Zambia's Primary Reading Program (PRP) - Global Partnership for ...

Develop a system for provision of sufficient learning and teachingresources for delivery of the curriculum.Increase provision in the middle and upper basic school grades forproductive life skills and improve the overall learning achievementin these skills.Supply all basic schools with adequate numbers of qualifiedteachers, distributed appropriately by gender.Administration, fi nancing and managementStrengthen the capacity of the District Education Boards to plan,cost, manage and monitor the delivery of educational services intheir districts.HIV/AIDSDevelop and support actions aimed at mitigating and reducing theimpact of HIV/AIDS in basic schools.The President of Zambia announced the Free Basic Education (Grades1-7) policy in February 2002. All user fees have been abolished fromGrades 1-7 and uniforms are not compulsory. Education Boards andParents’ and Teachers’ Associations may raise funds through variousactivities, but no child can be denied access to school on accountof costs. This measure is likely to bring about a substantial increasein enrollment in basic schools and reduce the percentage of out ofschool children, which is about 30 % in the age group of 7-13.Specific problemsSince 1920, educators have argued for the development of initialliteracy in the mother tongue in Zambia. Their arguments weresupported by the evidence of a large body of research into thedevelopment of reading abilities. However, decisions about initialliteracy and the languages of education have never been made oneducational grounds alone; political considerations, such as the3. CONTEXT OF DEPARTURE 27