Basic Education Subsector Investment Program

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Zambia has a high percentage of poverty, amounting to 88 percent in rural areas. The government's revenue and GDP has declined, with the lowest government allocation for education and training in Africa. Needless to say, education is inadequate, student enrollment has stagnated, and standard performance is poor. Within the objectives of the Basic Education Sub-Sector Investment Program (BESSIP) Project, improvement in the quality of basic education will be paramount, with an emphasis towards student enrollment increase, in particular for disadvantaged groups. A discretionary budget allocation of at least 20 percent will be devoted to the Ministry of Education (MOE), to include school construction and bursaries schemes for poor children. Teacher training will be supported, particularly for those teachers serving rural schools. The monitoring capacity of MOE will be strengthened, to develop quantitative frameworks for policy analysis. In addition, the establishment and operation of the District Education Boards, will support education policies in 60 percent of districts nationwide. Finally, a Joint Steering Committee will be established to monitor the overall achievement of the project.