ZANEC

Category: Press Statement

  • Joint Press Statement on the 2024 Global Action Week for Education (GAWE)

    Joint Press Statement on the 2024 Global Action Week for Education (GAWE)

    Zambia National Education Coalition (ZANEC) in collaboration with ActionAid TaxEd Alliance is pleased to join the rest of the World in commemorating the Global Action Week for Education (GAWE) which was launched on Sunday 21st April 2024 by the Minister of Education Honorable Douglas Syakalima. GAWE is an annual event organized by the Global Campaign for Education (GCE). Given that 2024 is the African Union (AU) Year of Education, this week serves to contribute to this agenda as a platform to raise awareness of the importance of education, highlight key education issues, and mobilize support for addressing challenges such as access to education, quality of education, gender disparities, and the impact of emergencies and crises on education. This year GAWE is a landmark as it coincides with the 25th anniversary of the GCE. It reminds us of the World Education Conference held in Dakar, Senegal in 1999 when the movements and civil society organizations (CSOs) from different continents joined forces to have a unified voice on education for all.

    The theme for 2024 is “Transformative Education’’. This theme allows us as a Country to reflect on Zambia’s Commitments to the Transforming Education Summit (TES) held on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York in September 2022. Several African Heads of State, including the President of the Republic of Zambia, attended the TES and made bold commitments about how they were going to transform their education systems to avert the crisis driven by COVID 19. Among others, Zambia’s commitments included the need to:
    1. Construct more schools to make the teaching and learning environment conducive for all learners, and absorb the learners that have come back into school after the introduction of the free education policy.
    2. Continue investing heavily in teacher development, recruitment, and deployment.
    3. Zero rate tax on Information Communication Technology equipment, software, and concession internet connectivity for schools and institutions of learning to facilitate the use of innovative educational resources and teaching methods.
    4. Transform Education Broadcasting Services and Zambia College of Distance Education into Information and Communication Technology in Education Centers of Excellency to provide free digital eLearning platforms and offer alternative modes of education provision, especially in times of pandemics.
    5. Increase Budgetary allocation to the Education Sector to at least 20 per cent of the National Budget.
    6. To increase revenue generation for education, we will introduce an Education Levy on popular products on the market (talk time/data, beer, and VAT).
    Against this background, we would like to call upon government and stakeholders to invest in promoting transformative education by implementing these commitments. The call is also for us to recognize the importance of lifelong learning which is a commitment to continuous growth and development that extends far beyond formal education.

    We also take this opportunity to applaud the government that the 2023 curriculum reforms are emphasizing on critical thinking, problem-solving, creativity, and entrepreneurship. Furthermore, we also thank government for giving loans and scholarships to all students with disabilities that qualified and applied for loans and scholarships in 2023/2024 academic year to public universities. This will go a long way in promoting inclusive education. We are also grateful that government allocated significant funding in 2024 towards the procurement of equipment for Technical Education, Vocational and Entrepreneurship Training (TEVET) in order to improve the quality of education for skills and trade.

    Further the 2024 GAWE calls for investment in public education and transformative education because it drives social justice, peace, gender equality and sustainable development. We also need to stand up for the protection of the right to education for children in conflict-affected countries because there can be no future without education. Member states of the United Nations must therefore support education financing in the UN Tax Convention, beat there drums for transformative education and let their diverse voices be heard.
    Finally, we would also like to take this opportunity to inform the general public that during the commemoration of the GAWE, we will be having a number of activities such as social media campaigns, and radio programmes countrywide discussing various issues affecting transformative education in Zambia. Therefore, we would like to encourage all our stakeholders to take time to tune in and take part in the ongoing campaign for this year’s GAWE.
    We wish everyone God’s blessing as we commemorate the 2024 GAWE.

