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  • ZANEC Press Statement on the Grade 12 Examination Results for 2022

    ZANEC Press Statement on the Grade 12 Examination Results for 2022

    The Zambia National Education Coalition (ZANEC) has taken note of the statement by the Minister of Education Honorable Douglas Syakalima made on 20th January 2023 during the release of the 2022 Grade 12 Examination Results.

    ZANEC would like to congratulate 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 2023 external examinations before the registration deadline of 3rd March 2023. We also recognize the increase in the number of candidates who obtained full certificates from 67.15% in 2022 to 69.31% in 2023 and the decline by 0.14% in the absenteeism rate. We are also pleased that the performance of examination candidates in practical subjects was above 50% and has remained high especially for subjects such as food and nutrition, design and technology as well as French. As we have stated before this shows that the vocational career pathway is also very viable and of great interest to our learners. ZANEC is also pleased to see that the Examination Council of Zambia is collaborating with international experts from other examination bodies in the assessment of Grade 12 candidates.

    ZANEC is however concerned that:

    1. The lowest percentage mean score was recorded in Mathematics (27.51%) again indicating that we need more teachers for mathematics in particular and STEM subjects in general.
    2. Examination malpractices have continued as 97 individual candidates and 15 examination centers were suspected to be involved in malpractices.
    3. ZANEC is still concerned that although there has been a progressive increase in the pass rate at Grade 12, the number of scholarships being offered by government to first year students have remained the same. As a result, not all students who have performed well are assured of progressing to tertiary level.
    4. The government, through the Examinations Council of Zambia have not been able to conduct research to generate evidence on the reasons why so many candidates simply register but fail to sit for examinations. Such evidence can help government devise effective strategies for addressing the problem.

    Overall, the increase in the pass rate is a clear demonstration that Zambia has fully remediated the impact of the COVID 19 on education considering that the candidates for the just released results lost a full term of learning in 2020 due to COVID 19.  To this effect, we would like to congratulate the candidates who obtained certificates and our teachers for the job well done.

    For/ZANEC

    George Hamusunga

    EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

  • ZANEC Press Statement on the Grades 7 and 9 Examination Results for 2022

    ZANEC Press Statement on the Grades 7 and 9 Examination Results for 2022

    2nd January 2023

    The Zambia National Education Coalition (ZANEC) is pleased with the timely release of release of the 2022 Grades 7 and 9 Examination Results that were announced statement by the Minister of Education Honorable Douglas Syakalima made on 30th December 2022.

    After a thorough analysis of the results, we applaud the Ministry of Education for the efficiency in handling the Grades 7 and 9 examinations. We are pleased that there was an increase of 7.86% and 9.80% in the number of candidates that sat for both Grade 7 and Grade 9 examinations respectively in 2022 compared to 2021. This increase can be partly attributed to the free education policy that has removed the financial barriers at secondary school level.

    ZANEC is also pleased that the absenteeism rate for grade seven candidates reduced by 1.60, while that of grade 9 candidates reduced by 0.64. Other positive indicators include more girls completing Grades 7 and 9 as well as the ability by the Ministry of Education to have conducted leakage free examinations. We are also happy with the announcement by the Minister of Education that automatic progression from Grade 7 to Grade 8 will be abolished in 2023. This policy pronouncement is overdue as evidenced from the relatively poor Grade 7 results in which only 14.24% obtained division one, 27.03% obtained division two, 21.43% obtained division three and 37.30% obtained division four. Progression based on merit will ensure that those who proceed to grade 8 meet the required learning outcomes.

    It is however sad to note that only 54.16% obtained Grade 9 certificates in 2022 compared to 54.43% in 2021, while 36.51% obtained statement of results, representing   a decrease of 2.03%. This implies that 9.33% failed as they neither obtained certificates nor statement of results. However, we also note with sadness that the number of suspected examination malpractice at grade 9 for individuals was 30 and 17 whole centre cases, while two case were recorded for grade 7. We are however pleased that the Ministry has taken measures to ensure that the culprits are brought to book so that there is credibility in the examination process.

    Finally, we would like to urge our parents and guardians to prepare adequately for the children’s timely return to school in January 2023.

    For/ZANEC

     

    George Hamusunga

    EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

  • POSITION OF PROGRAM OFFICER REGIONAL EXCHANGE PROGRAMME ZANEC

    POSITION OF PROGRAM OFFICER REGIONAL EXCHANGE PROGRAMME ZANEC

    POSITION OF PROGRAM OFFICER REGIONAL EXCHANGE PROGRAMME ZANEC

  • POSITION OF A RESEARCH REGIONAL EXCHANGE PROGRMME ZANEC

    POSITION OF A RESEARCH REGIONAL EXCHANGE PROGRMME ZANEC

    Regional Exchange Postion of a Researcher

  • ZANEC’S PRESS STATEMENT ON THE NULLIFIED EXTERNAL EXAMINATIONS RESULTS

    ZANEC’S PRESS STATEMENT ON THE NULLIFIED EXTERNAL EXAMINATIONS RESULTS

    The Zambia National Education Coalition (ZANEC) would like to add its voice to the current debate on the nullified 8778 results.

