The Role of NGOs in achieving theEducation for All Goals in Zambia
By Dr. Peggy Mwanza1Outline• Meaning of NGOs
• Origins of NGOs
• History and Growth of NGOs in Africa• Funding for NGOs
• EFA Goals• Problems in Basic Education in Zambia• The Role of NGOs in the development of Basic
Education in Zambia• Challenges faced by NGOs in achieving EFA Goals• Issues
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Meaning of NGOs
• The term “Non‐governmental Organisation”
was created by the United Nations in 1945
(Willets, 2002).
• NGOs are organisations that are voluntary,
independent of government, non‐profit
making, and service oriented for the benefit ofmembers of society especially those at thegrassroots level.
3Meaning of NGOs (Cont’d)• The World Bank defines NGOs as: Privateorganisations that pursue activities to relieve
suffering, promote the interests of the poor,
protect the environment, provide basic socialservices, or undertake community development.
They are value‐based organisations which
depend, in whole or in part, on charitable
donations and voluntary service, and in whichprinciples of altruism and voluntarism remain key
defining characteristics (World Bank, 2009:
online).
4Origins of NGOs
• The International NGO movement has its
origins in missionary movements that date, insome cases, to the 16th century (Fox, 1987;Suzuki, 1998; Smillie, 1999). The modern
secular NGO movement in Europe and North
America have engaged in socio‐economic
development activities such as disaster, reliefand education.
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Origins of NGOs
• The modern secular NGO movement begun
with the creation of the Red Cross in the1860s (Smillie, 1999). Like the Red Cross, agood number of today’s best known NGOs
spring out of war such as the Save theChildren in 1920, Foster Parents Plan during
the Spanish War (1936‐1939), and Oxfam andCARE ‐ grew from the Second World War(Smillie, 1995).
6Origins of NGOs
• The post‐war reconstruction effort “in earnest in
Europe with the implementation of the Marshall Planin 1948” made suffering and starvation no longer animminent threat in Europe (Manji and O’Coill, 2002:573).When the reconstruction period in Europe ended,
many of these NGOs had to redefine their objectives
and justify their existence. In their course of action
they shifted geographically to the developing
countries, and in addition to their immediate concernswith relief and welfare, extended their activities into
the sector of development and politics (Ndegwa, 1996,Cleary, 1997).

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Origins of NGOs
• Oxfam, Plan International and Save theChildren were among few organisations that
decided to extend their existing humanitarian
activities beyond Europe’s boundaries (Manjiand O’Coill, 2002).

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History and Growth of NGOs in Africa• Bratton (1989) reminds us that during the colonial era,NGOs, in the form of churches and missionary societies,
were the main providers of health and education services,
especially in rural areas while the state stood aloof fromrural development and focused on the regulatory functionsof law and order. He explains that it was only towards theend of colonial rule that the state assumed responsibility
for development services. He also observes that Africa’s
first modern NGOs sprang up during the colonial period, inthe form of ethnic welfare groups, professional
associations, separatist churches which articulated thedemands of newly‐modernised Africans.

9Growth of NGOs
• Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, both developed anddeveloping countries witnessed stead increases ofNGOs. In the OECD countries of the Global North thenumber had grown from, “1,600 in 1980 to 2,970 in1993” (Edwards and Hulme, 1995:3), while in the South
countries such as Bolivia, the number of NGOs
increased from “100 in 1980 to 530 in 1992” (Arellano‐Lopez and Petras,1994:562) and in Kenya, the numberof international NGOs working in that country went up
almost three‐fold to 134 organisations during theperiod 1978 to 1988 (Osodo and Matsvai, 1998: 8).
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Growth of NGOs
• Due to the increase in numbers, influence and importanceof NGOs the 1980s have been termed by some observers
the “NGO decade” for rural development in Africa (Fowler,1988; Bratton, 1989). Even then, growth has continued tobe recorded in most parts of Africa. In Kenya, for instance,
the NGO sector experienced its biggest growth between
1996 and 2003, from 511 registered NGOs in 1996 to 2, 511(a fivefold increase) in 2003 (World Resources Institute,2005:4). In Ghana, in 1960 there were only ten registeredNGOs, while by 1991 it was estimated that over 350,
excluding numerous village level associations wereoperating (Kamara and Denkabe, 1993:187).
Henriot (1997) observes that in Zambia there has been thegrowth and vitality of NGOs since the 1990s.
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Growth of NGOs in Zambia• The prominence of NGOs is not by chance; nor isit only a response to local initiative and voluntaryaction. Equally important is the fact that NGOs
have increasingly gained popularity with official
aid agencies in this era of neo‐liberalism in mostparts of the world. Therefore, the prominence ofNGOs stems from two main factors: the retreat ofcentralised government and the keen interest ofdonor agencies in the era of neo‐liberalism. The
gradual retreat of the state particularly in thedeveloping world in public service delivery has
left a ‘gap’ that NGOs attempt to fill.
12Growth of NGOs in Zambia• NGOs and donors usually work together indevelopmental activities including education.
NGOs have gained popularity with International
aid agencies and therefore many NGOs in bothdeveloped and developing countries are fundedby these aid agencies. This is because NGOs areregarded by many official agencies as more
efficient and cost effective service providers thangovernments, giving better value‐for‐money,
especially in reaching the poor (Brodhead, 1987;
Meyer, 1992; Sollis, 1992; Vivian, 1994).
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Funding for NGOS
• Global data on NGOs is scanty. Writing for theUnited Nations Research Institute for Social
Development, Catherine Agg (2006) looked attrends in aid to NGOs using Organisation for
Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)data, she admits the unreliability of the OECD asa source because OECD categories do notincorporate all NGO funding. However, the trends
are clear. Table 1 below shows the percentage ofOfficial Development Aid (ODA) given to NGOs
from 1984 to 2003.
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Table 1: Proportion of Official Development Aid channelled
through NGOs, 1984‐2003