    George Hamusunga
    EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

  • ZANEC PRESS STATEMENT ON THE RECRUITMENT OF 7, 221 TEACHERS

    ZANEC PRESS STATEMENT ON THE RECRUITMENT OF 7, 221 TEACHERS

    The Zambia National Education Coalition (ZANEC) is pleased that the government has recruited the 4, 500 teachers provided for in the 2023 and an additional 2, 721 to replace the teachers that have left their positions for various reasons. We are also happy that the Minister of Education Hon Douglas Syakalima assured the nation that these teachers will start working on 12th of February, 2024 when schools reopen for the first term. For the first time, we have also seen transparency in the handling of teacher replacements in which the process was informed by a thorough mapping exercise of teachers who have left their positions conducted by the Teaching Service Commission. This too is commendable and we would like to encourage the TSC to continue on this path.

    The Coalition applauds the TSC for the continued use of the decentralized process in both the recruitment and replacement of teachers as it ensures teacher retention and transparency. This is line with both the Decentralization Policy and the “Service Commission’s Act no. 10 of 2016”. As ZANEC, our view is that decentralized recruitment of teachers is the hallmark of teacher retention in our schools. Our belief is that teachers must be recruited and deployed to schools that are as close to their place of residency as possible to mitigate against the prevailing housing crisis for teachers. Centralizing teacher recruitment encourages the migration of teachers deployed in rural areas back to urban areas. In other words, good practice requires that teachers are deployed to teach within the community they live.

    We have also noted that the recruitment exercise upheld the 10 percent allocation for applicants with disabilities and focused on secondary school teachers specialized to teach mathematics, sciences, business studies, ICT, special education and Zambian languages. This will go a long way in promoting inclusion and bridging the current gap in teachers of Science, Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) which is affecting performance in these subjects as evidenced from the grade 12 results.

    Overall, ZANEC would like to recommend that the Ministry of Education starts the process of recruiting the 4200 teachers planned in the 2024 education budget early, giving priority to schools in rural areas.

    Finally, we wish to congratulate the newly recruited teachers and urge them to fully embrace the opportunity they have been given by ensuring that they work hard and uphold their professional ethics.
    For/ZANEC

    George Hamusunga
    EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

  • Press Statement on the Grade 12 School and Teacher Education Examination Results for 2023

    Press Statement on the Grade 12 School and Teacher Education Examination Results for 2023

    The Zambia National Education Coalition (ZANEC) has taken note of the statement by the Minister of Education Honorable Douglas Syakalima made on 26th January 2024 during the release of the 2023 Grade 12 School and Teacher Education Examination Results.

    ZANEC would like to applaud the Ministry of Education on the efficient release of the Grade 12 results. This will allow those who did not do well to register for the 2024 external examinations before the registration deadline of 1st March 2024. It is good that there was an increase of 30.88% of candidates who registered for the grade 12 examination in 2023 compared to 2024. It is gratifying that yet again the Examination Council of Zambia (ECZ) successfully conducted the school certificate examination to candidates in South Africa for the second year running. We have observed that the statement also included the Teacher Education Examination Results for the Teacher’s Diploma in three programmes namely Early Childhood, Primary and Secondary. It is progressive to know that the colleges have continued producing teachers at these levels given the political will exhibited by the current government in the recruitment of teachers to bridge the existing gap.

    We further thank the Ministry of Education for conducting examinations free of leakages at both Grade 12 School Certificate and Teacher Education Diploma levels as this will render credibility to the quality of our school leavers and college graduates. It is also good that there was a significant reduction in the number of examination malpractices at grade 12 from 112 cases reported in 2022 to 31 cases reported in 2023. This entails the new measure put in place examination malpractices are beginning to bear fruits. We therefore also commend the government for withdrawing the examination center status for two GCE centers in Central Province and Copperbelt Provinces as it will act as a deterrent to would-be offenders.

    ZANEC is however concerned that:
    1. It is good that girls are performing well at Grade 12 school examinations level but we need to investigate why boys are not performing as well as the girls and further address the root causes.
    2. It is our hope that although the Ministry did not highlight the percentage mean scores recorded in the various subjects for examination candidates’, as they usually do, such an analysis was done to enable the Ministry take appropriate remedial measures.
    3. As earlier promised by the government, it is important that the Examinations Council of Zambia generates research evidence on the reasons why so many candidates simply register but fail to sit for examinations. Such evidence can help the government devise effective strategies for addressing the problem as having 3, 093 candidates absent from examination at grade 12 is costly and retrogressive.
    4. It is our hope that government will continue deploying more teachers in our schools as the number of teachers who are graduating continues to increase.

