The development of societies has been ever dependent on education infrastructure since the beginning of human civilization. From Aristotle to Abdul Kalam, education has been an integral part of human development. This is true for all modern societies including the ones of developing African countries like Zambia. The Zambia education system like many other developing African countries, including Nigeria, is divided into five sections – primary, middle, secondary, tertiary, and vocational. In order to better understand the nature and scope of the tier system of education in Zambia, we need to delve deeper into these five divisions.

5-tier Education System

The primary education section under the Zambia education system is comprised of the typical 7-5-4 format that is quite common as the basic education format for most African countries. This means those students within the Zambia education system usually complete 7 years of primary education, 5 years of secondary education, and 4 years of college or undergraduate education. However, the drop-out rate witnessed in Zambia has been reportedly quite high as most students simply complete their initial 2 years of secondary education and begin to seek employment.

This reveals the existing socio-economic diaspora present in the Zambian culture which urges adolescents inducted within the Zambia education system to leave their education incomplete and pursue meagre unambitious career options. However, those students who adhere to the secondary and higher secondary structure of the Zambia education system, sit for a national level examination that qualifies them for further education in colleges and universities.

Higher studies in Zambia

The education system of Zambia being the education infrastructure of a developing African country comprises select quality universities that provide basic higher education for Zambian students. The Northwest University of Ndola, University of Zambia in Lusaka, Zambia Adventist University of Monze, and Cavendish University are all renowned universities in the country. Further, the courses available for students affiliated with the Zambia education system are engineering, education, agricultural sciences, natural sciences, medicine, veterinary medicine, law, humanities, and social sciences. However, there are several other courses like film studies, mass communication and journalism, for which the education system in Zambia does not have adequate infrastructure.

Gradual progress and development of Zambia Education System

UNESCO has been closely involved with the recent developments taking place in the Zambia education system. UNESCO’s Agenda 2030 has initiated the Capacity Development for Education (CapED) Programme, which has been associated with the Zambia Ministry of General Education in order to generate a national framework to develop the teaching force and set certain specific targets for the education system in the country. These targets are aligned towards the improvement of knowledge, skills, and general competencies of Zambian teachers.

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