HAVING discussed the art of saving and investing through insurance companies last week I thought of revisiting an article on education policies. Considered the most famous brand in 1996 Nelson Mandela once said “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world…” I am in total agreement with this statement. As we dissect this subject I am reminded of my visit to Ghana where I was privileged to peek through the legacy displayed at the museum of one of Africa’s finest sons, Kwame Nkrumah who became the first black person to win a presidential election while in prison and also the first black person to dance with Queen Elizabeth. Married to an Egyptian woman Dr Nkrumah became co-president in a foreign country (Guinea) after being ousted by a coup d’état in his native country and went on to win many world renowned awards. This was an influential Pan-Africanist who had a vision of liberating Africa and I believe that his fight was based on what he could offer society largely because of his education that made him stand out. I believe there were many other capable people to lead Ghana and Africa but for the fair education of this man which made him more marketable. I wonder what Africa could have been today had if not for the educated few who stood up against colonialism; talk even about our own great national figure Kenneth Kaunda. Although education alone is not all, I strongly believe it is one of the keys to success. Scripture in Hosea 4:6 also tells us that ‘my people perish for lack of knowledge….’ Surely if we are to develop and fairly govern ourselves then we must promote education so as to articulate our own issues that will propel our economic development agenda. I grew up in a family of eight where completion of secondary school was a struggle. This was mainly compounded by the fact that soon after qualifying to secondly school my father lost his job and this literally crippled our family. His ‘package’ was way too low to adequately meet the family needs and going to school was under difficult conditions. However, I still give credit and honour to my father (MHSRIP) that though he was unemployed during my secondly school days he did his best to ensure that I made it at high school. Like many other parents I would not want my children to go through my difficult experience. The Bible also tells us in Proverbs 13: 22 that a good man leaves an inheritance for his children… Education in my view is the best inheritance we can leave for our children. This fundamental ideology can only be achieved through proper planning that needs to be done carefully. One of the many ways we can plan for our children’s future education is through Education Policies issued by Insurance companies. As a parent you need to think ahead of which school(s) you want to take your children and with the help of insurers estimate how much will be spent during the period of that level. Based on the estimates, monthly premiums will be advised by the insurer and upon maturity the insurer will be paying school fees directly to the selected school or a lump sum may be paid out. For example if you want to take your child to Chengelo School in grade eight and the child is in grade one and assuming school fees at this school are estimated to be K100 thousand for the entire five years then the monthly contributions should be about K1 thousand two hundred to be paid over a period of 84 months, ceteris paribus. This is a simplified example because in practice insurers will use present values discounted into the future and also factor in profits from the investment of these contributions. If the policyholder (parent) dies the policy will run to maturity guaranteeing the intended school fees for the beneficiary (child). If the beneficiary dies he may be replaced or at maturity of the policy a lump sum may be paid out. I have found this to be a better way of guaranteeing education of our children. Comments:webster@picz.com or webster_tj@hotmail.com or on face book search for Insurance Talk-Zambia page or 0977857055 (The author is a Chartered Insurer with ten years industry experience)