    Finally, we would like to congratulate the candidates both at Grade 12 School and Teacher Education Diploma Examinations who obtained certificates as well as our teachers and lecturers for the job well done.
    For/ZANEC

    George Hamusunga
    EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

  • ZANEC Press Statement on the extended closure of schools due to cholera outbreak

    ZANEC Press Statement on the extended closure of schools due to cholera outbreak

    Zambia National Education Coalition (ZANEC) respects government’s decision to extend the closure of schools on account of the increasing number of cases of cholera. The decision significantly aligns with the public health recommendations from our health experts. However, we believe postponing the school reopening from January 29th to 12th February, will result in serious learning losses which will undermine the education recovery post COVID 19. For this reason, it is important that the Council of Ministers utilizes the evidence from the researches conducted by ZANEC with support from the Ministry of Education and UNICEF during the COVID 19 pandemic from 2020 to 2022 to mitigate the impact of the cholera epidemic on education. Therefore, there is need to consider the following important actions.

    1.The National Disaster Management and Mitigation Council of Ministers that decided the school closure to be extended need to put in place adequate measures in the two weeks that schools will be closed to ensure that schools will have all the necessary requisites that will protect learners from cholera when they reopen.

    2.It was also not prudent to generalize the closure of schools in all parts of the country, the extended closure of schools should have been only in parts of the country that have cholera for example according to Zambia Cholera Situation Report Sitrep No. 23. Provinces like Muchinga, Western and Luapula have only recorded imported cases. Therefore, the closure should have been in the districts that are epicenters, have active cases or are at high risk.

    3.There is need for government through the Ministry of Finance to release adequate cholera epidemic response funding to the Ministry of Education to enable them put measures in schools that will ensure the health and safety of learners. The tendency by government to think that investment in the health sector alone can also address the impact of the cholera epidemic on education is misplaced. For us, we attribute the failure to open schools to the lack of political will to support the Ministry of Education with the required resources to make our schools conducive for learning amidst the cholera epidemic.

    4.The Ministry of Education must also be supported to deliver Alternative Modes of Education Provision that can help provide continuity of learning at home for children during the closure of schools. Unfortunately, although we all agree that the Education Broadcasting Services (EBS) is the panacea to our digital learning solutions in Zambia, the institution is poorly funded to the extent that they have not aired a single education programme for a year now. We would like to call upon government, through the Ministry of Finance to quickly fund EBS so that it can resume its work. Furthermore, EBS must be given an express license to air education programmes countrywide to mitigate the current learning loss. This investment is critical in the long term for continued learning during calamities or natural disasters.

    5.The Ministry of Education must start preparing for the re-opening of examination classes now so that in the event that the cases of cholera continue increasing for the next two weeks, learners in examination classes can be given the first priority to go back to school. The Ministry can leverage on its past experience in running examination classes amidst COVID 19 to reduce the loss of learning time among our 2024 examination candidates.

    For/ZANEC

    George Hamusunga
    Executive Director

  • ZANEC PRESS STATEMENT ON THE INTERNATIONAL DAY OF EDUCATION

    ZANEC PRESS STATEMENT ON THE INTERNATIONAL DAY OF EDUCATION

    ZANEC is pleased to join the rest of the world in commemorating the International Day of Education which falls today. This day is important in the education calendar as it provides us with the opportunity to reflect on the importance of education as a human right and its contribution to socio-economic development.

    In line with this year’s theme which is “Learning for lasting Peace”, research evidence shows that education can catalyse and buttress peace, especially when there is equitable access for all. Education can also play a vital role in peace building and reconciliation. Education initiatives have a proven potential to help marginalized populations gain access to justice that contributes to peaceful societies. It is important to note that when people are educated, they are able to appreciate the value of peace and avoid conflict. Therefore, learning for lasting peace is a timely theme. Education is also the key to the escalating climatic challenges (natural calamities), persistent inequalities, growing discrimination, racism, xenophobia, hate speech, violence, and conflict on a global scale. Indeed, education emerges as a powerful tool to both address and prevent these challenges in our societies.

