Zambia: Education Country Brief

Selected Literature

Supporting countries in using evidence for policymaking is an objective shared by many organizations and initiatives. Under the KIX initiative for which UNESCO IICBA manages the KIX Africa 19 Hub and collaborates with KIX Africa 21, the focus is on six themes: (i) learning assessment systems (ii) early childhood education; (iii) teaching and learning (iv) the data challenge; (v) gender equality; and (vi) equity and inclusion. For each topic, a link is provided to the GPE-KIX Discussion paper written at the start of the initiative in 2019 and additional publications that could be useful for policy. By necessity, to keep this brief short, only a few resources can be mentioned, but additional resources can be accessed through digital repositories listed below. A brief note on UNESCO IICBA research is also provided.

Learning Assessment Systems [GPE-KIX Discussion Paper]. Learning assessment tools and systems are essential to gauge and improve learning outcomes for students. A primer on large scale assessments from the World Bank provides guidance on such assessments, as does a review of learning assessments in Africa from UNESCO IIEP. Among regional assessments, PASEC (Programme for the Analysis of Education Systems) for francophone countries in West and Central Arica and SEACMEQ (Consortium for Monitoring Educational Quality) for anglophone countries in East and Southern Africa are the best known. These instruments target primary schools. Other tools that focus and assess the learning outcomes of young learners include the Early Grade Reading and Mathematics Assessments (EGRA/EGMA). Supported and funded primarily by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), these assessments are administered by different agencies such as the World Bank, RTI International and others across the continent. The West African Examinations Council also provides guidance on examinations and certificate accreditation in Anglophone countries of West Africa. Also interesting is PISA for development which is being piloted in secondary schools in a few African countries. 

Zambia participates in the SEACMEQ program and the PISA for Development. Zambia carries out a National Assessment Survey (NAS) in grade 5 and 9; Early Grade Reading Assessment (EGRA) and Early Grade Mathematics Assessment (EGMA) in Grade 2; the Southern and Eastern Africa Consortium for Monitoring Educational Quality (SEACMEQ) in Grade 6; and Programme for International Student Assessment for Development (PISA-D) for 15-year-olds in Grade 7 or higher. 

The implementation and coordination of these assessments involve several key entities including the Examination Council of Zambia, Directorate of Planning and Information, and the Directorate of Standards and Curriculum.

Zambia’s learning assessment system is guided by the National Learning Assessment (NLA) Framework which covers the principles, procedures and utilization of assessment data. The Ministry of Education also produces an annual Education Statistical Bulletin that presents key educational indicators, including assessment results.

A 2021 UNESCO IIEP’s Policy Brief recommends wider dissemination and training on the NLA Framework to enhance its implementation and inform policy making. Zambia has also piloted 21^st Century Skills assessments as noted in this 2020 Brookings report.   

For more information on how Zambia uses learning assessment data for educational planning, refer to the UNESCO IIEP's 2022 report, 'Using Learning Assessment Data for Educational Planning in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Comparative Analysis'. This report provides a comparative analysis of how six sub-Saharan African countries use learning assessment data to improve their educational systems. Additionally, the 2019  GPE country program evaluation (2019) provides comprehensive evaluation of Zambia’s education sector, including learning assessment.

Improving Teaching and Learning [GPE-KIX Discussion Paper]. How teachers and students interact and engage is key to improve learning outcomes. Cost-effective approaches pr ‘smart buys’ to improve learning in low-income countries are discussed in a World Bank report. Teaching is paramount, and therefore so are teacher policies to ensure that successful teachers make for successful students. Standards for the teaching profession were proposed by Education International and UNESCO with regional standards available from the Africa Union Commission, including a framework for standards and competencies. 

Zambia follows a 7-5-4 structure, and the education system is guided by the Education and Skills Sector Plan. To enhance education quality, Zambia participates in international initiatives such as the Inter-Country Quality Node on Teaching and Learning (ICQN-TL). UNICEF identified several possible factors leading to stagnant transition rates from primary to secondary school in Zambia, including a lack of school places, financial barriers, inadequate menstrual hygiene facilities, teenage pregnancy, and child marriage.

UNESCO UIS’s “COVID-19 in Sub-Saharan Africa: Monitoring Impacts on Learning Outcomes Zambia Report” (2022) offers insights into the disruption caused by the pandemic and the impact it had on education in the country. The Zambia National Education Coalition report (2022) provides an overview of the status of educational technology and digital literacy among teachers, learners, and parents in Zambia. In 2022, UNESCO Capacity Development for Education (CapED) hosted a national stakeholder meeting during which the Ministry of General Education launched the National Framework for Social Dialogue for Teachers and initiated the development process for the Teacher Policy.

Strengthening Early Childhood Care and Education [GPE-KIX Discussion Paper]. Experiences children undergo in early childhood can affect their entire life. Nurturing care is essential. Essential interventions in early childhood include pre-primary education.  Yet less than half of young children in Africa benefit from pre-primary education according to the Global Education Monitoring report 2021.  The Office of Research at UNICEF maintains a webpage with useful links to organizations working on child-related themes organized by subject, including early childhood. 

