Obstacles limiting girls’ access to free education
Published On September 5, 2022 » 6148 Views» By Times Reporter » Features
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By Jesse Ngoma-Simengwa-

Although most governments in Africa have tried to provide equal opportunities in education, chances of girls having access to education are still threatened by many factors.
This year, primary and secondary education is free in Zambia after President Hakainde Hichilema honoured his election campaign promise to make education accessible to all.
Despite the monetary obstacles that made it inaccessible for many children, a number of risk factors still affect girls’, namely poverty, early pregnancy and early marriages.
Further, there is need to rekindle the diminished self-esteem with confidence in girls, so that they value education.
Lack of self-esteem and confidence has serious consequences.
According to scholars, educating girls increases avenue and opportunities that open up chances of advancement in having employment or a better livelihood in future.
In view of this, Zambia National Education Coalition (ZANEC) has expressed concern over some of the obstacles that continue to hinder girls in both peri-urban and rural areas despite the pronouncement of free education by the Government.

. Hamusunga


ZANEC Executive Director George Hamusunga said there are still more challenges that will not help the country if it fails to bridge the gender gap in education.
‘‘We are excited that Government has pronounced the free education policy and we are also happy that the response from the demand side has been overwhelming in terms of parents sending their children to go to school,” Mr Hamusunga said.
But he said one challenge is that there is no deliberate policy for popularising free education.
“We expected that after the announcement, the Ministry of Education would undertake a robust campaign explaining to people some of the challenges that Government was going to address,” he said.
Mr Hamusunga said children and parents in the peri-urban and rural communities do not know the opportunities that have come with free education and boarding schools mostly serve children from rural areas where there are no secondary schools.
He said as a result, there are children who have not gone to school because the Constituency Development Funds (CDF), in some areas, is still sitting in the bank accounts.
Mr Hamusunga said people have taken it for granted that the girls from vulnerable families know that they will be supported through CDF and as a result, there are still more girls who have not gone back to school.
He said although free education may be popular, it is only popular to people in urban areas where communities are able to access information.
He said in the rural areas, the situation is different as some people are not aware and those who are aware may not have adequate information to take advantage of the opportunities of free education.
“With this free education, we expect all girls, including those who fell pregnant during the lock down of the COVID-19 pandemic, to go back to school. But where do they live their children and what support do we have for the implementation of the re-entry policy beyond a girl going back to school?” he asked.
The ZANEC executive director said child care facilities are very important in workplaces and schools and now that the Government has declared free education, there is need for child care facilities within the schools as the children of girls who got pregnant need to be breastfed exclusively.
He said alternatively, the school girls who have children need someone at home who is reliable to help them take care of their children.
Mr Hamusunga also said there is need to link mothers with the Social
Cash Transfer so that it helps them to take care of their children.
“The problem is that child support in Zambia is trivilised. In developing countries, early childhood centers are key because authorities do not support the idea of the young mothers leaving their children at home,” he said.
Mr Hamusunga said even though support has been extended to the mother through the re-entry policy and now the free education, the policy has not been fully funded to extend support to the child who needs care, food and many other things.
He said this is where policies like the SCT need to apply to the vulnerable girls so that in turn, they get child support.
He noted with concern how a lot of people in the communities still do not value education of the girls compared to the animals and other resources they receive when they marry off their daughters, hence, the issue of early marriages taking preference.
“We don’t blame them. We all value education, but we struggle to see the value of education because we are in communities where girls have completed their education and have failed to find employment and they go back home only to get married,” he said.
Mr Hamusunga said one of the things that will stop people from taking advantage or putting value to free education is the quality of education, the skill and knowledge that the people in education give that can forego a number of things and facilitate for girls to go back to school.
He said in reality, authorities are now struggling to convince the people and even if education is free, there is need to look at the value it will bring to the country and the learners because at the end of it, their lives will be better.
“In addition, as educationists, we have failed to demonstrate the value of the child’s education compared to a child getting married or a child doing house chores,’’ he said.
There is need to have an overhaul of the curriculum to ensure that it is tailored towards getting skills that will help children harness local opportunities to improve their lives and also contribute to society.
Others scholars have also observed how the economic activities of rural areas are totally different from those of urban areas, and if children in rural areas are provided with education that equips them to survive in an urban environment, they will inevitably tend to migrate to urban areas.
Therefore, the experts suggest the view that the curriculum should combine the core national content with the local content, taking into account context, customs and livelihood activities.
Other obstacles that have contributed to girls not reaching their full potential in education are long distances covered to reach schools, poor sanitation and domestic labour.
While making education free from child care to Grade 12 has been hailed by many who could not previously send their children to school, accessing education for girls in rural and peri-urban Zambia still remains a challenge.
Because of this, there is need to address all obstacles for girls to fully benefit from free education.
For comments jessiengm@gmail.com.

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