    Even if we leave in a peaceful Country where there is no conflict, we need to embrace peace education to address the challenges such as the mushrooming of gangs or junkies, crime and various forms of abuses that represent a breach of human rights. Our Government needs to deal with the issue of junkies that are terrorising innocent people in communities by using education as a tool for both development and peace. One way we can prevent more children from becoming junkies is by investing in quality education and training that is accessible for all. Peace education is transformative as it enables learners to gain essential knowledge, values, attitudes, skills and behaviors that promote co-existence and a culture of peace, respect for cultural diversity and non-violence which are key to sustainable development.

    ZANEC is therefore pleased that Social justice is one of the principles that underpins our new curriculum, in which human rights is also posited as one of the main crosscutting issues. We are therefore hopeful that the new curriculum which spans from early childhood education to teacher education will lay a firm foundation for a more peaceful, just, and sustainable Zambia.

    Furthermore, we urge government and education stakeholders to work towards actualizing the UNESCO recommendations concerning education for international understanding, cooperation and peace designed to guarantee human rights and fundamental freedoms. The following are some of the UNESCO recommended principal guidelines for cultivating peace education

    -Recognize that quality education is a public and common good, which should be accessible to all;
    -Irrespective of race, colour, descent, gender, age, language, religion, political opinion, national, ethnic or social origin, economic or social condition of birth, or disability and any other grounds, ensure non-discrimination, inclusion and equity, in and through education, as prescribed by international human rights law while empowering learners as rights-holders;
    -Promote gender equality in and through education. It is key to the realization of the right to education for all and for the empowerment of women and girls;
    -Recognize education and learning as a continuous, lifelong, life-encompassing, holistic, humanistic and transformative process;
    -Encourage, empower and support the willingness, and build the capacity, of individuals to engage proactively in solving problems at community, local, national, regional and global levels notably through the ethical and responsible use of current and future technologies;
    -Promote intercultural and intergenerational dialogue for cooperation and solidarity and reinforce effective communication to help develop friendly relations between and among peoples, societies and countries.

    Finally, ZANEC encourages all citizens to take their children to school with the free education that is there as it gives an opportunity for every child to be in school and safe guard their future for national sustainable development and peace.
    For/ZANEC

    George Hamusunga
    EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

  • ZANEC Press Statement on the 2023 Grade 7 and Grade 9 Examination Results

    ZANEC Press Statement on the 2023 Grade 7 and Grade 9 Examination Results

    The Zambia National Education Coalition (ZANEC) is pleased that the Minister of Education Honourable Douglas Syakalima MP released the 2023 Grade 7 and Grade 9 Examination Results on 26th December, 2023. ZANEC commends the Examinations Council of Zambia (ECZ) and other stakeholders in the Ministry of Education that no leakages were recorded in the Grade 7 and Grade 9 Examinations. We also appreciate the Government for repealing the ECZ Act No. 15 of 1983 as amended in 1994 and replacing it with the ECZ Act No. 3 of 2023, which has provided for highly stringent measures against examination malpractices. The new Act is already bearing fruit given the reduction in the examination malpractice at Grade 9 from 989 cases in 2022 to 54 cases in 2023.

    On the actual results released, it is commendable that there was an increase in 2023 in the total of candidates that registered for both Grade 7 and Grade 9 examinations compared to 2022. The increase in the number of candidates sitting for examinations can be attributed to the declaration of free education. We are also pleased that the automatic progression to Grade 8 has been abolished as the trend had compromised the quality of education at secondary school. It is important to note that only learners who demonstrate appropriate competencies must be allowed to progress to Grade 8. Therefore, the policy provision to have only Grade 7 candidates with divisions 1 to 3 proceed to Grade 8 is very progressive.