ECCE in Zambia is supervised by MoGE and the Ministry of Community Development and Social Services. To promote ECCE in the country, the government constructed 20 model ECCDE centers in 2014 followed by an additional 60 in 2015 as indicated in UNESCO’s policy review (2016). However, the ECCE sector faces challenges such as unclear responsibilities between the two ministries, a shortage of qualified teachers, and the absence of a common curriculum. 

To elevate the status of ECCE within the education sector, the Directorate of Early Childhood Education was established in 2015. This led to the development of the Early Childhood Education Policy and implementation plan. African Early Childhood Network’s (AfECN) Zambia: ECD Profile provides a comprehensive overview of the country’s ECCE situation. Basic data on early childhood development are available from a nurturing care profile.

Achieving Gender Equality In and Through Education [GPE-KIX Discussion Paper]. The cost of gender inequality is massive, as is the cost of not educating girls, including in Africa. When girls lack education, this affects their earnings in adulthood, the number of children they will have and their health, as well as their agency, among others. When girls are not in school, they are also at higher risk of child marriage, with again high costs for them, their children, and society. In Africa, the African Union’s International Centre for the Education of Girls and Women in Africa supports member states on girls’ education. 

Zambia has made significant progress towards achieving gender equality in primary and secondary enrolment, with near parity attained and sustained over time according to a GPE country program evaluation (2019). The report attributes the success to interventions such as efforts to address inequities through bursaries, a Fifty-Fifty enrolment policy and re-entry programs for postpartum girls. Education sector planning in Zambia includes technical committees such as Gender Committees that ensure that gender consideration is integrated into various aspects of education planning and policymaking.

Despite the progress, child marriage remains a significant challenge to girls’ educational attainment in Zambia.  A 2022 UNICEF report on Child Marriage in Eastern and Southern Africa estimates that 3 in 10 young women were first married or in union before the age of 18. 51% of women aged 20 to 24 years who were first married or in union before age 18 had no education as compared to 15% who had at least a secondary education. 

Ashraf et al. (2018) conducted a randomized control trial to examine how negotiation skills training can improve girls’ educational outcomes in Zambia. The study targeted 8^th-grade girls at 41 primary schools throughout Lusaka, Zambia and found improved impacts on learning through increased parental education investment. 

Data Management Systems Strengthening [GPEKIX Discussion Paper]. Education management information systems (EMIS) are key for management. They can also support evidence-based policymaking. In Africa, the African Union’s Institute of Education for Development supports member states on EMIS. In addition to EMIS data, other data sources including household surveys, school surveys, student assessments, and impact evaluations of pilot interventions are essential to inform policy. 

Zambia has been conducting the Annual School Census (ASC) since the early 2000s to gather comprehensive data on education access, enrollment, and teacher indicators. This data is widely available and reported annually through the Education Statistics Bulletin by the Directorate of Planning and Information. Importantly, access and enrolment data are universally disaggregated by gender, ensuring visibility into gender disparities in education access and participation. 

However, information on marginalized groups is limited or non-existent, as is data disaggregated by socioeconomic status. Currently, ECE is also not included in the school census. In addition to the ASC, Population and Housing Censuses are conducted every ten years by the Zambia Statistics Agency. According to the United Nations Country Team annual report (2022), the UN supported the development of the National Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (CRVS) Policy and the Zambia Statistics Agency to conduct the main enumeration for the 2022 Census of Population and Housing.

To further enhance data collection and analysis, Zambia has implemented the Ed*Assist system, which collects detailed school-level data and generates customized reports. Although data is processed manually, consolidation and validation processes ensure data accuracy and reliability. The system has strengthened the school system by informing policy and planning at various levels, including at NGOs, other ministries, and the government. As a result of improved data availability, Zambia has made strong progress in areas such as hygiene in schools, school construction in underserved areas with low transition rates, and increased awareness of the needs of learners with special educational requirements. The Education Statistics Bulletin  summarizes the 2020 data collected through the database “Education Automated Statistical Information System Toolkit (Ed-ASSIST)”. 

According to a joint 2020 UNESCO and Global Partnership for Education report, Zambia utilizes OpenEMIS as its EMIS platform.

Equity and Inclusion/Leaving No One Behind [GPEKIX Discussion Paper]. Equity and inclusion are major challenges for education systems. Gender, disability, ethnicity, indigenous status, poverty, displacement, and many other factors may all lead some children to lack access to education. In Africa especially, gaps in educational outcomes between groups may be large, as illustrated in the case of disability. Equity must be at the center of education policy on the continent. The Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) are Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) are two major international frameworks related to disability-inclusive education exist.

In January 2022, the Zambian government implemented a free education policy for early childhood education through secondary school in all public schools. The World Inequality Database on Education illustrates the overview of the inequality in the country.