    The Examinations Council of Zambia (ECZ) Director Dr. Michael Chilala announced on 19th December 2022, that 8778 results for both GCE and Grade 9 external examinations were nullified out of the 143,351 candidates who sat for the 2022 external examinations.

    It is puzzling that 6.1% of those who sat for the examinations had their results nullified. This begs for serious answers from ECZ as well as school managers on how the examination systems were so porous as to allow so many candidates to be involved in malpractices. It is common knowledge that examinations are seriously invigilated by teachers and security officers in the various examination centres. How then were the pupils able to involve themselves in this malpractice?

    Furthermore, we would like to know what criteria ECZ used to nullify the results because while it may have been possible for the candidates to have involved themselves in malpractice, nullifying so many results shows that there are serious loopholes within the examination system that allows for examination malpractices to occur. This creates room for doubt on the calibre of school leavers we have in Zambia as well as the standards of examinations we administer in this Country.

    We are, therefore, appealing to all CSOs and stakeholders to put ECZ to task as they are the custodians of exams in Zambia. If we let the authorities heap the blame on the candidates only, we risk failing to address the root causes.

    I thank you and God bless you all.

    For/ZANEC

    George Hamusunga.

    Executive Director

  • ZANEC PRESS STATEMENT ON INTERNATIONAL DAY OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES

    ZANEC PRESS STATEMENT ON INTERNATIONAL DAY OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES

    Zambia National Education Coalition (ZANEC) is pleased to join the rest of the world in commemorating International Day of Persons with Disabilities which falls on 3rd December.  This day is special because it aims to promote an understanding of disability issues and mobilize support for the dignity, rights and well-being of persons with disabilities. One of rights it reminds us of is the right for all persons with disabilities to access quality education. Education is key and should be accessible by anyone regardless of their abilities as it safeguards everyone’s future.

    This year’s theme for the International Day of Persons with Disabilities is “Transformative solutions for inclusive development: the role of innovation in fuelling an accessible and equitable world”.   Indeed, the theme has come at the right time when governments from all UN member countries engaged in the transformation of their education systems following the triple education crisis of relevance, equity and learning poverty exacerbated by the COVID 19 pandemic. Most digital learning solutions adopted by countries globally to provide continuity of learning in homes failed to reach learners with special education needs.

    In Zambia, access to education for learners with special education needs (LSEN) is low, while drop-out rates are very high. For instance, ZANEC notes with sadness that the 2021 Grade 12 Examination Results showed that only 147 candidates registered for the examinations out of which 145 sat for the examinations. This means that only 7% of LSEN sat for the examination from the 2,096 that were in Grade 10 in 2019. This is worrisome because it shows that children with disabilities are dropping out of school in large numbers, which defeats the government commitment of “leaving no one behind”. Further according to the 2019 Education Statistical Bulletin of the Ministry of Education, there are 110, 320 children with special education needs at primary school level compared to 20, 072 learners at secondary school level.  The Global Partnership for Education estimates that 90% of children with disabilities in low and lower-middle income countries do not go to school. It is for this reason that deliberate efforts should be made to ensure that children with disabilities access and finish formal education.

    Therefore, we call upon the government:

    • To take keen interest in the prevailing inequalities and invest more resources and incentives to promote inclusion and equity in our schools if Zambia is to meet Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) number 4 on inclusive quality education for all.
    • It is also important for Zambia to fully implement the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disability. It should be noted that Article 24 of the convention clearly affirms the right of to education for persons with disabilities on the basis of equal opportunity.
    • Invest in the establishment of inclusive education systems supported by the presence of early assessment centres for children with disabilities from provincial to district level.
    • Construct more special schools and institutions for children with severe special education needs.

    Finally, ZANEC wishes all stakeholders working with persons with disabilities a successful commemoration of the International Day of Persons with disabilities.

     

    For/ZANEC

    George Hamusunga

    EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

  • ZANEC Press Statement on the 2022 Grade 9 External and GCE Examination

    ZANEC Press Statement on the 2022 Grade 9 External and GCE Examination

    Zambia National Education Coalition (ZANEC) is pleased that the Minister of Education Honourable Douglas Syakalima MP released the 2022 Junior Secondary School Grade 9 External Examination results and the General Certificate of Education (GCE) Examination Results.

    First and foremost, ZANEC is happy that the national failure rate for 2022 GCE Examinations decreased from 13.66 percent in 2021 to 11.61 percent in 2022. We also commend the Examinations Council that there were no leakages recorded in both the Grade 9 and GCE Examinations. From a gender perspective ZANEC is pleased that more females are entering for external examinations both at junior secondary and GCE level. This is commendable given that more females than males drop out of school as they proceed to higher grades.

    However, ZANEC is saddened with,

    1. The increase by 2.27% and 1.9% of candidates that were absent from the examination at grade 9 and GCE levels respectively.
    2. The largest failure rates recorded at Grade 9 level which was in the English Language at 63.97% and Mathematics at 51.86%.
    3. The reports of both individual and whole center malpractice related cases involving smuggling of unauthorised materials such as phones in the examination rooms, collusion, copying, impersonation and assistance.

