes

• Use of adult literacy progranunes as a basis for inculcating knowledge, skills andvalues.

These strategies were inadequate given the high levels of illiteracy especially among women.To address this inadequacy, the National Literacy campaign was adopted. This campaign lastedfrom 1991 to 1994.

The principle achievements were:-

• Increased production of learning and teaching materials, revision and production of newlearning materials.

• Increase in training of literacy cadres

60

• High enrolment of female participants in the National Literacy Campaign.

• Development ofa national curriculum for literacy.

7.4 Education for Better Living

Education for better living was not an isolated theme to be pursued separately. Though therewere no goals and targets set in EFA for education for better living, government recognissed theimportance of theatre, drama art, educational radio, television broadcasts, newspapers andmagazines as channels for delivery ofeducation for better living. In this regard, the governmentcommitted itselfto improving the provision of facilities and resources.

In the first half of the decade, educational media did not play on effective role in the promotionof the EFA strategy, goals and programmes because EFA was not properly articulated withinthe context of media utilization in education. From 1996 some of goals related to EFA wereachieved through television.

The key forms of communication (television, radio and drama) were effectively used to createpublic awareness on some of the problems that required nation wide attention (e.g. poliocampaign, cholera campaign, anti AIDS and anti-measles). They were used as channels forcommunicating essential messages that would make the public aware.

The progress achieved in Education for Better Living was facilitated by the overall policy ofliberalisation of both print and electronic. Main achievements were:-

• Increased utilisation of existing diverse channels of communication by individuals,government and NODs for education and entertainment.

• A rise in access to radio, newspapers and television in both urban and rural areas. Therewas an increase in awareness of freedom of choice in sources of information.

7.5 Training for Essential Skills:

Notable achievements in this area were:

• Formulation ofpolicies by participating ministries

• Establishment of TEVETA whose function will be to co-ordinate all skills training inthe country. The new policy formulated by TEVETA aims at promotingentrepreneurship training relevant to the changing socio-economic order.

61

8.0 MAIN PROBLEMS ENCOUNTERED

8.1 ECCED

• The capacity of agencies such as the churches, and councils expected to spearheadECCED was low. This low capacity manifested itself mostly in the lack ofmarginalised and disadvantaged children accessing pre-school education.

• Lack of EFA co-ordination after 1993 resulted in the difficulty of monitoring earlychildhood education activities.

• Inadequate funding to Curriculum Development Centre in particular, affectedrevision and production ofmaterials for pre-school programmes.

8.2 Primary Education

• Ill~dequate funding to primary educat~on in the public budget;

• High levels in poverty affected participation and ability to learn ;

• Negative impact of the mY/AIDS pandemic whose results were an increase in thenumbers of orphans; rising m01:"tality rates among teachers; low attendance amongschool children because of the demand of looking after sick parents/guardians;

• Impact of contextual or socio-economic problems such as drought, childmalnutrition, mortality from malaria and poverty;

• Weak central capacity in planning and management of the educational system asevidenced by lack ofup-to-date data.

• The Structural Adjustment Programme and debt-servicing which deprived thecountry of the funds to develop primary education.

8.3 Adult Literacy

• Low capacity among the literacy cadres to manage the National Literacy Campaignand other activities.

• Lack ofco-ordination among providers

8.4Training in Essential Skillls

• There was inadequate funding to most of the skills training centres

62

• Inadequate monitoring and evaluation of programmes in skills training especially thoseunderNGOs.

• Insufficient data on skills training programmes

9.0 PUBLIC AWARENESS, POLITICAL WILL AND NATIONAL CAPACITIES.

9.1 ECCED

In general, there was public awareness of nutrition and health related issues that werekey to the development of children. This awareness was usually heightened during thenational campaigns. However, public awareness of the value of pre-school educationwas principally limited to urban areas.

Political will to develop ECCED programmes was there as exemplified by policypronouncements by the different ministries and support for child survival and protection'campaigns. The capacity to match political will was low because of lack of financialresources.

9.2 Primary Education

In general, the will to educate children was high among all the stakeholders in thecountry. The political will was also fairly high. One noticeable weakness, however,of the educational development was lack of linkage to the democratisationprocess.Lack of co-ordination and collaboration among all the agencies resulted inisolated initiatives which did not contribute to a national sense for EFA.

Adult Literacy

Public awareness of value of literacy in development was low. Political will towardseradicating illiteracy declined over the decade.In relation to the problem of illiteracyespecially among women, the gains were low:.

10. General Assessment of Progress

The national momentum for Education for All created at the beginning of the decadewas overtaken by the country's efforts to tackle the challenges which came with thechange of government. However, clear policies with a bearing on EFA began to emergein the Ministries of Education, Ministry of Community Development and SocialServices, Sport, Youth and Child Development and the Science, Technology, and

63

Vocational Training after the middle of the decade. In general the new policiescomplemented and strengthened the EFA goals established earlier in the decade. On thewhole, Zzmbia has made some progress towards EFA but it has not achieved all itsgoals and targets. Some ofthe progress made include:

(i) More partnership through involvement of communities, NGOs, the Privatesector and individuals in educational provision;

(ii) National education campaigns for the education of girls through the Programfor the Advancement of Girls' Education (pAGE);

(iii) Increased utilisation of public and private media for raising public awarenessto national problems like health epidemics and

(iv) Greater utilisation of research on critical problems relevant to EFA like theeducation of girls and other disadvantaged groups;

(v) Improvements in access to basic education opportunities;(vi) Visible reductions in gender and region disparities in basic education

opportunities.

