The Minister of Education, Honourable Douglas Syakalima has lauded President Hakainde Hichilema for his firm resolve to advance Zambia’s education sector.
Speaking from his office on Monday, Mr. Syakalima disclosed that the New Dawn Government’s introduction of the Education for All policy was formed to push the country into prosperity.
He said the enrollment of over 2 million learners demonstrates how citizens were desperate to pursue education when costs were removed from early childhood to secondary school.
“In the past ordinary parents could not afford to pay for their children’s school fees, so government removed the burden when President Hichilema implemented this inclusive policy,” the Minister said.
Mr. Syakalima added that while some stakeholders raised concerns of overcrowding in classrooms, government saw it as a unique challenge that was met with swift solutions.
“We are building massive infrastructure to expand classroom space, for instance under the Constituency Development Fund-CDF we have built 3,132 classrooms since 2022 thereby providing additional learning space for 140, 940 pupils,” he stated.
The Minister proudly emphasized that this year alone 67 new Secondary Schools have been commissioned, with 20 more set for commissioning the year.
“We are building over 300 Early Childhood Education-ECE centres countrywide, so once these learners enter primary level which is also undergoing expansion they will later find the secondary school system ready to accommodate them without a hurdle because we have systematically responded to the needs of the citizens,” Mr. Syakalima highlighted.
He also stated that since over 1.4 million desks have distributed in the last four years, the intervention will ably cater for the high enrollment without leaving any child behind.
The Minister equally disclosed that significant gains have been made in the higher education through the re-introduction of meal allowances in 2022 with an increased amount payable per month.
“We can discuss the achievements made endlessly because the President values education as the foundation on which society is on, with this commitment it is why Zambia’s education model is admired in the region and beyond, Mr. Syakalima added.
His comment on among several achievements made in the Ministry of Education coincides with the commemoration of the New Dawn’s four years in government.
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