Zambia Accelerates Teacher Recruitment Drive as Hichilema Pledges 2,000 New Hires

The Zambian government is accelerating plans to recruit an additional 2,000 teachers nationwide, President Hakainde Hichilema has confirmed, building on a record 41,917 teachers brought into the public education system between 2022 and 2024.

Addressing Parliament to update the nation on the application of national values and principles, President Hichilema said the new recruitment drive forms part of a broader 4,000-strong public sector hiring programme also covering health workers, aimed at improving frontline service delivery across the country.

"This year, an additional 2,000 teachers will be recruited," the President told MPs, drawing audible approval from the chamber. The announcement reinforces the New Dawn administration's commitment to removing barriers to education access, a priority since the reintroduction of the free education policy in 2021, which the government credits with returning over 2.5 million children to school.

The teacher recruitment push is accompanied by expanded support for vulnerable girls. The Keeping Girls in School initiative reached 127,233 beneficiaries in 2025, up from 38,551 in 2021, with coverage now spanning 95 districts compared to 39 four years ago.

President Hichilema framed the investments as central to Zambia's long-term development. "Education remains the best investment, equaliser, and inheritance," he said, signalling that workforce expansion in both education and health will remain a defining feature of the administration's domestic agenda ahead of the 2026 general election.