Zambia is a landlocked, resource-rich country located in the heart of Southern Africa, characterized by its sparsely populated terrain. It shares borders with eight countries: Angola, Botswana, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Tanzania and Zimbabwe. The estimated population is 21,314,956 [2024], with 50.66% being female, and a rapid growth rate of 2.7% per year. Notably, Zambia has one of the youngest populations in the world, with 48% of its citizens under the age of 14. The national mean age is 16.8 years, with women having a slightly higher mean age of 17 years compared to men at 16.8 years. The life expectancy at birth is 65.92 years. Women outlive men by almost 3 years, with life expectancies of 67.75 and 64.15 years for females and males, respectively. Despite its wealth in natural resources, 60% of Zambia’s population lives below the poverty line, and approximately 40% are classified as extremely poor. Only 67.5% have access to clean drinking water and water-related sanitary facilities. Additionally, the proportion of people accessing clean drinking water is higher in urban areas (89.5%) than in rural areas (50.9%).
Zambia’s uptake of early childhood education (ECE) opportunities for children under 6 years is approximately 26.1% of all eligible children. This figure is significantly low compared to both middle- and high-income countries, which boast enrolment rates averaging between 70% and 80% and over 90%, respectively. Various factors contribute to this low enrolment rate, including a lack of infrastructure to accommodate all eligible children, insufficiently trained personnel to manage ECE schools and centres and low government investment in the sector. This paper presents a country profile of Zambia’s efforts to ensure that all eligible children have access to quality ECE services, facilitating appropriate early stimulation and improving children’s readiness for enrolment in primary school.
ECE is a complex concept to define, particularly in the Zambian context. ECE encompasses school-based or institutionalized care and learning for groups of children, which can be centre-based, community-based or home-based, primarily targeting children aged 0–6 years [1]. However, the term ECE is often used interchangeably with early childhood care, development and education (ECCDE) and early childhood development (ECD), despite some slight variations in their meanings.
In Zambia, ECCDE has a much broader application, focusing primarily on care and development to promote the holistic growth of children across cognitive, mental, physical, social, emotional, psychological and linguistic domains. This is achieved by ensuring access to adequate, equitable, quality and sustainable services [2]. Therefore, ECCDE emphasises early childhood care provided in daycares, crèches and nurseries for children aged 0–2 years, while ECD services are targeted at children aged 3–6 years [3].
Zambia is currently in the process of adjusting its education system, as outlined in the new 2023 Zambia Education Curriculum Framework. The theme of the new curriculum is reforming the Zambia education curriculum towards education for sustainability [4]. The new framework proposes a paradigm shift from outcome-based to competency-based education. The proposed changes include restructuring the education system from a 4-7-2-3 model to a 3-6-4-2 model, which reduces the duration of ECE programs from four years to three years. Consequently, children will now spend six years in primary education instead of seven previously. Thus, children will begin their ECE experience at the age of 5 and will enrol in primary school at the age of 6 [5]. In the new structure, the government will endeavour to provide ECCDE services from birth to 5 years. Children will be expected to be in daycare centres and crèches between 0 and 3 years old and transition to nursery (3–4-year-olds) school and reception (4–5-year-olds).
Unfortunately, Zambia’s education system lacks unity due to the number of government entities responsible for providing facilities and services. The presence of multiple stakeholders complicates efforts to foster ECE development in the country. The Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development oversee children at the daycare and nursery levels, while the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Community Development and Social Security, and the Ministry of Youth and Sport are also involved. The division of various functions and services across these ministries hinders the establishment of cohesive development goals. ECE provision relies on the availability of teaching staff and teaching-learning materials, which mainly fall under the Ministry of Education but are supervised by the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development. Meanwhile, child protection responsibilities lie with the Ministry of Home Affairs, a department that is only tangentially related to child development.
Access to ECE facilities and services remains a significant challenge in Zambia. Until very recently, the number of eligible children enrolled in ECE centres was considerably lower than expected. A 2017 report indicated that 122,065 children were enrolled in 2,386 ECE centres nationwide, as shown in Table 1 below. Southern Province had the highest number of ECE centres and enrolments, whereas North-Western Province showed lower enrolments and a limited number of facilities [1].