    Furthermore, we are pleased that the abolition of the automatic progression policy will leave 80,093 free spaces at primary school level which were previously utilized by Grade 8 learners. This increased space at the primary school level will provide space for those candidates who have not obtained a primary school certificate to repeat in 2024.

    However, ZANEC is saddened with: –
    1.The sudden change in the subjects that were considered for passing Grade 7 examinations in 2023 has brought about unnecessary speculations in the candidates mainly due to limited access to information. The Ministry of Education needed to share information on the non-release of Paper 1 and Paper 2 results in advance with stakeholders at school and district levels to avoid speculations.
    2.The absenteeism rate at Grade 7 of 9.60% representing 48,274 candidates is huge and worrying especially since it represents a huge jump from 1.21% in 2022.
    3.The low pass rate of 53.6% at Grade 9 level is very low, while the 30.28% of the Grade 7 candidates who obtained Division Four is also very high.

    To this effect, ZANEC is recommending the following measures to address the above challenges: –
    1.The Ministry, through ECZ must ensure that they widely communicate the new developments surrounding the treatment of Paper 1 and Paper 2 to the public.
    2.There is need to increase investment in improving the learning outcomes at both primary and secondary levels to reduce the failure rate.
    Finally, we urge our parents and guardians to prepare adequately for the children to return to school by 19th January 2024.

    For/ZANEC

    George Hamusunga
    EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

  • ZANEC Press Statement on the International Day of the Girl Child

    ZANEC Press Statement on the International Day of the Girl Child

    Zambia National Education Coalition (ZANEC) is pleased to join the rest of the world in commemorating the International Day of the Girl Child which falls on 11th October. This international commemoration gives us the opportunity to reflect on our achievements and shortcomings in addressing the challenges that girls are facing in realizing their right to education.
    The theme for this year is “Invest in Girls’ Rights: Our Leadership, Our well-being”. Investment in girls and women spurs productivity and economic growth in any given society. Girls and women’s participation in education and leadership positions is essential to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030 in Zambia. Moreover, women and girls represent more than half of the country’s population and therefore their full participation in the economy can increase our development prospects. For instance, Girls have the right to safety, education, and a healthy life, not only during these critical formative years but also as they mature into women.
    If adequately supported, girls have the potential to change the world – both as empowered girls of today and as tomorrow’s workers, mothers, entrepreneurs, mentors, household heads, and corporate and political leaders. An investment in realizing the power of girls can help uphold their rights today and offer promises for a more equitable and prosperous future. Achieving gender equality and women’s empowerment is integral to each of the 17 SGDs. Education is a key investment in girls because it is also an enabler of other rights such as the right to participation.
    Although we are pleased that there are more girls that enroll in Grade 1 compared to boys, we are concerned that girls start dropping out at a fast rate from Grade 4. According to the 2020 Education Statistical Bulletin produced by the Ministry of Education, we have 105,700 girls who are out of school in Zambia as a result of the high drop-out rate. Additionally, 16,491 girls got pregnant, and only 7,954 were readmitted representing 48.4% readmission rate. Child marriages due to bad cultural practices in rural parts of the country also contribute to high numbers of girls dropping out of school.
    It is clear from the statistics above that more needs to be done by the Ministry of Education and other stakeholders to keep our girl children in school. Therefore, Zambia needs to safeguard the rights of the girls and their well-being by mitigating vices such as teenage pregnancies and early marriages that deprive girls of their education opportunity. We also appeal to the government to ensure that all progressive gender legislations and policies are fully implemented such as the Children’s Code Act No 12 of 2022, Gender Equity and Equality Act No. 22 of 2015, National Gender Policy, the Anti Gender-Based Violence Act No. 1 of 2011, and Re-entry Policy among others.
    Finally, we wish all our girls a happy and successful 2023 International Day of the Girl Child.
    For/ZANEC 

    George Hamusunga
    Executive Director

  • THE PRESS STATEMENT ON THE 2024 NATIONAL BUDGET TO THE EDUCATION AND SKILLS SECTOR

    THE PRESS STATEMENT ON THE 2024 NATIONAL BUDGET TO THE EDUCATION AND SKILLS SECTOR

    The Zambia National Education Coalition (ZANEC) has analysed the 2024 National Budget that was presented to Parliament by the Minister of Finance and National Planning Dr. Situmbeko Musokotwane on Friday, 29th September 2023 and would like to make the following observations.
    Overall, we are pleased with the following education budget measures which relate to the issues that the Coalition has been advocating for: –

