EDUCATIONAL EQUITY AND FREE SECONDARY EDUCATION POLICY IN LUSAKA DISTRICT, ZAMBIA
Ana Makale İçeriği
Öz
The 2022 expansion of Zambia’s Free Secondary Education (FSE) policy has outpaced institutional capacity, creating a critical ‘quality-density’ challenge in urban centres. This study investigated policy implementation across three purposively selected secondary schools in Lusaka District. Using a mixed-methods design, findings reveal that while fee abolition spurred over two million nationwide re-enrolments, local class sizes have surged to exceed 100 pupils per room. Despite a 52% national funding increase (ZMW 27.4bn in 2024) and the recruitment of 30,000 teachers, desk-to-pupil ratios remain as high as 1:5 across the surveyed sites. While infrastructural upgrades at Chawama, Libala Stage III, and Chilenje South demonstrate positive steps, this intense 'access-quality' tension necessitates a more robust framework. Consequently, the study recommends a hybrid implementation model that synergises top-down state funding with bottom-up stakeholder participation. It further proposes a 'storied-infrastructure' model to maximise limited urban land through strategic cost-sharing, offering a baseline framework for refining FSE sustainability within high-density urban settings.
Makale Ayrıntıları
Bölüm
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