Zambia on a precipice: Raising its leaders of tomorrow who can barely read

Poor literacy rates in Zambia are a ticking timebomb. Zambia has the 8^th youngest population in the world, with 52.6% (roughly 11 million) below the age of 18. Half of these youths are unlikely to complete school because they live in rural areas, and according to the World Bank Learning Poverty Brief, of the students who are in school, barely any of them will be able to read properly by the time they leave primary school.

Zambia’s young population has put an enormous strain on the education system and will continue to do so as the population grows. Since primary and secondary school fees were abolished in 2021, enrollment figures have increased across all grade levels, reaching 5.3 million in 2024.

There is currently 1 secondary school for every 5 primary schools nationwide, and even with the highest number of private schools in the country, the capital city Lusaka does not have an adequate concentration of secondary schools to match its population. Youths who live in rural areas are therefore particularly disadvantaged and less likely to complete Grade 12. As the figure below shows, out-of-school rates generally increase as students approach adulthood.

With teacher to student ratios averaging 1:50 to 1:60, reaching up to 1:100 in some rural areas, questions are raised about the quality of teaching offered even when the children are in school.

Community Schools

Living near a school is no guarantee of an education. Although school attendance is free, many parents cannot afford necessities such as books, stationery, uniforms, shoes, and sanitary towels for girls.

In such cases, their only hope is to find space for their children in one of approximately 3,200 community schools run by mostly untrained volunteers, where financial contributions are voluntary. 

Dorcas Chobesha, the founder of Dorcasland community school in John Howard compound in Lusaka, provides free education—including uniforms—for children and youths from mostly single-parent households.

“They are future leaders,” Dorcas says of her students. “There is need for people who are going to replace us as we grow. So if they don't have quality education and quality teachers, I think they will go nowhere again. Poverty will not end.”

The current government, helmed by President Hakainde Hichilema, has made education reform a priority by increasing the national education budget by 127% since coming into power in 2021. This has resulted in a significant boost for the sector, with 151 new secondary schools and over 2,800 classrooms built, and 42,000 new teachers recruited.

While positive, these measures are not sufficient to cater for the hundreds of thousands of children who would fall through the cracks if not for the community schools offering parents a way out. Such schools are often make-shift institutions with no water, electricity, or sanitation facilities, with students sitting packed together or on floors and often sharing a single notebook—if any.

Yet, for parents like Litsa Nkhoma, whose 3 children attend Dorcasland, they are a lifeline offering hope for a better future. If not for the community school, Litsa says, they would be playing all day and misbehaving.

“This school has really helped me a lot, and my kids are doing well,” she said. “They have discipline and know how to read and write.”

Dorcasland currently caters to over 250 students, where Grade 1 to Grade 7 classes are taught by Dorcas herself with the help of two other volunteer teachers, none of whom have formal teacher training. Dorcas, who funds the school with her blanket-selling business and sporadic donations, says her biggest wish is to hire qualified teachers.

“If we have got standard teachers, that is quality teachers, you will find that when children attain the knowledge that they want, they are going to grow up and become leaders. As a result, one day poverty will end,” she said.

Literacy and economic development

The World Bank Human Capital Country Brief (2025) revealed that 98% of children in Zambia at late primary level are not able to read proficiently. This is 13 percentage points worse that the average for Sub-Saharan Africa and 38 percentage points worse than the average for lower middle-income countries in general. In addition, the World Education Statistics (2025) map below shows that Zambia's upper secondary completion rate of 28.2% is less than half of that in South Africa, Nigeria, Egypt and Kenya.

With numerous studies linking literacy levels to positive economic growth, that most Zambian children cannot read or understand a simple text by age 10 should be alarming for a country that is still recovering from serious economic setbacks that saw it become the first country to default on its debts during the COVID pandemic.

The cost of living is at an all-time high; currently, the minimum wage of a general worker covers only 19.5% of the monthly needs basket for a family of 5. This economic strain is further complicated by a rapidly shifting global landscape where manual labor is a decreasing benchmark for success.

Future forward

The PwC Africa Workforce Hopes and Fears Survey 2025 predicts that nearly half the jobs across Africa will be impacted by the Artificial Intelligence (AI) boom within the next 3 years, with workers across the continent already reporting significant impacts to their creativity, job security, and productivity.

Zambia is currently ranked 113 out of 134 countries on the 2025 Network Readiness Index, with low smartphone ownership, infrastructure deficits, and a shortage of skilled AI professionals identified as key barriers. This is not surprising given that, as shown in the chart below, almost two-thirds of schools in Zambia still do not have access to the internet.

The government has responded by partnering with Google to establish an AI Center of Excellence in Lusaka in 2024 and launching a national AI strategy to integrate AI into school curriculums.

However, without foundational digital literacy skills, AI can deepen inequities rather than alleviate them. Recent research confirms that foundational reading and writing skills are essential prerequisites for using AI effectively. For example, without strong traditional literacy, users are often unable to write precise prompts or critically evaluate the accuracy of AI outputs. 

Innovative methods that can bridge this gap include using adaptive AI learning platforms in schools and training institutions that calibrate the pace and content to specific student needs, rather than the one-size-fits-all approach of traditional classrooms.

 With the stakes as high as they are, every step forward is critical and cannot come soon enough.

 As Dorcas put it: “There is a race that I'm running. And there are victories that I need to win. Now is the best time to get started.”