Table 1: Enrolment of children and ECE facilities in Zambia
| Province | ECE | Enrolment | |
| 1 | Central | 380 | 15,479 |
| 2 | Copperbelt | 220 | 21,452 |
| 3 | Eastern | 244 | 11,546 |
| 4 | Luapula | 210 | 9,879 |
| 5 | Lusaka** | 77 | 4,548 |
| 6 | Muchinga | 129 | 7,501 |
| 7 | North/Western | 78 | 3,816 |
| 8 | Northern | 207 | 11,016 |
| 9 | Southern | 635 | 27,916 |
| 10 | Western | 206 | 8,912 |
| Total | 2,386 | 122,065 |
Source: Namonje (2017)
These figures should be interpreted with caution concerning the current status of ECE enrolments in Zambia for two reasons. First, there have been significant positive developments in the ECE sector in recent years. Thus, enrolments must have changed significantly since these figures were generated. Second, the statistical compilation within government ministries is inadequate, as data collectors lack the qualifications necessary for accurate school data compilation. For example, Lusaka, the epicentre of Zambia’s education system, boasts a thriving ECE industry in both the public and private sectors. The reported number of ECE centres and enrolments in Lusaka does not accurately reflect the prevailing realities on the ground.
One of the major problems in the education sector in Zambia is the poor generation of statistics, and the ECE sector is no exception. It is very difficult to determine the number of children accessing ECE or the teachers deployed, as well as how many of the available teachers are trained or untrained. Inadequate funding levels are reserved specifically for ECE [2].
In Zambia, ECE encompasses various forms. As noted, activities in daycares and crèches primarily serve children from birth to 3 years, while ECE programs target those aged 3–6 years. The emphasis at the daycare and crèche levels is to create learning opportunities based on the five domains of the nurturing care framework: health, nutrition, responsive caregiving, security and safety, and early learning opportunities. This approach aims to enhance children’s survival and development, ultimately improving their health and human potential [1]. A significant focus is placed on early stimulation, which is crucial for brain development and the achievement of developmental milestones. Consequently, services and programs at this stage are primarily delivered through primary healthcare at under 5 clinics within government health facilities. At the nursery level, the emphasis shifts to fostering social, physical, mental and emotional development through play and interaction. Reception prepares children for the transition to grade 1 through guided and unguided learning [2].
Since 2012, Zambia has mandated the establishment of nested ECE centres in all primary schools to ensure an effective ECE system that delivers quality education and care in a safe, healthy and nurturing environment, enabling each child to realize their full potential as productive citizens [3]. To implement this mandate, the government has instructed all regular primary schools to create nested ECE centres, alongside hub centres, standalone facilities, zonal centres and centres of excellence to be established subsequently. Although ECE classes operate independently of their attached primary schools, they encounter similar challenges due to shared administration. Nonetheless, specific issues persist, such as inadequate infrastructure for ECE purposes and the specific needs of children. Furniture is often unsuitable for ECE learners, and water points and sanitation facilities are not age-appropriate. Typically, play park facilities are either bare or lack adequate resources, failing to provide sufficient age-appropriate stimulation. However, annexing ECE allows host schools to monitor children’s progress prior to enrolment [4].
In the new curriculum, the government aims to make ECE universally accessible and mandatory for all children [5]. However, low enrolment can be partly attributed to the diverse costs of ECE services in Zambia, which vary significantly based on service quality and the socio-economic status of the local population. Fees can range from K150.00 (less than USD 10.00) [6] in municipal council-run centres to several thousand dollars in private institutions. For instance, the International School of Lusaka, catering to high-income households and expatriates, charges up to USD 1,241.00 per quarter for the 2024–2025 academic year [7]. Most schools impose fees between €15.00 and €350.00. However, some ECE services, particularly those operated by faith-based organizations, may provide free education to children from low-income families.
The language of instruction in Zambian schools has always been a contentious policy issue, resulting in numerous changes to language policy. English has been adopted for administrative purposes; however, its intelligibility poses challenges, particularly for children from rural and low-income, uneducated backgrounds. Consequently, Zambia has alternated between local languages prior to independence in 1964, English and back to local languages in 2014. Despite this, most private ECE centres employ English as the primary medium of instruction. The 2023 Zambia Education Curriculum Framework has reverted to English after recognizing insufficient improvements in literacy skills [1].
Currently, the language of instruction in all government ECE centres is English, marking a significant shift from local languages (CiNyanja, IciBemba, CiTonga, Kikaonde, Luvale, Lunda and SiLozi) used in the surrounding areas. For children who are deaf or hard of hearing, sign language will be employed, while visually impaired children will utilize Braille [2]. The benefits of this recent policy change have yet to be realized, as the Ministry of Education has only recently commenced implementation of the new curriculum.