    1. The increase in the allocation to the education sector from 13.9% in 2023 to 15.4% in 2024, representing an increase of 1.5%.
    2. ZANEC also commends the government’s plan to employ 4,200 teachers in 2024 and 1,200 non-teaching staff as this will contribute towards the provision of quality education in public schools.
    3. The increase in the school feeding programme from the current 39.4 million to 111. 7 million is commendable as it will encourage children to stay in school and improve the nutrition of the learners especially the young ones in ECE. Good nutrition can improve attendance, concentration, and overall academic performance for learners, especially in marginalized areas.
    4. The increase in allocation to the Higher Education Loans and Scholarship Board to ZMW 1, 234, 472, 290 in 2024 from ZMW 930, 226, 908 in 2023 is commendable. This will increase the number of learners, especially from vulnerable communities benefiting from the Loans Scheme.
    5. We are also happy that the government has completed constructing 69 secondary schools and the progress achieved so far on the 46 schools which are still under construction. Our hope is that the construction of these schools will be completed soon so that we can increase access to secondary education.
    6. We are also pleased that the government is aiming to improve internet connectivity for rural areas as this will help to enhance access to digital learning in schools.
    7. The allocation of ZMW 70, 000, 000 towards the procurement of equipment for TEVET will improve the quality of education provided under TEVET. Therefore, ZANEC urges the government to continue investing in this sector as large numbers of young people are enrolled in these institutions.
    8. The Girls’ Education and Women’s Empowerment and Livelihoods project’s goal to increase access to secondary education for girls is commendable. Covering 129,400 beneficiaries in 81 districts by April 2024 from the current 116,891 beneficiaries in 76 districts will benefit more girls.

    To this effect, ZANEC would like to recommend the following measures going forward: –

    1. ZANEC acknowledges the increased allocation to the education sector from 13.9% in 2023 to 15.4% in 2024 but we would lie to encourage government to continue working towards achieving a minimum of 20% allocation of the total budget according to the SADC and Cairo Protocols on Education sector. This will allow the country to make adequate investments in improving quality education for all.
    2. For the 1,200 non-teaching staff that will be recruited in 2024, we recommend that 15% should be ECE Caregivers as ECE teachers need a lot of assistance when handling learners at this age.
    3. There is a conflicting interest when resources for education sit under different ministries. We recommend that money under education even under the CDF should sit on the education budget for easy tracking of the disbursement and expenditure
    4. The government must ensure that at least 20% of the teachers employed in 2024 are Early Childhood Education teachers and 2.5% should be special education to promote disability inclusion. The remaining number should be teachers of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).
    5. Grants to schools being allocated ZMW1,863,034,004.00 billion align well with free education from primary to secondary schools as this will ensure that the schools have the necessary requisites to offer quality education. We recommend strict adherence to expenditure guidelines by the schools to avoid using these funds for workshops and training of staff as opposed to the intended purpose.

    For/ ZANEC

    George Hamusunga
    Executive Director

  • ZANEC Press Statement on the 2023 Grade 9 External and GCE External Examination Results

    ZANEC Press Statement on the 2023 Grade 9 External and GCE External Examination Results

    The Zambia National Education Coalition (ZANEC) is pleased that the Minister of Education Honourable Douglas Syakalima MP released the 2023 Junior Secondary School Grade 9 External Examination results and the General Certificate of Education (GCE) Examination Results. ZANEC commends the Examinations Council of Zambia and other stakeholders in the Ministry of Education that no leakages were recorded in the Grade 9 and GCE Examinations. We also appreciate the step taken by the Ministry of Education to withdraw the examination center status for two schools because of examination malpractice. This is good as it will serve as a deterrent to examination centers that espouse this retrogressive practice. Additionally, the proposed research by the Minister designed to investigate why fewer boys than girls register for external examinations is important and we hope that it will be done as soon as possible. This is important because we know that girls are now performing better than boys at Grades 7, 9, and 12. Therefore we expect more boys to be the ones re-writing their examinations. We need to promote both boys and girls’ education to ensure that the boys are not left behind. Both girls and boys need to attain education for the development of the country to be meaningful.

