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Background Education is fundamental for social, economic and human development therefore massive investment is needed in this sector. According to the UNDPs Millennium Development Goals Progress Report (UNDP/GRZ, 2013) Zambia has made steady progress on primary school enrolment, which has increased from 80% in 1990 to 93.7% in 2010. The report further noted that this improvement could be linked to the boost in primary education infrastructure and introduction of free education. Similarly, progress has been made in improving school completion rates. The proportion of pupils reaching grade 7

has increased from 64% in 1990 to 90.9% in 2010. However, the report noted concerns on the quality of education received as well as the enrolment and completion rates in secondary school. This policy brief is an attempt to contribute to the current discussion on governments intention to upgrade community schools to public or fully funded government schools. It is hoped that this policy will aid in realising Zambias goal of increased equitable access to quality education and skills training to enhance human capacity for sustainable national development by 2030 as

POLICY BRIEF ON UPGRADING OF COMMUNITY SCHOOLS TO PUBLIC SCHOOLS

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proposed in the Sixth National Development Plan (GRZ/SNDP, 2011). The Patriotic Front (PF) government has been unequivocal on its commitment to the upgrading of community schools. In order to increase access to and improve the quality of basic education, the PF government has pledged to re-introduce free and compulsory education for all. The manifesto further proposes the upgrading of community schools to fully fledged primary and secondary schools (PF Manifesto, 2011). So far, the government through the Ministry of Education has indicated that over KR1.5 billion will be spent to upgrade infrastructure in 1,570 community schools in order to prepare them for immediate upgrading (ZANIS, 1/11/2012). The Ministry has also indicated that government has identified community schools that require immediate upgrading. This policy pronouncement has been welcomed by members of the public especially those with children in community schools as well as by organizations such as CARE and ROCS that are involved in supporting community schools. This is a vital step in fulfilling the governments responsibility to ensure that every child regardless of social and economic status acquires a quality education. The upgrading of community schools will be in line with the intentions expressed in the Sixth National Development Plan to increase access, efficiency

and equity to quality Early Childhood Care, Development and Education (ECCDE) and Basic Education (GRZ/SNDP, 2011). The SNDP has proposed the following strategies to achieve this objective; strengthening Continuous Professional Development (CPD) for teachers, recruiting and deploying teachers especially in rural areas, promoting participation and improving facilities for LSEN, creating gender responsive school environment and improving school management through capacity building of school managers. The other objective is to expand and improve infrastructure by establishing and rehabilitating infrastructure in educational institutions, improving facilities for LSEN and providing school furniture and equipment; A case for upgrading community schools Zambia has over 3,000 community schools, almost 470,000 children enrolled across the country, representing 30% of the increase in enrollment in basic schools (grades 1 to 9) that Zambia achieved between 2000 and 2006 as it sought to meet the second MDG of Achieving Universal Primary Education (Ministry of Education 2001 and 2007). Community schools have significantly assisted orphans and vulnerable children (OVC), particularly girls and children with disabilities, to access education in Zambia. However, community schools are plagued with many challenges including:

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inadequate learning and teaching materials and equipment; sub-standard or lack of proper infra-structure (such as classrooms, teachers accommodation, water and sanitation facilities, and access to roads in some instances) and inadequate qualified teachers. To illustrate the point on inadequacy of qualified teachers, a baseline study conducted by CARE Zambia and ROCS in 11 community schools of Lundazi and Chama Districts revealed that on average, each community school had five (5) teachers mostly with a grade 12 certificate and that only 30% of the teachers in these schools had received specialised or formal teacher training (CARE Zambia, 2010). The situation is compounded by the harsh economic conditions in which community schools exist. Many households in these communities that have least access to education are economically disadvantaged yet they bear the burden of financially supporting schools in their localities given the absence of government schools (or the inability to pay PTA fees or uniforms in order to attend these). Many struggle to meet their financial contributions, so a well planned program for government to take over and support these schools would be a huge relief for many people particularly in the most vulnerable and excluded communities in the country.

