Implementing Educational Policies in Zambia (original) (raw)
Related papers
1990
At the time of independence from Britain in 1964, the educational system in Zambia was, as elsewhere in Africa, racially segregated and heavily biased against Africans. This paper briefly reviews the situation at independence before enumerating post-independence educational policy landmarks through both acts of Parliament and national deve.ipment plans and related documents. It discusses successes and failures in program implementation as evidenced by internal and external efficiency criteria. Particularly the primary school system has expanded substantially, although there a:e few data about internal efficiency. Nevertheless, the young and growing population continues tc put pressure on the system-a doubling of primary school places by the year 2000 would be necessary simply to maintain the present gross enrollment rates. High rates of unemployment, especially after completion of primary and secondary school, point to poor external efficiency. Other factors contributing to problems with the successful implementation of educational policies have been a poor economy, inadequate supply of teachers abovs the primary level, problems with curriculum relevance, and an entrenched debate about the merits of English language versus native language teaching. (Author)
Education in Zambia Robbie Musakuzi
Robbie Musakuzi on Education in Zambia, 2022
A critique from is not criticism but a critical analysis of an issue taking into an account the historical background and the effect on the future. Accountability in Education can be simply be defined as the responsibility of the Teachers, Pupils, Parents, Administrators and the Principle Sponsor or funder of the Education System in our case the Government of Republic of Zambia through Ministry of Education which ensures that the Education System in a school, community and the nation achieves its objectives and is held accountable to what happens. Each of these five elements must be held accountable of what happens in a school and that is, celebrated if the school is producing results and held accountable if the school is not doing well. For many decades now, the fall in the Standards or Quality of Education in Zambia can be largely attributed to lack of a proper policy and measures on Accountability. Let me try and simplify my discussion by giving a recent example in the 2021 Grade 9 results which were announced a few weeks ago and a report emerged of a school in one of the provinces that all 2021 Grade 9's at a particular school failed and could not proceed to Grade 10 in 2022. The first reaction by Government of Republic of Zambia through Ministry of Education was that the school Headteachers and teachers would be investigated and if found wanting disciplinary measures would be instituted. And this has been the problem for many years reactionary action because of the lack of accountability to deal with this kind of situation. Its only one element which is to blame when Reactionary measures are taken due to lack of a policy on Accountability in the Education System in Zambia. When a school produces such results it is important to look at all the five elements mentioned above that contribute to Quality Education. Now that total Free Education has been reintroduced in Primary and Secondary Schools it is now with utmost urgency that those responsible that is Government of Republic of Zambia through Ministry of Education take keen interest in putting in place a robust Accountability policy for schools because there is a Psychology related to Free things. Free things have an effect on human attitude. Dan Ariely an authority on the subject of Free Things when given to people and says in his book "Predictably Irrational", 'people change their Behavioral patterns when something Free comes along. Free is not just an indicator of price. It is a powerful emotional trigger that's often irresistible.' As experienced under the UNIP and KK Total Free Education and continued in the Zambian Education System under MMD and PF Partial Free Education, you had pupils arriving in Grade 8 and 10 who cannot read or write. In countries with a robust Accountability in the Education System before giving them remedial work, all the teachers, Headteachers and schools sending half-baked pupils to the next level would be traced and disciplinary measures taken on them. In Zambia, in the Absence of a robust Accountability in the Education System this does not happen and schools, Headteachers and teachers just go scot free and continue producing pupils who cannot read or write year after year and some schools and teachers become renown for this and parents avoid taking their children to such schools but those without the means and influence continue taking their children to such schools and use their hard earned money to pay for tuitions to other teachers. It totally unacceptable that for a whole year with a teacher paid by the government every month and on schedule, a pupil can arrive at the next level and grade without the required education knowledge of the previous level and grade and the next teachers continue with no one held accountable. All Headteachers and teachers know what words should be read, which figures added, subtracted, multiplied and knowledge a pupil must have at every level and grade. Why are teachers and Headteachers not being held accountable? I am now an old man and can still remember my Grade 1 teacher, a Mr Chalwe and Headteacher a Mr. Kasonde at Natwange Primary School in 1968. These pupils who are arriving in grade 8 and 10 and cannot read or write can mention all the teachers they passed through and the teachers made to account for negligence! With this Total Free Education and without an Accountability Policy in place, the standard of pupils crossing to the next grade or level will become worse. And yet this Total Free Education enterprise which the UPND led Zambian Government has embarked on will require and use up huge sums of Zambian Government Resources. It is a very brave undertaking by President Hakainde Hchilema and his Administration to embark on this Total Free Education in Primary and Secondary Schools. MMD and PF opted for partial Free Education through cost sharing and school fees. Those given the responsibility to manage this Total Free Education project must surely make it succeed by being innovative and ensure that the right and new policies and structures needed are put in place. Those of us watching from the terraces will try and contribute in every way possible so that this Total Free Education enterprise succeeds for the sake of mother Zambia!
Language of Education Planning in Zambia
Linguistic Portfolios, 2014
Zambia is a landlocked country in south central Africa. While its only official language is English, seven other languages are recognized as national languages. In addition, many other local languages are used. In education, however, not all Zambian languages are taught as subjects or used as mediums of instruction. This paper reviews the history of languages and their use in the educational system in Zambia. After considering what was done in the past, the current policies are examined. Finally, a Game Theory analysis is used to predict what kind of language of education policy would be most agreed upon in contemporary Zambia.
