AFRICANEWS

ChildRights

Zambia

New hope for underprivileged

In the early 1990s the Zambian government set the goal of increasing primary school enrollment and retention rates to at least 80 percent of school-age children. However, this never came to pass. Now a new programme specially designed for the underprivileged to acquire free basic education has been launched to stem the decline.

In a bid to curb the high drop rate in the country's primary schools, the government of Zambia has come up with a unique radio programme that seeks rise the enrollment levels and the country's education standards in through what have been said to be 'unique presentations'. . It is a response to the fact that about 800, 000 school going children have left out in the education system due to the expenses involved. Dubbed Interactive Radio Instruction (IRI), the project will be overseen by Education Broadcasting Services (EBS) of the country's Ministry of Education.

Perhaps this is the best chance that Regina Mwale of sprawling Lusaka's Ng'ombe Township has ever had in her life- she has incorporated in the education system. She has never been inside a classroom, not even for a personal visit but she now has an opportunity to learn through the newly introduced IRI programme under EBS. Regina, 10, is among 250 other children who have been enrolled for the programme at the three centres in Kamanga, Kaunda Square and Ng'ombe residential areas visited by this writer.

A mentor at one of the centres in Ng'ombe, Kaka Mulala, said since the programme started on March 19, there has been a steady increase in the number of children seeking to be incorporated in the programme. The IRI programme would be run a way that lessons will be broadcast on Radio Two of the Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation (ZNBC) while a mentor will be expected to interpret the lessons to the listening children. The IRI programme, which has started running in all the nine provinces, requires that the communities identify centres where the programme will be conducted from and identify the children who should be incorporated in the programme.

Coordinator of the programme, Mrs Faustina Sinyangwe said the education to be provided through radio would be equipment to formal education as they will be following the syllabus in formal government schools. "For many years now, the education system in the country has not been doing well because many people can not afford to pay for their children' education. We hope this programme will accord a chance to those who may not the chance to go into formal schools for lack of school requirements," Mrs Sinyangwe said.

She said since the programme started, there has been overwhelming response from both the parents and children themselves. Mrs Sinyangwe said the communities will be required to sustain the mentor, who should be identified by the communities themselves. There are, however, concerns that there is poor radio reception in some parts of the country, especially in border areas. Innocent Chilupula, a NGO worker with the Programme Coordinator for the Lundazi-based Care for Children in Need (CAFCHIN) said rural children may be left out in the education programme because of poor radio reception. But Mrs Sinyangwe said the Ministry of Education is currently negotiating with other stakeholders to put up booster transmitters to improve radio reception.

Zambia Education Children Foundation (ZACEF) Executive Director George Mambwe said the programme should be revived from time to time to ensure it was in conformity with the current environment. ZACEF has incorporated 98 former child domestic workers in the radio programme. "I think it will be much cheaper for parents in taking children to this education programme than in formal schools which are expensive. We can only hope the government will sustain the programme, otherwise on the large scale its quite an important programme," Mambwe said.

A cross section of the parents whose children have been incorporated in this programme said the government had taken a positive stance because most households in the country were living in abject poverty. They say the government should sustain the programme because currently only a few children of school- going age are enrolled in formal schools. Even then, there is no sufficient evidence especially in remote rural areas of regular attendance as most of them tend to withdraw for lack of uniforms and other essential school requirements.

The IRI programme is aimed at increasing school attendance rates for children who may not have a chance to attend formal school - to provide non-formal education. This is to be achieved by making school more accessible through radio and by raising awareness of the importance of education. To this end, the programme will drastically reduce on the need for children to work - as most of the children not currently attending school are involved in child labour.

Perhaps one segment of the Zambian community that could benefit from the programme is the country's fast rising number of street children. It is estimated that today, Zambia has about 75,000 street kids of all descriptions and 10,000 of these are in the capital, Lusaka. None of them go to school. There has been fear among the residents as what these kids who have infested the major towns would be 10 years from now. Already, they have been involved in several anti-social conflicts ranging from stealing to murder. In the past policy makers, government, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have reunited some of these children with their parents while others have been adopted by drop-in centers are not sitting idly. But still others are out in the streets. So with the new programme they might get a chance to lead a normal live. That is if they sponsors.

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