Benefits of upgrading community schools The government should pursue this policy because of the benefits that will accrue, both immediately and in the long term. The following are the most important benefits of upgrading community schools to public schools:

Improved infrastructure such as classrooms, resource rooms, staff accommodation, recreation space and water and sanitation facilities;

Improved learning outcomes as a result of availability of learning and teaching materials;

Guaranteed financial support in form of grants to help meet the running costs of schools;

Deployment of trained teachers resulting in enhanced quality of education;

Increased number of OVCs accessing quality education;

The Parent Community Schools Committees (PCSC) which will be transformed into the PTA will provide support to the upgraded schools;

Provision of education at no cost or minimum cost to the PTA and their members;

Upgrading of volunteer teachers;

Equitable distribution of resources to underprivileged;

Reduction in illiteracy levels especially

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among less privileged and in the rural communities and

Enhanced progress towards attainment of MDG 2 (Achieving Universal Primary Education) and MDG 3 (Promoting Gender Equality and Empowering Women.

Issues that need addressing Implementation plan and awareness of policy The intention to upgrade community schools should not be mere rhetoric on the part of the government but needs to be followed up with practical steps. Further, little publicity has accompanied the pronouncement and so most members of the public and existing community schools are unaware of this policy. For example, people are not sure whether the government has waived the pre-conditions for it to take over community schools, such as construction of teachers accommodation and other infrastructure, which has previously been unattainable for many communities due to the harsh economic realities they face. It is hoped that with the new government pronouncement, these conditions will not apply and the improvement of these schools to bring them up to the desired level will follow after the government takes over. The other issue is that the pronouncement is not supported by a clearly defined budget line in the

Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure budget for the year 1st January to 31st December 2013. There is no direct mention about and allocation of funds towards upgrading of community schools. However, a lump sum of over KR 595 billion (595,151, 533,567) is allocated in the yellow book to the Ministry of Education Science, Vocational Training and Early Education under the Planning and Information Directorate for infrastructure development. The budget also shows an amount of over KR18 billion (18, 622,109,149) meant for construction of Basic Schools community mode (GRZ Activity Based Annual Budget, 2013) which is the same amount which was allocated in the previous years budget, and so does not reflect an adequate increase to meet the requirements of the governments new policy. Funding of schools There is also genuine concern about the capacity of government to adequately support schools once they are upgraded. The Ministry of Education is grappling with many problems to effectively provide for the current number of schools and the upgrading of community schools will be an added burden. The government must therefore have a specific budget line in the yellow book (for the 2014 budget) for the upgrading program and for supporting upgraded schools,

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specifying both government resources and donor funds needed to expedite the process. Fate of untrained teachers and governance of schools Another critical issue to take into consideration is the fate of the untrained volunteer teachers in community schools. The majority of these teachers have been offering their services for a long time and leaving them in the cold would be unfair. There is anxiety among volunteer teachers about what would happen to them after government takes over community schools. However, Minister of Education, Dr Phiri has stated that upgrading of community schools will not negatively affect untrained volunteer teachers because there is a program for them to be upgraded together with the schools (ZANIS, 1/11/2012). The policy needs to state clearly how and when this will be done, so that these teachers continue to render services to their community and the nation at large. This will also mitigate the current challenge of inadequate teachers in schools. Again, it is also worrying that there no budget line in the 2013 national budget specifically for upgrading of volunteer teachers in community schools. In addition to uncertainly of the fate of untrained volunteer teachers, there is also the issue of governance of these schools once government takes over. The deployment of GRZ teachers