YearODA to NGOs (%)

1984

0.2%

1991

2.3%

1998

4.7%

2003

5.9%

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Funding for NGOS (Cont’d)• In 1984, 0.2% which is less than one percentof ODA was given directly to NGOs. By 2003,
the figure had grown to six percent whichtranslates into substantial amount of money
as shown in Table 2 below.

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Table 2 : Official Development Aid to NGOs (in million US dollars), 1984‐2003

Year

Millions of US dollars
ODA to NGOs

1984

0.8m

1991

900.0m1998

1,100.0m

2003

2,200.0m

17EFA Goals• Goal 1: Expand early childhood care andeducation.
• Goal 2: Free and compulsory primaryeducation for all.
• Goal 3: Promote learning and life skills foryouths and adults
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EFA Goals (Cont’d)• Goal 4: Increase adult literacy by 50 per cent.
• Goal 5: Achieve gender parity by 2005, genderequality by 2015
• Goal 6: Improve the quality of education

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Problems in Basic Education in Zambia• Access problems• Low learning achievements and low quality
education

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Quality problems• According to the study by Mwanza (2013)
the lack of good quality education in themajority of schools visited (86%) was due tothe following reasons:• lack of trained teachers, especially incommunity schools, and upper basic schoolin public basic schools;• inadequate teaching and learning materials;
21Quality problems (Cont’d)• dilapidated and inadequate
infrastructure;• inadequate and poor sanitaryconditions;• poor learning environment.
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Figure 1: A classroom block with cracked floor(potholes) (Source: Field notes, 2011)23

Figure 2: A classroom with broken windows(Source: Field notes, 2011)24

The Role of NGOs in the developmentof Basic Education in Zambia• Advocacy• Service delivery

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The Role of NGOs in the developmentof Basic Education in Zambia (Cont’d)
NGO Service Delivery in Basic Education in Zambia• Supply inputs to government and communityschools (for example, teaching‐learning materials)• Support infrastructure development (forexample, school building) of government andcommunity schools• Supply associated services (for example, teachertraining)26

The Role of NGOs in the developmentof Basic Education in Zambia (Cont’d)• Zambia Open Community Schools’ (ZOCS) isrunning community schools in Lusaka andCentral provinces of Zambia. For example,Linda open community school supported byZOCS started in 1994, and the number ofpupils has increased over the years(Field notes, 19/01/2011).

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Table 3: Enrolment Levels at Linda Open Community
SchoolYearBoys Girls Total

2009

703

742 1445

2008

580

573 1053

2007

557

571 1028

1995

90110 200

1994

60

9015028

The Role of NGOs in the developmentof Basic Education in Zambia (Cont’d)• Establishment and running of community
schools• Support management of government‐run
schools (for example, Child‐friendly schools)
29Support marginalised and disadvantaged
children (for example, paying school fees forchildren)30

Challenges faced by NGOs in achieving
EFA Goals• Dependence on donor funding“ We have scarce finances which makes it difficult for us
to provide for our target groups” (NGO officer 2, 2010).
• Low staffing levels“Because of financial difficulties, we cannot employ
adequate staff” (NGO officer 10, 2011).
• Few advocacy NGOs
• Duplication of work among NGOs

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Duplication of work among NGOs
“NGO work in Zambia is fragmented because mostNGOs do not share information on their activities.
As a result, some NGOs are literally doing the same
programmes as other NGOs even when they do nothave the competency to do them. For example,
some NGOs are involved in psychosocial counsellingof children even when they are not competent to doit. There is lack of specialisation among most NGOs
working in the education sector” (NGO Officer 5,2010).
32Issues• What has happened after Jomtien and Dakar?
• Why is aid dependency in developing
countries problematic for the implementationof EFA goals by both State & non‐State actors
e.g. NGOs?

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