Zambia - History & Background

Zambia is a landlocked tropical country situated in southern Africa. The country has a total surface area of 752,614 square kilometers and a population of 10.7 million giving a population density of 11 persons per square kilometer. The country is bordered by the Democratic Republic of Congo and Tanzania to the north, Zimbabwe to the south, Malawi and Mozambique to the east, and Namibia and Angola to the west. Zambia is not only a big country, but it is also one of the most highly urbanized in sub-saharan Africa. About 40 percent of the population live in urban areas. The population density in big urban areas like Lusaka stands at more than 200 persons per square kilometer, implying greater demand for education in urban areas. More than 50 percent of the population is below fifteen years of age indicating that there is a large pool of school age children who need to have access to education. In the rural areas, the sparseness of the population in some communities poses the challenge of providing education to small populations of children who are geographically very distant from each other. The urban and rural differences entail adoption of educational provision strategies that take into account varied geographical circumstances. There are 73 officially recognized ethnolinguistic groups in Zambia. The major ones are the Bemba, Nynja, Kaonde, Lozi, Luvale, Tonga, and Lunda. There are also small numbers of whites, Indians, and other races. The diversity of ethnic groups entails existence of several traditions and cultural practices which have their implications on the education of children. Low school attendance ratios in certain rural parts of the country have been attributed to prevailing traditions and cultural practices (Sibanda et al 1999). More than 50 percent of the people are Christians; indigenous traditional religions comprise the second most widespread belief system.

Zambia attained independence from Britain in 1964. At independence Zambia had one of the most poorly developed education systems of Britain's former colonies, with just 109 university graduates and less than 0.5 percent of the population estimated to have completed primary education. Kenneth Kaunda became the country's first president and proclaimed one-party rule. Opposition parties were legalized in 1990. In a subsequent election in 1991, Fredrick Chiluba, the leader of the Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD), defeated Kaunda. Zambia's economy is heavily dependent on the mining of copper, cobalt, and zinc. Copper and other metal exports account for about 75 percent of the country's export earnings. A collapse in copper prices, oil price shocks, and static economic policies in the early 1970s had a devastating effect on Zambian economy. This has been compounded by a continual contraction, since independence, of Zambia's food production turning the country into a food-deficit nation. The resulting economic decline has been catastrophic with per capita income falling almost 5 percent annually between 1974 and 1990 (World Bank, 1995). Since taking office in 1991, the new government has been vigorously implementing a Structural Adjustment Program (SAP) under the auspices of the IMF and the World Bank. This program has involved liberalization and privatization of the economy. Controls were removed on imports, interest rates, and exchange rates. The local currency, the Kwacha, has depreciated considerably against other currencies. More than 118 parastatals have been privatized. Zambia's GNP per capita in 1999 was US$320, and its outstanding debt was US$5.5 billion (McCulloch et al. 2000).

Rapid implementation of the Structural Adjustment Program has had a devastating effect on the social sectors. The requirements of the Structural Adjustment Program have resulted in deep cuts on the education and health budgets. In the social sectors the new policy framework has involved the elimination of state subsidies and free social services and the introduction of user fees for schools, clinics, and hospitals. The liberalization and privatization of the economy has been accompanied by retrenchments of the workforce; consequently employment prospects have not risen. These economic changes have affected education investments at the household level in particular. Many families have faced the difficulties of meeting the educational needs of their children. An analysis of household survey data from 1991, 1996, and 1998 shows a dramatic increase in poverty and inequality in urban areas between 1991 and 1996 due to stabilization, the removal of maize meal subsidies, and job losses resulting from trade liberalization and the privatization program (McCulloch et al. 2000). These increases in poverty have severely affected the education of children coming from poor families.