The Ministry of Education has developed a new educational curriculum framework that governs the provision of education from early childhood to the tertiary level. This framework outlines the teaching and learning goals and objectives. Key changes include reducing the duration of ECE from 6 to 5 years, as well as a shift from outcome-based to competency-based education. Additionally, there are several structural changes compared to the 2013 Zambia Education Curriculum Framework for ECE. Notably, the language of instruction has been changed from the mother tongue to English.
Recent adjustments include provisions for children under 3 years old, incorporating daycare and crèches components. Daycare facilities and crèches will not only alleviate the burden on working parents but will also prioritize brain development for 0–3-year-olds, aligned with the nurturing care framework. The nursery level, catering to children aged 3-4 years, aims to enhance social, physical, mental and emotional development, with a syllabus centred on learning through play and interactions among children from diverse backgrounds. In reception, children aged 4–5 years will be prepared for a smooth transition to grade 1, with a syllabus that includes both formal teaching and learning through guided and unguided play.
Zambia’s revised ECE syllabus emphasizes learning through play, resulting in a reduction of learning areas from five to three. This restructuring allows for more time to be allocated to each subject, which includes pre-literacy and language, pre-mathematics and science, and creative and technology studies. Consequently, by the time children enter primary school, they will possess foundational skills in pre-mathematics, science and literacy essential for future learning experiences. To achieve these objectives, classrooms will incorporate specialized and practical learning environments, including computer and science laboratories, music and dance facilities, home economics, gamification rooms and simulation rooms. However, the curriculum framework lacks clarity regarding the specific implementation details for these enhancements.
Currently, Zambia lacks specific legislation to address issues in ECE. However, its developments in this area are guided by the following motto:
‘Ensure an effective and efficient ECE system that provides quality education and care in a safe, healthy and nurturing environment that is responsive to the needs of every child and where each child can develop into the full potential and productive citizen’ [3].
The Education Act guides ECE policy, including the new curriculum. The primary objective of the government regarding ECE is to develop a comprehensive multi-sectoral operational framework that addresses the educational, health, nutritional and child protection needs of children aged 3–6 years.
As a result, the government’s policy involves distributing ECE-related activities across various ministries since many of these activities are interrelated. The Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Education serve as the main vehicles for program implementation. Each component of the multi-sectoral operational framework is led by a department within different ministries. The educational component is managed by the Ministry of Education, while health falls under the Ministry of Health, and child protection is the responsibility of the Ministry of Home Affairs. The nutrition component is overseen by the Ministry of Agriculture.
While leveraging specialized expertise across ministries can be beneficial for developing effective programs, creating these synergies is not always straightforward, which can lead to bottlenecks in planning and implementation.
To align with international conventions and best practices, particularly the International Convention on the Rights of the Child and the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of Children, Zambia has developed several policies and pieces of legislation over the years to optimize child development. These include the Legitimacy Act of 1929, the Juveniles Act of 1956, the Adoption Act of 1995, the Affiliation and Maintenance of Children Act of 1995 and the Prisons Act. However, the application and enforcement of these laws have faced challenges, as some are outdated or ambiguous, hindering effective support for child development in the current socio-economic context. In response to these issues, Zambia enacted the Children’s Code Act (Act No. 12) of 2022. This comprehensive legislation consists of 19 parts and 198 provisions, establishing a cohesive legal framework for addressing children’s issues for the first time in the nation’s history.
The Directorate of Early Childhood Education within the Ministry of Education is responsible for evaluating and monitoring the quality of ECE provision in Zambia. The Teaching Council of Zambia provides additional oversight by establishing professional teaching standards and ensuring compliance. All ECE teachers are required to hold a minimum of a teaching diploma from a recognized training college, and they must also be registered and licenced by the Teaching Council. ECE centres must be registered with the Ministry of Education and must comply with all standards of operation.
Inspections are intended to be conducted regularly, with at least one inspection session during each school term, to ensure compliance and maintain standards. During these inspections, the Directorate of Early Childhood Education monitors the quality and suitability of ECE infrastructure, the effectiveness of teaching, the quality of learning materials and the pupil–teacher ratio using a standardized evaluation tool. Additional monitoring is carried out by the Food and Nutrition Department, which focuses on nutrition-related issues.
