SUSTAINABILITY OF UNIVERSAL FREE PRIMARY EDUCATION POLICY IN THE FACE OF DECLINING EDUCATION FINANCING IN LUSAKA, ZAMBIA

Abstract

Purpose: This concept paper was objectified to assess the sustainability of the Universal Free Primary Education Policy (UFPE) implemented in 2002 by the government of the Republic of Zambia through the Ministry of General Education in the wake of declining education financing to the sector.

Methodology: The study utilized desk review and expert analysis as methodological paradigms.

Results: From the reviewed and analysed literature, there is scholarly convergence and consensus to the effect that the UFPE Policy was a worthwhile innovation by government as it exponentially increased public primary school net enrolment rates from as low as about 60% in 2000s to over 120% by 2014 underpinned by massive infrastructural development, consistent school supplies and teacher recruitments to match demand. However, the transpiration of 2015 and onwards bring the sustainability of the UFPE Policy into conundrum owing to consistent and steady declines in investment and operational financing to the sector by central government as shown in the variations between 2015's 20.2% and 2020's 12% of national budget to the education sector. Besides, the review established that the country's colossal debt stock (over $11 billion), low economic growth rate (2%) compared to population growth rate (3.8%) and some donors' withdrawal of their financial support to the sector budget along with funds mismanagement within the sector have been identified as major potential threats to the country's sustenance of the UFPE Policy to the effect that within the period under review, the total number of children out of school has soared to over 800,000 by 2019 from 195,000 in 2015 corroborating with the said period of budgetary retrogression of 12% in 2020 from 20.2% in 2015 but with the population growth rate of 3.8% in 2019 compared to the shrinking economic growth rate of 2% by close of 2019 from 4.6% in 2015. As a classic epitomic and microcosmic exemplification of the policy's envisioned glitches, the media in 2019 reported and showcased videos of women spending nights in Lusaka's public primary schools in a bid to access grade 1 places for their child/ward, a move which led to government suspending grade 1 enrolments in the district at the time upon confirmation of the phenomena by the Ministry of General Education.

Unique contribution to Policy & Theory: The results of this study are a wakeup call to educationists, politicians and the general citizenry to help in rethinking and retrospecting education policy.  "Leaving no one behind in providing quality education by 2030" is a global education vision which Zambia has warmly embraced and domesticated and is consistent with the fundamental propositions of the human capital theory. Policy imperatives, therefore, demand that central government through the MoGE walk the talk in actualising this global blue print via prioritised and benchmarked financing to the sector for sustainability of equitable education quality as envisioned in the UFPE Policy (2002) and Educating our Future Policy (1996).