    To this effect, ZANEC is recommending the following in order to address the above challenges.

    1. The Ministry of Education through the Examinations Council of Zambia should commission a study to investigate the cause of candidate absenteeism in examinations and use the evidence to devise interventions that will help address this perennial problem.
    2. There is need for our curriculum to place a premium on foundational skills relating to early grade reading and numeracy if we are to reduce the failure rates in English and Mathematics.
    3. The Examination Council of Zambia must implement a robust campaign aimed at educating prospective examination candidates and teachers on the various examination malpractices and their associated consequences.

    For/ZANEC

    George Hamusunga

    EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

  • ZANEC 2023 PRE-BUDGET PRESS STATEMENT ON EDUCATION AND SKILLS

    ZANEC 2023 PRE-BUDGET PRESS STATEMENT ON EDUCATION AND SKILLS

    The Zambia National Education Coalition (ZANEC) is looking forward to the presentation of the 2023 National Budget by the Minister of Finance Hon. Dr. Situmbeko Musokotwane (MP).  Firstly, we would like to indicate that our expectations on the 2023 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 2022.

    Specifically, our expectations on the revenue side of the budget are fourfold.

    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. We expect government to remove harmful tax exemptions and incentives to ensure that multi-national corporations pay the prescribed statutory corporate tax of 30% instead of the 19% being realized currently. This measure can help realize additional revenue of $406 million.
    3. We also look forward to the re-instatement of the mineral revenue sharing mechanism (MRSM) clause in the mines and minerals development Act and Policy. This will help increase revenue generation for the country which can be channelled to the education sector.
    4. Renegotiate and restructure the debt by pursuing multiple solutions such debt cancellation, debt swap and favourable repayment terms.

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

    1. Increase the share of the education budget from the current 10.4% to at least 15% of the national budget.
    2. Prioritize the procurement of education inputs such as classrooms, laboratories, libraries, desks, toilets, teachers’ houses as well as teaching and learning materials at all levels from Early Childhood Education (ECE) to secondary education. This will help enhance the delivery of free education of good quality.
    3. Creation of a budget line targeting gender transformative and inclusive quality education under the Ministry of Education to address teacher training for inclusive education, provision of assistive technologies, appropriate teaching and learning materials, and home-based education for learners with disabilities who cannot access regular schools.
    4. Increase the budgetary allocation for tertiary education to ensure support towards more student scholarships, payment of student meal allowances and infrastructure development.

    For/ZANEC

    George Hamusunga

    EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

  • ZANEC’S PRESS STATEMENT ON THE AUDITOR GENERAL’S REPORT ON THE GOVERNEMENT PAYROLL FOR THE FINANCIAL YEARS 2017 TO 2021

    ZANEC’S PRESS STATEMENT ON THE AUDITOR GENERAL’S REPORT ON THE GOVERNEMENT PAYROLL FOR THE FINANCIAL YEARS 2017 TO 2021

    The Zambia National Education Coalition wishes to express its views on the recently released Auditor General’s report on salaries.

    It is disheartening that the government lost a lot of resources to ghost workers, irregular payments, as well as to delayed action to remove deserters and those who had separated from the service from the payroll. As a civil society organisation, our mandate has been to advocate for the provision of quality education for all and we have so far been advocating for an increase to the education budgetary allocation because much of what is allocated is spent on personal emoluments. It is, therefore, appalling that even when the education sector has been struggling to improve infrastructure and resource allocation to schools, some individuals saw it fit to steal the little that the sector has.

    We, therefore, propose that the following actions should be taken by the government to improve accountability in the education sector,

    1. Teachers working at stations different from their PEMIC ID should have their PEMIC IDs changed so as to avoid paying teachers allowances that they do not deserve such as rural or remote hardship allowances. This will leave room for only deserving teachers to benefit from these allowances.
    2. The government should expedite the gazzetting, creating establishments as well as granting treasury authority to the upgraded schools so as to avoid sending teachers whose pay points are different from their work stations in the none gazzeted schools. This is necessary so that loopholes through which offenders use to embezzle money from government are sealed
    3. The government should put in place a mechanism that instantly upgrades teachers to new salary scales once they upgrade their qualifications to prevent teachers and corrupt individuals from doing it through dubious means
    4. More investigations should be carried out and the owners of the PEMIC IDs mentioned in the report should be brought to book.

    It is therefore our hope and plea that all those who were involved in embezzling government resources will be brought to book as the education sector is currently in need of resources if our SDG4 targets are to be met.

    I thank you.

    For/ZANEC

     

    George Hamusunga

    EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

  • CALL FOR ZANEC 2022 EDUCATION AND SKILLS SECTOR MEDIA AWARDS

    CALL FOR ZANEC 2022 EDUCATION AND SKILLS SECTOR MEDIA AWARDS

    https://zanec.org.zm/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/CALL-FOR-ZANEC-2022-EDUCATION-AND-SKILLS-SECTOR-MEDIA-AWARDS-FINAL.pdf