PART THREE

POLICY DIRECTION

11. 1 General Observation

Education for All is a broad concept which encompasses educational activities andprogrammes being undertaken by the government, communities, NGOs, private sectorand other partners. As a concept, EFA affords the country an opportunity to take stockof all education initiatives directed at all strata of society.The cutting edge of Educationfor All in the country should be linked to the broader democratisation process thecountry is going through. In this way citizens will take education as a topic fordiscourse and for their own development.

In terms of the future, the country's EFA programmes should encompass the nine yearsBasic Education, Early Childhood Care Education and Development, Adult Literacy,Learning Achievement, Training in Essential Skills and Education for Better Living.Efforts should be made to revisit the goals and strategies in these and other emergingrelevant areas.

11.2 ECCED

Areas related to teaching, and quality control should go to the Ministry of Education. Areasrelated to child care, survival and protection should go to Councils and relevant departments ofthe Ministry of Community Development and Child Services, Ministry of Sport, Youth and

64

•

Social Development and the Minis1;ry of Health. Efforts should be made to establish closer co­operation among the key Ministries in the area of ECCED especially in terms of data onservices available to children.

• The Ministry of Education should take the role of licencing early childhood learningcentres.

• There is need to include rural areas in plans to expand ECCED.

11.3 BASIC Education

The problems in the primary education sector experienced over the decade have been addressedin the Basic Education Sub-Sector Investment Programme (BESSIP) of the Ministry ofEducation. BESSIP has identified goals and strategies that are relevant to universalisation ofquality basic education in the country.

Communities, cooperating partners, NGOs and citizens at large should support the goals andobjectives ofBESSIP which are:-

• To expand access at Grades 1-7 and reverse the decline in enrollment in order to achieve100% net enrollment by the year 2005.

• To continue to improve access to and quality of Upper Basic (grades8 - 9) to achieve100% enrollment by 2015.

• To provide a wide rage of learning opportunities in order to broaden access to education.

• To enhance the quality and relevance of Basic Education by improving pre-service and in­service teacher education and reviewing curriculum empower children with literacy,numeracy, life skills and attributes that will enable them to participate fully in personal,community and national development, as well as effectively manage the challenges tolife.

• To improve the supply of Educational materials, and in particular to attain apupil/textbook ration of2:1 by the year 2005.

• To provide training opportunities for effective teaching and management of the newenrollment targets.

• To provide sufficient infrastructure and school furniture to accommodate enrollmenttargets.

• To eliminate imbalances by achieving parity in gender and urban/rural enrollments andensuring enrollment of the vulnerable and children with special needs.

• To improve the nutrition and health status of Basic Education pupils

65

•

•

• To provide an enabling institutional framework for efficient and effective management ofeducation at all levels.

• To create accountable and transparent systems for financial management and procurement

• To create comprehensive and responsive management information systems for informeddecision making.

• Financial support to community schools

In the course of implementing BESSIP special attention should be given to relieving the poor ofthe burden of user-fees and cost sharing measures by making education free of direct cost forthem. Efforts should be made to ensure more participation of teachers and communities ineducation decisions that affect them.

11.4 Adult Literacy

• In order to establish levels of literacy, funds should be made available to the CentralStatistical Office to carry out a comprehensive national literacy survey among those15 and above.

• The Ministry of Community Development should prepme a directory of NODsinvolved in the promotion ofliteracy activities in the country.

• The Ministry of Community Development should initiate the establishment of acentral co-ordinating body for literacy activities comprising key stakeholders(Ministry & NOGs).

• The Ministry of Community Development and Social Services should promoteintegration of literacy instruction in government programmes related to agriculture,health and education for better living.

• The Ministry of Community Development in collaboration with the Department ofAdult Education at the University of Zambia ,should establish nine literacy centres(1 in every province) for the production of materials, training of instructors andprovision of short courses aimed at sustaining literacy skills among neoliterates andpromoting income generating activities among women.

• The Ministry of Community Development and Social Services should identify andfocus on reducing illiteracy among districts with less than 50% literacy rates to 25%by concentrating primarily on female literacy programmes.

• The Ministry of Community Development and Social Services should set up rurallibraries along side literacy centres aimed at promoting a reading culture.

66

• The Ministry of Community Development should upgrade the padagogic skills for344 literacy cadres through provision of a graded training training prograIl1IJleoffered through in-service and distance education.

• The Ministry of Community Development and Social Services should establish adata bank on literacy.

11.5 Education For Better Living

• In line with EFA goals, the Ministry ofBroadcasting and Information should clearlyarticulate the goals and strategies for EFA.

• The Ministry of Infonnation and Broadcasting services should play a co-ordinatingrole for Education for Better Living.

11.6 Training for Essential Skills

• In line with EFA goals, TEVETA should clearly articulate the goals and strategiesforEFA

• TEVETA should play a co-ordinating role for training in essential skills.

CONCLUSION

• In order to keep the EFA torch burning there is need to revisit the EFA goals, targets andstrategies for the future The vision should be informed by the democratisation process and thedevelopment needs of the country.• The EFA task force should be revitalised and an EFA secretariat co-ordinated by the

Director ofPlanning working with key stakeholders should be established.

• Concerted efforts should be made to support the Jubilee 2000 campaign for debtcancellation and a large part of the savings arising from the cancellation should go toeducation.

• There is need for capacity building in data collection, analysis and utilisation in all the unitsconcerned with EFA

• Efforts should be made to sustain the achievements realised so far in all the EFA initiativesincluding advancing the innovations which have been developed over the decade.

• EFA assessment should be an ongoing exercise to provide indicators of the developmentstaking place in education and the constraints that stand in the way of effective progresstowards set goals and targets.

67

J