The Release of K324million to Cover 3 months Costs for Schools in Zambia
By Amb. Emmanuel Mwamba
The Treasury has released K1.284 billion of which K960 million will be payment made to farmers owed by the Food Reserve Agency (FRA).
A good thing as farmers were made to go into another farming season without receiving payments for their produce for the 2020/2021 farming season.
The other release of K324million is the 2022 First Quarter Operational Support Fund to public schools aimed at facilitating the implementation of free education.
HOW MANY PUBLIC SCHOOLS DO WE HAVE?
As at 2019, we have 1,009 Secondary Schools and 8,343 primary schools.
The allocation of K324 million to cover costs for the first quarter (3 months) translates to roughly K34.644.00 per school to meet administrative costs until April.
WHAT FEES WERE BEING PAID IN THE PAST
Education has been free at both Primary and Secondary Schools since 2011.
It has never been Government policy to charge tuition fees for learners in both primary and secondary schools.
However, learners were required to pay user and boarding fees to meet costs of electricity, water and sanitation, stationery and payment of salaries for Daily Classified Workers (CDEs) such as cleaners, office orderlies (help) and guards to secure school premises.
As seen from the release of funds to cover the first school term by the Treasury, the funds are clearly inadequate.
Government may consider picking up some of the costs such as wages of CDEs as the abolition of user fees and scrapping of the PTA fund poses an immediate challenge to school administrators.
CDF, BOARDING FEES & TERTIARY BURSARY SCHEMES
The Treasury may consider releasing immediately, the allocation of the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) for 2022 where components of education fees such as boarding fees for eligible and identified vulnerable learners and bursary support for those going to Colleges and Universities are embedded in.
The education sector will continue to attract attention this year as the recruitment of 30,000 teachers is expected to take place.
Government has budgeted for K18.1billion to the sector, and of this, K1.7 billion is for recruitment of the teachers.
Clearly the entire 2022 National Budget standing at $10billion ( K173billion ) is ambitious.
It remains to be seen, on the revenue side, if these ambitious goals set, will be met.