Zambia first adopted inclusion in its national education policy, “Educating Our Future,” in 1996. The policy paved the way to integrate special needs education into teacher training to ensure that future educators are equipped to support learners with diverse needs. The Inclusive Education Policy Guidelines (2017) further solidified a comprehensive framework for policy implementation. The MoGE oversees the supervision and management of special education.

Researchers like Ngulube et al. (2020) have examined inclusive education policy implementation in secondary schools in Zambia from the perspectives of teachers and school administrators. Zambia ratified the Convention on the Rights of the CRC in 1991 and ratified the CRPD in 2010. Zambia’s Persons with Disabilities Act #6 of 2012 addresses special and inclusive education. 

Country Policies 

Information on Zambia’s education system and policies is available on the website of the Ministry of Education  which covers basic and higher education as well as technical education and vocational training (TVET). The Education Sector National Implementation Framework II (2011-2015) and the Education and Skills Sector Plan (2017-2021) are some of the most recent flagship policies covering the sector in Zambia.  UNESCO’s Zambia: Education Policy Review; Paving the Way for SDG 4-Education 2030 (2016) provides a comprehensive policy review.

 Zambia does have a Teaching Service Commission. 

A few organizations aim to capture education policies on specific themes across countries, including Zambia. UNESCO’s Profiles Enhancing Education Reviews (PEER) covering the themes of the Global Education Monitoring reports, including: inclusion in education (2020 Report), non-state actors in education (2021/22 Report), technology in education (2023 Report) and leadership in education (2024/25 Report, forthcoming). PEER also covers additional topics on key SDG 4 issues, including financing for equity, climate change communication and education, and comprehensive sexuality education. 

Knowledge Repositories

Only a few links to the literature on education by theme for Zambia, Africa, and globally were provided earlier to keep the brief short, but repositories of digital resources facilitate access to the literature. A few of those repositories are listed below by alphabetical order:

• 3ie Development Evidence Portal (DEP): DEP is a repository of rigorous evidence on what works in international development, including in the area of education. 
• AERD: The African Education Research Database hosted by the Faculty of Education at the University of Cambridge collates research by African scholars on education.
• African Development Bank: The Bank has publications that cover a range of topics, including education. It also hosts ADEA which also has selected publications. 
• Global Partnership for Education: GPE is one of the largest funders for education in Africa. It collaborates with Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC) to build and mobilize evidence on education through the Global Partnership for Education Knowledge and Innovation Exchange (GPE KIX), which has a Library of research outputs.
• J-PAL: The Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab maintains a database of impact evaluations and policy publications, quite a few of which are about education.
• RePEc: Research Papers in Economics is a large archive of research on economics, including the economics of education. It can be searched through IDEAS.
• Teacher Task Force (TTF): The TTF is collaborative across many organizations hosted by UNESCO. It maintains a Knowledge Hub with resources on teacher policies. 
• UNESCO HQ: UNESCO is the lead agency in the UN systems on education. Its Digital Library includes UNESCO Open Access which includes most UNESCO publications. 
• UNESCO GEM: UNESCO publishes annually a Global Education Monitoring Report on a different theme each year with associated resources and background papers.
• UNESCO IICBA: IICBA is a Category 1 Institute at UNESCO. It conducts research on education in Africa with several publication series and maintains a digital repository.
• UNICEF: Publications can be found under Reports, the Office of Global Insight and Policy, and the Office of Research. Also of interest is the Data Must Speak initiative.
• World Bank: The Open Knowledge Repository provides access to the Bank’s research. It includes a section on Africa with country pages including for Zambia. 

Many organizations maintain websites that include country pages with useful information. Examples include the GPE Zambia Country Page; World Bank Zambia Country Page; UNESCO IIEP Country Page. Many organizations also maintain blogs on education issues, often with stories on Africa. Examples include Education for All (Global Partnership for Education), Education for Global Development (World Bank), Education Plus Development (Brookings Institutions), and World Education Blog (UNESCO). Beyond blogs focusing on education, blogs on Africa more generally may also provide useful resources. This includes Africa Can End Poverty and Nasikiliza (the World Bank’s two blogs for sub-Saharan Africa ) and  Arab Voices (the Bank’s blog for the Middle East and North Africa).

Data

It is often useful to download data for Zambia and other countries from multi-country databases. The largest database on development, including education data, is the World Bank’s World Development Indicators (WDI). The World Bank also maintain the Education Statistics (EdStats) database. Both World Bank databases rely in part for education on data from the UNESCO Institute of Statistics. UNESCO also maintains the Global Education Observatory and the World Inequality Database in Education (WIDE), as well as a wide range of other databases. Specific estimates are occasionally maintained by other agencies. For example, UNICEF provides data on out-of-school rates, adjusted net attendance rates, completion rates, foundational learning skills, information communication technology skills, youth and adult literacy rates, and school-age digital connectivity. Another useful reference is StatCompiler which provides data at various levels of aggregation from Demographic and Health Surveys across countries and over time, including Zambia. For comparison purposes, data from the OECD for member and partner countries (including South Africa) can be useful.

References

References are available through the links provided in this brief.