ECL’s Free Education Blunder

ECL’s Free Education Blunder

Mr. Edgar Lungu sure knows how to de-campaign himself and reduce his prospects for success in his spirited ambition to reclaim the same presidency he trifled with for 7 years.

In his ill-conceived move to return to active politics and play Zambia’s savior, Lungu has been going around the country sadly telling more lies or making blunders, undoing himself in the process. But nothing unusual there if we are being honest.

His latest blunder is his declaration to take away free education from the masses “once he is voted back into office”. How does reversing a policy that has literally become a life-saver for many Zambian children and their families win you votes?

His reason? The high number of learners that have entered the school system since the policy was introduced two years ago has given teachers too much work and reduced the quality of education. Which quality exactly was there to destroy? What did the Patriotic Front leave in the education sector? We know that you hate work but must you take it that far?

It is estimated that Zambia has 8 million school-age children but only half of them were enrolled in formal education. Following the introduction of free education, that number stands at about 6 million. Can Mr. Lungu argue against the inclusion of 2 million more children into school?
Has he asked himself where these children had been all along and the implications for the long-term development and viability of the country?

The permanent secretary in the Ministry of Education, Mr. Joel Kamoko, put it very well when he said that “From the four million learners we previously had, today we have six million in school. Where were the two million? They were our fellow workers; they were being abused.”

Nobody has ever said the policy is working perfectly or that it does not require improvement. It does, a fact admitted by the government and the relevant stakeholders. Only a person with diabolical intent would, however, think of taking away the precious gift of education from those at the very base of the food chain. Whereas other people may and can afford private education, there are many people who will not have any such prospects.

It is also disingenuous for Mr. Lungu to claim that there are 300 children to a class. Populism must never take the place of truth. And, if as he claims, he takes advice and seeks counsel, he would have been told that what he wanted to say and do was not wise. Whose children does he want to remain behind engaged in labor and vice instead of grabbing even the little knowledge they can from an overcrowded classroom? Can he offer up his grandchildren to be among the first to be deprived of this right?
Can Mr. Lungu really convince the nation that free education has brought more pain than gain? Has he spoken to the majority of children, parents and even teachers in this country and their overwhelming answer is that free education is bad? How, without free education, does he conceive of providing education to the country’s young minds?

And riding along with him on his dream return to the presidency, which if it became a reality he would ascend to in 2026 with only four years before the Sustainable Development Goal target of ensuring equitable and quality education for all, how would he achieve it?
All these are very pertinent questions that we put to Mr. Lungu. Hopefully, he can address even just a third of them when he makes his next media appearance and not dump them off on the people now governing, as he is fond of doing.