The Republic of Zambia The Ministry of General Education and The Ministry of Higher Education Education and Skills Sector Plan 2017-2021 Republic of Zambia The Ministry of General Education and The Ministry of Higher Education Education and Skills Sector Plan 2017–2021 CONTENTS Education and Skills Sector Plan | 2017 - 2021 Abbreviations and Acronyms .......................................................................................................................x Preface ....................................................................................................................................................xiv Acknowledgements .................................................................................................................................. xvi 1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ............................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Key Issues in the Education Sector .............................................................................................. 3 1.2 Education Sector Analysis ............................................................................................................. 6 1.3 Key ESSP 2017 – 2021 Strategic Priorities .................................................................................11 2. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................ 15 2.1 Purpose and Overview ................................................................................................................ 17 2.2 ESSP Formulation Process ......................................................................................................... 18 2.3 Key Framing Documents ............................................................................................................. 18 7NDP ............................................................................................................................................ 18 Sustainable Development Goal 4 ................................................................................................. 19 Zambia Education Sector Diagnostic Studies............................................................................... 20 Zambia ESA .................................................................................................................................. 20 Other Relevant Sectoral Policy Frameworks ................................................................................ 20 2.4 Lessons from Previous Education Sector Plans ......................................................................... 20 2.5 Challenges in Developing the ESSP ........................................................................................... 20 2.6 Rationale for the ESSP ............................................................................................................... 21 2.7 The Conceptual Framework and Strategic priority areas of focus of the ESSP .......................... 22 3. THE EDUCATION SECTOR: CONTEXT AND ANALYSIS ................................................................. 25 3.1 The social context ....................................................................................................................... 26 Human Development Indicators ................................................................................................... 26 Population trends .......................................................................................................................... 26 Poverty .......................................................................................................................................... 26 Health and nutrition ....................................................................................................................... 27 Languages in Zambia ................................................................................................................... 27 3.2 Macro-Economic and Public Finance Context ............................................................................ 27 Trends in GDP and GDP per Capita ............................................................................................. 27 Public Resources .......................................................................................................................... 28 Alignment with the Macro-economic and Public Finance Context for the ESSP Period ............... 29 Strategies ...................................................................................................................................... 29 3.3 Public Expenditures on Education .............................................................................................. 29 Education’s share in GRZ budget ................................................................................................. 29 International Comparisons of Education Expenditure................................................................... 30 Allocation of GRZ Resources ....................................................................................................... 30 3.4 General Education Expenditure Structure and Budget Execution .............................................. 30 Current Unit costs for primary and secondary education.............................................................. 32 School Costs ................................................................................................................................. 32 Infrastructure Spending ................................................................................................................ 33 Household Expenditures on Education......................................................................................... 33 3.5 SWOT Analysis of the Education Sector ..................................................................................... 34 3.6 The Education Policy Framework ............................................................................................... 36 3.7 Institutional and Organisational Structure ................................................................................... 36 Evolution of the Structure of the Education System ..................................................................... 36 Decentralised Provision of Education ........................................................................................... 37 Changing Ministry Structures ........................................................................................................ 37 Current Governance Structure of the Education System.............................................................. 37 The Ministry of General Education and The Ministry of Higher Education iii Education and Skills Sector Plan | 2017 - 2021 3.8 Stakeholder Analysis ................................................................................................................... 40 3.9 Strategic Context ......................................................................................................................... 41 The Wider Development Context .................................................................................................. 41 Ongoing reforms from 7NDP ........................................................................................................ 41 3.10 Overall Sector Performance ........................................................................................................ 42 Achievements against NIF III Targets ........................................................................................... 42 Access across the Education Sector ............................................................................................ 43 Learning Outcomes ...................................................................................................................... 44 Factors Associated with Learning Achievement ........................................................................... 45 Internal Efficiency ......................................................................................................................... 46 External Efficiency and the Labour Market ................................................................................... 49 3.11 Early Childhood Education (ECE) ............................................................................................... 51 Access and Participation .............................................................................................................. 51 Quality and Relevance .................................................................................................................. 51 Equity ............................................................................................................................................ 51 Management and Governance ..................................................................................................... 52 Key Issues for ECE ....................................................................................................................... 52 3.12 Primary Education ....................................................................................................................... 53 Access and Equity ........................................................................................................................ 53 Quality and Relevance .................................................................................................................