Government Programme Keeps 5,000 Zambezi Girls in School

In Zambezi District, over 5,000 girls have returned to school since the introduction of the Keep Girls in School (KGS) Programme.

Increasing educational opportunities for girls and other educationally marginalised groups was a key manifesto pledge of President Hichilema. However, the cooperation of the traditional authorities in a child’s life, both parents and customary authorities within communities, is needed for effective policy to be implemented.

Speaking in an interview with Zambia News and Information Services, Zambezi’s District Commission was encouraged; “you can tell from the number of girls willing to go back to school that the government policies are sound and are being well received by the community.”

Speaking further, Commissioner Simeon Machayi emphasised; “we are not just employing teachers or providing learning materials such as computers, but we are also ensuring that the children have access to quality education through sound policies.”

The policy comes as part of the government’s ambitious aim to close the educational gap between men and women. According to the charity Action Aid, nine million girls of primary school age will never start school or set foot in a classroom across the globe. This compares to just three million boys.

Since 2016, the Government of Zambia have been actively seeking to redress this imbalance. The previous administration introduced the Girls Education and Women Empowerment Livelihood project that was designed to target 75,000 women.

Common to these two policies is an emphasis that getting girls educated is vital for their opportunity to contribute positively to the social and economic growth of the nation.

According to the Gender Division Permanent Secretary, Mainga Kabika, the present government’s free education policy will reduce early childhood marriages. “Hichilema is focused on eradicating child marriages by the year 2030… Children who were being married off early can now go back to school.”

Zambezi district now has more than 30 school identified to implement the KGS programme. The Ministry of Education has called on girls to work hard, emphasising that their future is dependent on the effort they put in at school.