Financing and Delivery of Education in Zambia
Date
1996-01
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Abstract
Like other countries elsewhere within the sub saharan region
Zambia has since the mid eighties experienced a crisis in her
educational system. The sources of the crisis are reduced
funding levels in the midst of rising population growth and
growing derived demand for education. This crisis has
manifested itself in different ways that include reduction in
real expenditure for education, deterioration in the quality
of the teaching and learning environment, decline in the
internal and external efficiency of the educational system,
decline in the opportunities for education among low income
groups and rural children, and increasing lack of faith in the
value of education by parents and children.
Government's initial response to this crisis was to declare a
policy that required parents and other beneficiaries to take a
share in the cost of education. From the mid eighties, cost-sharing
measures like PTA levies, user-charges, boarding fees,
tuition fees, income generation measures in institution of
learning and so on have been adopted to supplement government
resources for education. With the introduction of
liberalization in the 1990s, Partnership has been added to the
government's perceived policy of financing and delivering
education. Partnership involves establishment and ownership of
educational institutions by other agencies be they
communities, NGOs, churches, private industry, individuals
etc. Partnership means that government is not the sole provider of education. The policy of Cost-sharing and
Partnership represent a major shift from the earlier policy of
free education.
Although partnership and cost-sharing are the policy benchmark
in the financing and delivery of education, there are several
issues that are not known at the moment and these include: the
willingness and ability of parents, communities and other
agencies to pay for or invest in education; the affordability
of education among different income groups; the constraints in
investing in education by non government providers to mention
but a few.This study was undertaken in order to answer the following
question: WHAT IS THE IMPACT OF PARTNERSHIP AND COSTSHARING
IN EDUCATION ON THE BENEFICIARIES AND
PROVIDERS AND ARE THERE ANY OTHER POSSIBLE
ALTERNATIVES WAYS OF FINANCING AND DELIVERING
EDUCATION IN THE COUNTRY?
To answer the question, the study seeks to generate both
quantitative and qualitative data through diverse research
methods like surveys using questionnaires, documentary
analysis, participatory methods like focus group discussions
and in-depth personal interviews.
Description
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IDRC Final Report
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Keywords
ZAMBIA, SOCIAL SERVICES, EDUCATIONAL ADMINISTRATION, EDUCATIONAL BUDGET, FINANCIAL ASPECTS, PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS, EDUCATIONAL POLICY, QUESTIONNAIRES