Chisamba, einem kleinen Ort nördlich von Lusaka. Zurzeit bereitet er sich in einem berufsbegleitenden Studium auf seine Prüfung als Secondary School Teacher vor. Ihm stehen weder Computer noch Schreibmaschine zur Verfügung. Trotzdem hat er unsere Anfrage nach einem Beitrag für dieses Buch als Herausforderung für sich angenommen. Seine detaillierte Beschreibung und Analyse der Probleme des Sambischen Schulwesens erreichte uns in einem Päckchen, das drei eng beschriebene Schulhefte enthielt. Herausgekommen ist ein kenntnis-und aspektreicher Text, der sowohl in historischer Perspektive die Entwicklung des Bildungswesens in Zambia dokumentiert, seine Merkmale schildert, aktuelle Probleme benennt und dabei die politische wie die soziale Situation darauf abklopft, welche Verbesserungsmöglichkeiten es gibt. Der umfassende Anspruch und die entsprechend große Aufgabe haben ihren Tribut gefordert. Der Autor schreibt im Telegrammstil und beschränkt sich weitgehend auf das Wesentliche. Bei der Übertragung seines Manuskripts haben wir uns dazu entschieden, es weitgehend so zu belassen. Wir haben nur dort gelegentlich ein Wort oder eine Fußnote eingefügt, wo uns dies zum Verständnis nötig schien.
The 2014 Zambian Revised Literacy Policy in Primary Schools: Were Teachers Prepared to Implement it?
International Journal of Humanities, Social Sciences and Education
The language of initial literacy policy in Zambia has undergone several changes from the time the missionaries introduced schools in Zambia. During the missionary time before 1890, local languages were used to teach and learn literacy. However, the coming of the British South African Company to Zambia and the eventual British rule in Zambia around 1924 saw more English being introduced in the school system. In 1953, there was a three tier language in education policy. This meant that a local language which was not necessarily a regional official language was used as medium of instruction for the first two years while a regional official language was used in the third and fourth year of schooling. Thereafter, English took over. Although this policy seemed friendly to the local people, the policy changed in 1966 (in independent Zambia) where English became the sole medium of instruction from grade one to University. Although this was clearly not a suitable policy, the 1977 revised policy still maintained the use of the English while making provision for the use of local languages where necessary. Since then, several twists and turns have taken place (in 1992 and 1996). In 1998, the primary reading programme (PRP) was introduced. This policy provided that the medium of initial literacy was a familiar language which was practically a regional official language according to province. It is important to note that all these changes took place in a bid to find a more suitable language in education policy which would help improve literacy levels in Zambia
International research journal of modernization in engineering technology and science, 2023
Education is one of the keys to development, however, due to the ineffectiveness of governments and low budgetary allocation to the sector, it has not been accorded its rightful place and has experienced setbacks which have affected the developmental agenda and impoverished as many children as possible that have missed the opportunity to go to school. However, for Zambian school children, their hopes have once again been rekindled with the free education policy of the current administration which targets children from primary to secondary level. The study therefore aimed at exploring the effects of free education policy on quality education at some selected secondary schools in Lusaka district, Zambia. The study engaged both the qualitative and quantitative methods and a descriptive research design that sampled head teachers, teachers and learners from the selected schools. Data was obtained from the respondents by means of interviews and questionnaires. Frequency tables, graphs, figures and pie-charts were used to analyze the qualitative data whereas quantitative data were analyzed by the use of the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (version 26) and Microsoft Excel (version 16). The findings indicated that the majority of the schools had PTR exceeding the government PTR standards of between 35: 1 and 40:1 pupil per class. Out of the total number teachers that took part in the study, 15 (84.3%) of the respondents indicated that their classes were overcrowded. Further, teachers' views and perception on the effects of a free education policy on quality education has offered valuable insights into the practical implications of such policies. Findings also indicated that school administrators in Zambia face significant challenges in implementing free education policy. The study therefore recommends a multi-faceted approach involving adequate funding, teacher recruitment and retention strategies, infrastructure development, robust monitoring systems and active community engagement. By addressing these challenges and working together, stakeholders can pave the way for a more inclusive and equitable education system in Zambia, ensuring that all children have access to quality education and the opportunity to thrive.
Education public expenditure review in Zambia
2015
Zambia has seen remarkable improvement in almost all economic sectors as a result of sustained favorable economic policy in the past decade or so. The education sector is one of the sectors that has benefited from the economic boom. Nevertheless, despite the stable funding to the education sector and its sustained growth, the system continues to face challenges in a number of areas.The Zambia Public Expenditure Review report documents these challenges as lack of efficiency and effectiveness in resource use, high teacher absenteeism, low education quality, insufficient teaching and learning materials, high internal inefficiency, and low time-on-task, among others. This book is arranged as follows: chapter one gives an overview of the recent development of the education sector in the country, followed by discussions on the administrative systems and sector issues at different education levels; chapter two talks about public education expenditure of Zambia, which is overall conducive t...