EU supports free education policy

Zambia's ailing education system this week received a financial boost from the European Commission (EC) to the tune of €10 million (US $12 million). The EC funds are expected to support the government's ongoing efforts to provide free basic education. President Levy Mwanawasa has made the campaign for universal primary education one of his government's priorities. But the initiative, launched two years ago, has been hampered by a lack of funds. "A steep decline in economic performance and an increase in poverty during the 1990s has reduced access to education," the EC said in statement on Wednesday. Enrolment rates in Grades 1 to 7 declined from 81.2 percent to 65.6 percent between 1996 and 1999. The number of young girls in schools also fell over the same period. The EC, however, pointed out that enrolment had increased since the abolition of examination and stationery fees in 2001 and the introduction of the Free Primary Education Policy in 2002. Current difficulties in the education system were compounded by HIV/AIDS. "The pandemic has increased the number of out-of-school children mainly as a result of loss of parental support and a breakdown of the extended family system," the EC said. There are as many as 700,000 AIDS orphans in Zambia, of which 85 percent are potential school goers. "The EC has identified education as a priority in its aid to the Zambian youth and to improve the future prospects of Zambia," the EC said.