Free education brings hope to vulnerable rural communities

FAIDES Sakala is a 70-year-old grandmother living in the Ng’ombe community, one of the sprawling, densely populated residential areas in the Zambian capital of Lusaka. She was more than glad recently that her two grandchildren can now attend school without her spending any money following the introduction of free education in the country.

Sakala was left to take care of her grandchildren after the death of her daughter, who was a single mother. But her business of selling vegetables was not enough to both provide food and take her two grandchildren to school, resulting in the two dropping out.

“We are really grateful to the government for introducing free education, and my grandchildren are now back in school. The only thing I need is to buy them books,” she said.

Sakala is among hundreds of impoverished people who have been able to send their children back to school following the introduction of free education last year, which has resulted in increased enrolment.

Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema honoured his campaign promise ahead of the 2021 general elections of introducing free education once elected, which became a reality last year.

According to the new government policy, education is free from early childhood to secondary school level in all government-run schools. The introduction of free education has seen the elimination of barriers to education such as school fees and exam fees. And the government is pleased that this has allowed more children from vulnerable families to access education.

Education Minister Douglas Syakalima said the free education policy has increased enrolment in schools at all levels. In remarks delivered at a joint review meeting of the education sector recently, he said enrolment at the primary school level has risen from 3.2 million to 4.3 million between 2020 and 2023, while at the secondary school level the data has moved from 859000 to 1.5 million.

Syakalima said education was the key element of everyone’s life, adding that the “Education for All” policy was meant to ensure that all people attained an education.

He was aware that increased enrolment has brought with it challenges, such as a shortage of classrooms, desks and teachers. But measures by the government have been put in place to address these difficulties.

Syakalima said the ministry has negotiated for additional financing of $120million from the World Bank under the Zambia Education Enhancement Project, which runs until December 2025. The bulk of the funds will be for the construction of 120 secondary schools, he said, adding that the ministry intends to embark on teacher recruitment every year to build on the 30496 teachers recruited last year, starting with 4500 teachers this year.

Lois Mulube, the acting permanent secretary in the Ministry of Finance and National Planning, said the government is pursuing policies and programmes aimed at broadening access to education. She said education is a fundamental right for all children as it enables them to secure their right to development and protection.

“We believe that education is an equaliser and provides a springboard that will enable our generation of children to actualise their potential,” she said during a high-level forum at the UN headquarters in New York.

Stakeholders have since expressed satisfaction that the free education policy has so far been a success despite minor challenges.

George Hamusunga, executive director at the Zambia National Education Coalition (Zanec), said financial challenges were preventing people from sending children to school.

“The pronouncement of free education is a huge milestone that has seen increased enrolment, and we are happy that parents have taken advantage of this and are sending their children to school,” he said.

However, he said research conducted by Zanec has shown that the increase in enrolment was more pronounced in urban areas than in rural areas, and attributed this to a lack of awareness among rural dwellers. He has since called for increased awareness, especially in rural areas.