Zambia Just Made Free Education A Legal Right

Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema has signed into law the country's first legislation guaranteeing free education for all children, formally enshrining as a legal right a policy that transformed the nation's school system after its introduction in 2021. The new law means that no learner can be legally denied a place in a public school due to an inability to pay fees, and gives families and students a clear legal basis for redress if schools attempt to charge fees in violation of the law. Hichilema called it a historic day for Zambia, saying the legislation secures free education for future generations and strengthens protections for workers and retirees through broader reforms contained in the same bill, which he described as delivering greater dignity, security, and hope from the classroom to the workplace and into retirement. The free education policy was one of his flagship campaign commitments when he was elected in 2021 and was implemented shortly after he took office.

The results of the policy in the years before it became law make a compelling case for what happens when school fees are removed: enrollment surged dramatically across Zambia as families who had previously kept children home due to cost sent them to school for the first time, and the government recruited more than 41,000 new teachers to meet the expanded demand, while school feeding programs were scaled up alongside the enrollment growth. Until now, however, the policy had remained an administrative measure rather than a legal entitlement, leaving enforcement gaps and raising concerns among advocates about whether a future government could simply reverse it. The new law changes that entirely by anchoring free education in legislation, making it as protected as any other legal right in the country. Hichilema said the reforms will improve the lives of millions of Zambians and that the signing of the bill represents the formalization of a promise his government made to the people of Zambia and intends to keep.

Source:https://von.gov.ng/zambia-passes-landmark-free-education-law/