By Scoop Reporter
WITH a crisis of desks in most schools in the country, we strongly doubt the possibility of reopening schools for non-examination classes this year, the National Action for Quality Education in Zambia (NAQEZ) has said.
NAQEZ Executive Director Aaron Chansa his organisation’s current assessment is that very few schools in Zambia would be in a position to accommodate more learners apart from examination classes.
Mr. Chansa says this is simply because most schools, especially those in rural areas, have a critical shortage of desks where in some cases, pupils are even sitting on the floor whilst learning.
“Available statistics indicate that the Ministry of General Education will need more than 1.3 million desks to remedy this crisis and until this number of desks is afforded, we fear that learners in non-examination classes may not open in 2020.
“We therefore demand that the Ministry of Finance releases money in order for the Ministry of General Education to buy desks. This is an urgent matter needing very serious national attention. Current pictures of Zambian learners sitting on the floor are giving our education system a very ugly image and must be dealt with immediately,” Mr. Chansa said.
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