Classrooms packed with free education

Free education offers equal opportunities for Zambians towards a brighter future but the rapid increase in student numbers poses a challenge to maintaining quality education .

Free primary and secondary school tuition has led to overcrowding in many classrooms in Zambia - Photo: BBC

At 7am, a group of students had just arrived at Chanyanya Primary and Secondary School. Richard Banda (16 years old) said: "We had to come to school early because there were not enough desks and chairs. Two days ago, I came late and had to sit on the floor."

The reason for the overcrowding is that primary and secondary education here is free. Schools do not invest enough in infrastructure. Experts say the overcrowding is threatening the quality of education, especially for low-income students.

Student Mariana Chirwa (18 years old) said she dropped out of school in grade 4 but now she is back and without free education, her parents do not know how to manage because they are both unemployed.

75 boys and 85 girls are crammed into a classroom space meant for only 30 students. Teacher Cleopatra Zulu said she taught about 40 students in 2019 but now has more than 100 students in her class.

"Teaching is difficult, grading papers is even more challenging even though the number of subjects has been reduced. Before, when the class was small, the teacher had to explain the lesson again if anyone didn't understand, but now that's not possible," said this teacher.

According to UNICEF, school enrollment is growing in Africa. But nine out of 10 primary school students still struggle to read and understand simple lessons. Administrators are shifting their focus to quality education, recruiting qualified teachers and investing in infrastructure.

Aaron Chansa (director of NAQEZ) said that sitting in the wrong class will affect the attention of the lecture. Not to mention that there are hundreds of students in the class, leading to a situation where 6-7 students fight over a book.

Education Minister Douglas Syakalima said he would rather have students crowded in classrooms than on the streets. The president is building more desks and facilities. Zambia has invested more than $1 billion in education since it was made free three years ago.

The government announced plans to build more than 170 new schools and pledged to recruit 55,000 new teachers by the end of 2026. And 37,000 have already been hired.

A driver in Lusaka said his 11-year-old son moved from a private school to a public school to benefit from free education and he regrets the decision.

Just a year later, he sent his son back to private school and said: "I saw that his academic performance was declining, so one day I visited the classroom and saw that there were too many students. The children were chatting a lot, and the teacher could not focus on the whole class."

Zambia is emerging from bankruptcy in 2020 but experts worry about the sustainability of free education.

According to a 2023 report from the Zambia Institute for Policy Analysis and Research, if all students received free education, government spending would double. But the country's education minister believes the government can shoulder the cost.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/lop-hoc-chat-cung-khi-mien-phi-giao-duc-20241120010600085.htm