Unfortunately, the effectiveness of school inspections, similar to many other aspects of education in Zambia, is hindered by several factors. The primary obstacles include limited resources, such as personnel shortages and inadequate funding, which restrict the ability of standard officers to travel to schools and perform their duties. Furthermore, financial constraints also impact continuous professional development, preventing standards officers from staying updated on best practices in school monitoring.
ECE offers significant benefits for children and society as a whole. Children with ECE experience have undeniable advantages over those without ECE. The benefits of ECE extend beyond early childhood and can influence outcomes into adulthood. Every country strives to ensure that all children have the opportunity to enrol in ECE, and Zambia is particularly urgent in its efforts to provide quality ECE for all children.
Zambia aims to ensure that every child has a strong foundation for lifelong learning and development. Specifically, for children aged 0–3 years in daycare and crèches, the goal is to provide age-appropriate stimulation, health care, adequate nutrition and responsive caregiving, as outlined in the nurturing care framework. Additionally, stakeholders aspire for children at this stage to be socially, emotionally, physically, cognitively, mentally and psychologically well developed. As children transition to pre-primary education – nursery and reception – the focus shifts to preparing them for formal schooling in primary education. This includes equipping children with essential pre-primary skills and fostering the development of good morals.
Although ECE has been practised in Zambia since the Nurseries Act of 1957, recent government efforts have focused on enhancing the quality of ECE teaching and teacher training. Historically, ECE staff did not require formal training, and preschool education was often delivered by unqualified individuals. Many ECE personnel were unpaid volunteers or received minimal compensation. While some held ECE certifications, these qualifications lacked official recognition. Even when training programs for ECE teachers were implemented, graduates were predominantly assigned to primary school teaching roles rather than their intended positions. In response to this oversight, educators formed associations, such as the Lusaka Parents Pre-school Association, which evolved into the Zambia Pre-school Association, alongside the Catholic Women’s League in 1972, consolidating efforts under the Zambia Pre-school Association.
In recent years, there has been a growing recognition of the need for appropriate stimulation for children under the age of 5 to promote optimal brain development. The Ministry of Education has gradually commissioned colleges of education to train ECE teachers. Currently, all ECE teachers are required to hold at least a diploma in ECE and must be registered and licenced by the Ministry of Education and the Teaching Council to teach at the ECE level. Many ECE teachers have also pursued higher qualifications, such as Master’s and Ph.D. degrees offered by various universities across the country. Some institutions even provide short training programs for teachers working at the early childhood level who lack appropriate qualifications.
Despite these advancements in ECE teacher training and deployment, significant challenges remain. The number of teachers is still inadequate, with a teacher-to-pupil ratio of 1 to 80, four times higher than the international standard of 1 to 20, despite the deployment of 1,000 teachers in 2013. The situation is further exacerbated by increased enrolments, which have surged from 47,217 in 2011 to 258,616 in 2020.
ECE classes in government schools begin lessons simultaneously with regular primary schools. However, there are some variations and adaptations to accommodate the needs of young ECE children, particularly in response to weather conditions. During cold winters, ECE class schedules are adjusted to start 30 minutes later, beginning at 08:00 a.m. Some schools implement this change at all grade levels. Lessons typically run for three hours in the morning, from 07:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., based on a 15-hour week, as shown in Table 2. Standalone ECE programs follow a similar model but may offer more flexibility because they own infrastructure. Afternoon ECE classes are rare.
Table 2: Contact Time
| Learning Areas | Time Allocation per Week | |
| 1 | Pre-literacy and Language | 5 hours |
| 1 | English Language/Sign Language/Braille | 2 hours 30 minutes |
| 1 | Zambian Language | 2 hours 30 minutes |
| 2 | Pre-Mathematics and Science | 5 hours |
| 3 | Creative and Technology Studies (CTS) | 5 hours |
| Total | 15 hours |
Source: Ministry of Education (2023)
Private schools, particularly those offering international syllabuses, tend to be more flexible. They typically operate for longer hours, with classes running from 08:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Private schools providing daycare services for working parents often have fluid timetables that accommodate various work schedules. This flexibility is also evident in ECE centres located in low-income residential areas, where parents may drop off their children as early as 04:00 a.m. and pick them up as late as 08:00 p.m. Such scheduling is particularly convenient for parents with variable work hours, such as women trading in markets. In contrast, some private schools following the Zambian syllabus adhere to the Ministry of Education’s timelines.
Table 2 shows that ECE classes have 15-hour weeks to cover content from the three learning areas. Each lesson lasts 30 minutes, meaning each learning area has two 30-minute sessions per day. The five hours allocated to the pre-literacy and language learning area are further divided into English language (or Sign Language or Braille, depending on whether learners have special educational needs) and Zambian languages. Unlike the previous curriculum, all learning lessons are typically play-based. The school day begins with free play to help learners settle down and feel comfortable before introducing the learning areas. Lessons are child-centred and characterized by singing songs, reciting rhymes and engaging in discussions. Other teaching and learning activities include embedding content in storytelling, arts and crafts. The effectiveness of these lessons depends on many factors [1].
Zambia’s fertility rate was 4.63 children born per woman in 2021, while the infant rate was 37.91 deaths per 1,000 live births. Comparatively, female infants had higher chances of survival than their male counterparts at 34.27 and 41.44 live births per 1,000, respectively. Children’s developmental trajectories are negatively impacted by inadequate health and nutritional status. Although 97% of expectant mothers utilize antenatal clinics staffed by qualified medical personnel – such as doctors, nurses, midwives or clinical officers – for iron supplements and neonatal tetanus vaccinations, only 84% deliver in health facilities. This discrepancy poses significant risks to the mother and child and may adversely affect the child’s future physical and cognitive development. Furthermore, many children do not receive the mandatory postnatal vaccinations for tuberculosis, measles, diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough, polio and hepatitis B.
Additionally, a significant proportion of children under the age of 5 years in Zambia experience debilitating nutritional deficits that affect not only their physical development but also cognitive development. The 2024 Zambia Demographic and Health survey indicates that 32% (a slight reduction from 35% in 2018) of children under the age of 5 years are stunted (low weight-for-age), which has severe implications for cognitive development, educational outcomes and long-term national productivity, as this condition arises during a critical period of rapid brain development. Zambia has implemented intervention programs to address this issue, such as strengthening the first 1,000 days prenatal and postnatal and employing ECD-targeted interventions to mitigate the burden of stunting.
The ECE sector in Zambia faces several challenges. The most significant issues affecting the development and quality of ECE include a shortage of resources and teachers to run public schools, as well as the long distances that children must travel to reach ECE centres. Government funding for education has been lower than expected, which impacts the overall operations and efficiency of the education system. Insufficient funding affects teacher recruitment, the expansion of school feeding programs and the construction of schools. Despite an increase in funding for the education sector in the 2023 budget, a large proportion of the funds was allocated to primary education. Between 2016 and 2020, the ECE budget comprised only an average of 0.4 per cent of the overall education budget, significantly below the recommended 10 per cent.
Another challenge is enrolment, as less than 30% of children eligible for ECE are able to enrol. This deficit is highlighted by the fact that only 17.3% of grade 1 students have prior ECE experience, a figure that is even lower for vulnerable groups. Low enrolment rates are primarily driven by a lack of infrastructure and teaching staff. The teacher-to-pupil ratio of 1:80 is significantly higher than the global average of 1:20. Although concerted efforts are being made to reduce this ratio, teacher deployment remains low, and additional resources are needed. While teacher training is improving, the main issue lies in deploying trained individuals.
Due to the lack of ECE facilities, many children have to walk long distances to school. These long journeys expose them to significant dangers, which inevitably leads to higher dropout rates among children who might otherwise remain in school if local facilities are accessible. Additionally, ignorance and a lack of awareness present further challenges. Some parents do not understand the importance of investing in ECE, which leads them to keep their children at home. For resilient children who manage to stay in school, absenteeism rates are high.
Zambia needs to consider drastic measures to address the challenges outlined above. Moving forward, the country should implement the following strategies to prevent stagnation in the ECE system. There is a need to expand the reach of ECE across the country and enhance its presence at various levels of government. To achieve this, Zambia must swiftly scale up the implementation of the four components of the Zambia Enhanced Early Learning (ZEEL) project, funded by the World Bank. The ZEEL project focuses on increasing access by building more facilities to enable greater enrolment of children.
Increased advocacy is required to upgrade and recognize teachers trained in ECE. Efforts should be made to deploy more teachers in ECE, ensuring a more decent teacher-to-pupil ratio. This will significantly improve teaching and learning outcomes, as teachers will have more time to dedicate to their students. Funding for ECE should be increased from the current 0.4%, ensuring equitable distribution between the primary and ECE sectors. Currently, the focus on primary education is at the expense of ECE.
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