SACMEQ homepage

Home > Member countries > Zambia

Education in Zambia

Botswana Kenya Lesotho Malawi Mauritius
Mozambique Namibia Seychelles South Africa Swaziland
Tanzania Uganda Zambia Zanzibar Zimbabwe

Country profile

Zambia constitutes a fairly large part of Central and Southern Africa with a total land area of 752,614 square kilometres. It is landlocked, surrounded by the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mozambique, Angola, Malawi, Namibia, Tanzania, Botswana and Rwanda. Zambia became an independent Republic in 1964 - at around the same time as other ex-British colonies in Africa.

Since Independence, Zambia has recognized education as the engine for human
development, economic growth, and a prerequisite for industrialization.

Zambia is a multilingual and pluricultural country. The official language is English,
whilst local languages are spoken at home. The seven main languages in Zambia are: Bember, Lozi, Nyanja, Kaonde, Tonga, Lunda, and Luvale.

Demographics*:

Total population:
 13 228 195 (2006)
Annual population growth:
 0.6% (2005)
Rural population:
 64.1% (2005)

*latest data as of March 2009 from UNESCO Institute for Statistics.

Back to top

Education Fact Sheet

Minister of education: Hon. Geoffrey LUNGWANGA

Duration of compulsory education: 7 years

Starting age of compulsory education: 7 years

Ending age of compulsory education: 13 years

Enrolment in 2005*

 
Female
Male
Total
Primary
 Gross enrolment rate
117.2
120.7
119.0
Net enrolment rate
94.4
93.7
94.0
Secondary
 Gross enrolment rate
40.6
45.7
43.1
Net enrolment rate
38.1
43.7
40.9

*latest data as of March 2009 from UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
**UNESCO Institute for Statistics estimation.

Management and Administration of Education

The education sector is managed mainly by two Ministries: the Ministry of Education (MOE) and the Ministry of Science and Technology and Vocational Training (MSTVT). The Ministry of Education is responsible for providing primary and secondary education, teacher training and continuing education. It is also responsible at a policy level for university and pre-school education. On the other hand, the Ministry of Science, Technology and Vocational Training, through the Department of Technical Education and Vocational Training (DTEVT), offers training at technologist, technician, and craft levels in technically oriented programmes.

There are also two other ministries that have smaller-scale involvement in the provision of education. These are: the Ministry of Sport, Youth and Child evelopment (MSYCD) and the Ministry of Community Development and Social Services (MCDSS). These two ministries offer apprenticeship skills training and adult literacy programmes.

See the SACMEQ reports for more information.

Back to top

Zambia - Reading and Math Achievement Levels

SACMEQ II (2000) Reading achievement

  • Percentage of Grade 6 pupils at each level:
Level 1 Pre Reading 19.9 %
Level 2 Emergent Reading 27.8 %
Level 3 Basic Reading 20.9 %
Level 4 Reading for Meaning 14.2 %
Level 5 Interpretive Reading 7.9 %
Level 6 Inferential Reading 5.6 %
Level 7 Analytical Reading 2.9 %
Level 8 Critical Reading 0.9 %

SACMEQ II (2000) Math achievement

  • Percentage of Grade 6 pupils at each level:
Level 1 Pre Numeracy 16.8 %
Level 2 Emergent Numeracy 54.4 %
Level 3 Basic Numeracy 21.5 %
Level 4 Beginning Numeracy 5.0 %
Level 5 Competent Numeracy 1.8 %
Level 6 Mathematically Skilled 0.4 %
Level 7 Concrete Problem Solving 0.0 %
Level 8 Abstract Problem Solving 0.0 %

For more country statistics, see also:

SACMEQ Indicators

 
PUPIL PERFORMANCE ON ALL ITEMS
 
SACMEQ I
SACMEQ II
 
READING
READING
MATHEMATICS
REGION
MEAN
SE
MEAN
SE
MEAN
SE
COPPERBELT
481.4
7.72
469.3
13.03
446.9
10.83
CENTRAL
462.6
5.88
427.0
8.99
432.8
5.54
LUSAKA
484.2
5.03
464.8
9.42
443.4
7.14
SOUTHERN
462.7
7.90
438.3
9.61
435.9
6.39
LUAPULA
491.8
17.07
416.6
8.23
420.3
9.77
NORTHERN
477.0
8.98
422.8
26.55
426.5
19.55
EASTERN
477.3
8.53
420.1
8.13
432.6
6.91
NORTH WESTERN
484.5
22.83
400.3
9.59
411.2
8.17
WESTERN
491.8
11.22
430.2
9.76
437.2
9.65
ZAMBIA
477.5
3.09
440.1
4.47
435.2
3.54
 
 
SACMEQ I
SACMEQ II
SUB-GROUPS
READING
READING
MATHEMATICS
 
MEAN
SE
MEAN
SE
MEAN
SE
GENDER            
BOYS
479.8
3.54
439.8
4.96
440.2
4.21
GIRLS
474.7
3.59
440.7
4.69
430.0
3.49
 
SOCIO-
ECONOMIC LEVEL 		           
LOW SES
476.5
4.29
423.6
6.91
425.5
4.51
HIGH SES
486.8
3.98
456.5
5.93
444.8
4.80
 
SCHOOL LOCATION            
ISOLATED/RURAL
473.8
4.83
410.6
3.42
418.3
2.84
SMALL TOWN
468.9
9.34
444.9
6.22
439.2
4.26
LARGE CITY
486.4
6.58
480.5
8.51
456.7
7.29
ZAMBIA
477.5
3.09
440.1
4.47
435.2
3.54

SACMEQ Reports

  • SACMEQ I Report:
Year
Authors
Title
1998
Nkamba, M. & Kanyika, J.
 The quality of education: Some policy suggestions based on a survey of schools. SACMEQ Policy Research No. 5: Zambia. Paris: IIEP.
  • National Policy Briefs:
Year
Authors
Title
2011
Musonda, B. & Kaba, A.
2011
Kaba, A. &
Musonda, B.
2011
Kaba, A. &
Musonda, B.

 

Research Papers and Theses

Year
Author(s)
Title
2012
Lufunda, P. M. (2012).
 School effectiveness in reading and mathematics in Zambia: Analysis of SACMEQ III Data. Paris: UNESCO-IIEP.

 

 

Back to top

Search icon Search

Contact us

About SACMEQ
Member countries
Ministers meetings
National coordinators
Photo gallery
Research medals
 SACMEQ in the news
External friends
Useful links

Indicators and Reports

SACMEQ indicators
SACMEQ reports
Technical reports

Research and Training

Papers & theses
Training modules
Training workshops

SACMEQ III

Project update
Scientific committee

SACMEQ data

 Data archive application

Visualization

 Research visualization
StatPlanet Interactive Maps


StatPlanet Map Maker
© 2012 SACMEQ