    However, ZANEC is saddened with: –
    1.The decline in the pass rate of 7.79 percentage points at GCE level external results in 2023 compared to 2022 while at Grade 9 the pass rate declined by 4.62 percentage points.
    2.The highest failure rate was recorded at Grade 9 in Mathematics at 74.86% and Integrated Science at 61.43%.
    3.During the 2023 GCE Examination, 470 individual and 9 Whole Centre cases of examination malpractice were reported during the conduct of the 2023 GCE examination.

    To this effect, ZANEC is recommending the following measures to address the above challenges: –
    1.The decline in the pass rate at both the external examinations for Grade 9 and GCE compared to 2022 needs to be addressed by recruiting more teachers, especially in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) subjects to reduce the teacher/pupil ratio as well as procuring relevant teaching and learning materials for quality education to be provided.
    2.More investment is needed in education prerequisites such as the provision of teaching and learning materials as well as the construction of science laboratories if we are to see an improvement in the performance of learners in STEM subjects.
    3.The Examination Council of Zambia needs to continue sensitizing learners and stakeholders on the dangers of engaging in examination malpractices and the associated consequences.

    For/ZANEC

    George Hamusunga
    EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

  • ZANEC 2024 PRE-BUDGET PRESS STATEMENT ON THE EDUCATION AND SKILLS SECTOR

    ZANEC 2024 PRE-BUDGET PRESS STATEMENT ON THE EDUCATION AND SKILLS SECTOR

    The Zambia National Education Coalition (ZANEC) is pleased that the 2024 National Budget will be presented by the Minister of Finance Hon. Dr. Situmbeko Musokotwane (MP) on Friday 29th September 2023. We would like to indicate that our expectations on the 2024 national budget detailed in this statement were also submitted to the Ministry of Finance and National Planning in collaboration with ActionAid TaxEd Alliance and the National Action for Quality Education in Zambia (NAQEZ) in June 2023.

    Specifically, our expectations on the revenue side of the budget are as follows:

    1. We expect that the budget will consider broadening the skills development levy into an education levy that will provide dedicated funding for the education sector.
    2. Revisit Double Taxation Agreements (DTA) through renegotiation, development, and publication of the DTA policy and cancellation of harmful/old treaties. Renegotiate for the reform of the current DTAs in a manner that can help increase taxes and minimize capital flight.
    3. We also expect that the Minister of Finance will announce progressive taxation measures that will ensure that multinational companies pay fair taxes to help increase revenue and avert the current revenue loss of
    $635million which we suffer annually according to the Tax Justice Network.

    Our Expectations on the expenditure side of the budget are as follows.

    1. Increase the share of the education budget from the current 13.9% in 2023 to at least 15% of the National Budget.
    2. Allocate 6% of the Education Budget towards infrastructure development to construct more Secondary Schools and Boarding Facilities to address the challenges of inadequate Secondary and Boarding Schools.
    3. Allocate more resources to go towards a digital real-time database for schools and devolve the system between the school and the Ministry.
    4. We recommend that the government increases the allocation of financial resources to go towards vocational training for both teachers and learners and recruiting and equipping more qualified teachers to teach STEM and life skills.
    5. Decentralise the Higher Education, Loans and Scholarship Board (HELSB) to improve information access to learners in rural areas and also enable them to apply for these loans.
    6. Increase funding towards menstrual hygiene and the re-entry policy to retain more girls in school
    7. Secondary school and skills development bursaries under the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) need to be administered by the Ministry of Education directly i.e. District Education Board Secretary (DEBS) office. This will allow for the prudent utilization of allocated resources because the Ministry of Education understands the need.

    I thank you.

    For/ZANEC
    George Hamusunga
    EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR