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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 …
Before 1991, two ministries controlled education: the Ministry of General Education Youth and Sport and the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology. Major education policy developments have taken place since 1991. In 1992, immediately after the change of government, the cabinet approved a new education policy entitled "Focus on Learning." The goal of the new education po…
Zambia's education structure is characterized by a broad base (representing primary level) and a sharp apex (representing higher education). The education structure starts with four years of preschool education, which are optional. The entrance age for preschool is three years. Seven years of primary education constitute the first level of education. The entrance age for primary education i…
The national number of preprimary education centers was 443 in 1995. The main providers of the service are churches, councils, NGOs, and private individuals. Nationally a very small proportion of preschool aged children is able to attend preschool. Indications from available data show that only 7.3 percent of 3 to 6 year old children had attended some form of preschool center by 1998 (Silanda et a…
At present secondary education is looked upon by both society and the government as a preparatory stage for post primary training, which leads to employment in the formal sector.
Achieving a university education is still the key to status. The first institution of higher education in the country, the University of Zambia in Lusaka, was officially opened in 1966, two years after the attainment of Zambian independence. The second university is the Copperbelt University, which was until 1987 part of the University of Zambia (UNZA). The Zambia Institute of Technology, which wa…
Since 1970, the share of the education sector in the national budget as a percentage of the gross national product has been on the decline. The percentage of total public budget spent on education varied between 7 to 13.4 percent, compared to 20 to 25 percent in other neighboring countries, while expenditure on primary education averaged about 2.5 percent of the GNP compared to 8-10 percent in nei…
Zambia's school system was dropping out every year an average of 225 to 500 young people into unemployment (Saluseki, 2000). About 232,000 pupils enter primary school each year, but 50,000 drop out before grade seven and 120,000 drop out at grade seven. Some 62,000 students enter secondary school, but 40,000 drop out before grade 12 leaving only 22,000 who gain grade 12 certificates. Out of…
In 1999 there were roughly 30,000 trained teachers and 9,000 untrained teachers (Phiri 1999). The goal was to produce 4,400 teachers every year between 1990 and 2000. The annual output of teachers from colleges was 2,226—2,174 less than the goal. There has been a shortage in the output of trained undergraduate as well as qualified graduate teachers. Consequently, the country relied on untra…
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. The country has since invested heavily in education at all levels, and well over 90 percent of children ages 7 to 13 attend school. On the whole, Zambia has mad…
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