Is Universal Free Primary Education Policy Sustainable? An Investigation in Lusaka, Zambia

The purpose was to investigate the sustainability of the Universal Free Primary Education Policy (UFPE) implemented in 2002 by the government of the Republic of Zambia through the Ministry of General Education in the wake of declining education financing to the sector. The study employed a triangulation incorporating a causal-analytical paradigm targeting 90 public primary schools in Lusaka district, Zambia with over 180,000 pupils and about 5,220 teachers as population (N). A randomised survey method was used which sampled 14 schools (n) was used with 56 structured self-administered questionnaires being distributed to four persons per school who constitute the school management structure (i.e. head teacher, deputy, senior teacher and accountant) while 1 focus group discussion of 14 teachers coupled with 3 key informant interviews with education district official, MoGE HQ official and donors’ representative were held – all through prior appointments and clearance as procedures. Simple random and purposive sampling techniques were used with primary and secondary data being obtained and analysed via thematic / content approaches for qualitative and SPSS / excel for quantitative data along with expert judgement. The study had questionnaire response rate of 95% (53). The findings along with corroborative literature attested to the fact that the UFPE Policy was a worthwhile undertaking by government as it exponentially increased public primary school net enrolment rates from as low as 60% in 2000s to over 120% by 2014 underpinned by massive infrastructural development, consistent teacher recruitments and school supplies to match demand. However, the steady declines in annual financing to the sector as discovered in the variations between 2015’s 20.2% and 2020’s 12% of national budget contrary to the 20% UNESCO / SADC minimum threshold, weakened the UFPE policy’s efficacy. Furthermore, the study identified the country’s colossal debt stock (over $11 billion), low economic growth rate (2%) compared to population growth rate (3.8%), and some prominent donors’ withdrawal of financial support to the sector budget along with funds mismanagement within the sector as being the major potential threats to the country’s sustenance of the UFPE Policy to the effect that within the period under review, grade 1 school places within the district have become so scarce that a latent phenomenon has emerged in which some parents/guardians have been showcased spending nights in some schools to access places for their children/wards during enrolment periods. The study calls on Zambian educationists, politicians and policy-makers to help rethink education prioritization. “Leaving no one behind in providing quality education by 2030” is a global education vision (UNDP SDG goal 4) which is also under Zambia’s mantle and is consistent with the fundamental propositions of the human capital theory. Policy imperatives, therefore, demand that central government walk the talk in actualising this global/regional blueprint via disciplined prioritisation of financing to the sector for sustainability of equitable quality education as envisioned in the UFPE Policy (2002) and the Educating our Future Policy (1996).