should not remove the spirit of community ownership of schools but work to strengthen the PTAs. Children with special education needs Upgrading of community schools should be supported on condition that practices that discriminate against orphans and children with disabilities will be eliminated. School infrastructure must also take into account the needs of children with special education needs. This would support the SNDP strategy for promoting and improving facilities for Learners with Special Education Needs. Recommendations to government and donors The upgrading of community schools needs to be well coordinated, adequately funded and well implemented so as to bring about speedy improvement of infrastructure, efficient delivery of materials and resources. Yet at the same time it is vital that upgrading will not compromise or remove the initial aim and vision of community schools or the level of involvement and participation of communities in the educational process. Based on CARE and ROCS experience with support to over 130 schools in 10 provinces of Zambia over the last 10 years, this policy brief therefore makes a number of recommendations to strengthen this process. The

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recommendations are also informed in particular by documented best practices from the Strengthening Community Schools to provide Education and Other Related Services (SCORES) project implemented by CARE Zambia in partnership with the Reformed Open Community Schools (ROCS) with financial support from the European Union, from 2010 to 2013. Capacity building of communities The government, with the help of community based organizations, must engage members of the community to secure consensus on the need and importance of education and why communities have to support schools. In many communities, people do not appreciate the importance of education especially for the girl child, which has led in many cases to high rates of early marriages. Prior to upgrading of community schools, capacity building initiatives in form of training for members of communities, particularly those that are involved in community development committees, should be conducted. Such training should focus on resource mobilisation and leadership. This will enable communities contribute resources and other materials to the development and maintenance of school infrastructure in their localities. This approach will inculcate a sense of ownership, since members of the community will contribute

something toward the construction of the schools to complement the resources and effort of government. For example, as a result of the mentoring of the 30 PCSCs in community and resource mobilisation and long-range action planning by the SCORES project, 88% of the schools were conducting community and resource mobilisation activities (CARE Zambia, Mid-Term Evaluation, 2012). Involvement of local people in infrastructure development In developing the school infrastructure, local people should be engaged as a way of economically empowering them and at the same time motivating them to safeguard the school infrastructure because they will have been part of its development. This approach worked well in SCORES and ROCS supported schools, with 75% of the schools that managed to mobilize local materials also attracted external resources including CDF, DEBS and TEAR funding (CARE Zambia, Mid-Term Evaluation, 2012). Government to support unupgraded community schools Much as there can be optimism about upgrading of community schools, this must be looked at with realism. The process is likely to be gradual because of cost implications therefore in the interim, the government should support

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community schools which have not yet been earmarked for upgrading. Some community schools need building materials to complete the infrastructure while others require learning and teaching materials. In this regard, the government needs have a proper plan for upgrading community schools. The plan must contain appropriate guidelines with specific budget allocation which should include funds for maintaining and supporting upgraded and not-yet upgraded community schools. Training of volunteer teachers The policy of upgrading community schools must clearly state how the program for training and supporting volunteer teachers will be conducted. Budget allocation for this exercise should be indicated in the yellow book for 2014 and subsequent budgets since this process is likely to take long before it is completed. Role of government and communities after upgrading of community schools

The Ministry of Education should continue monitoring the progress of upgraded schools to ensure quality;

Government and other organizations should engage in sustained sensitization of communities to encourage them to send children to school;

Members of the community should not

leave the maintenance of school infrastructure to government alone, but should also be involved;

Government should ensure that adequate educational materials are provided in all upgraded schools;

Donors should partner with government to support the education sector especially the upgrading of community schools and

The management model of community schools must be promoted because the model is inclusive and brings members of the community and school authorities closer, and encourages participation of everyone in the running of schools.

This document has been produced with the financial assistance of the European Union. The contents of this document are the sole responsibility of CARE International Zambia and can under no circumstance be regarded as reflecting the position of the European Union.

For more details contact:

CARE International Zambia 9 Chitemwiko Close, Kabulonga

P.O. Box 36238 Lusaka Zambia

Or

Reformed Open Community Schools (ROCS)

P.O. Box 38255 Olympia Park

Lusaka Zambia