BETUZ wants Hichilema to sustain education reforms

The Basic Education Teachers Union of Zambia (BETUZ) has welcomed President Hakainde Hichilema’s re-election, saying his second term should focus on consolidating reforms and investments made in the education sector.

BETUZ Secretary General Henry Sinkala says the union is particularly pleased with the expansion of the school feeding programme, which he says is benefiting more than five million children from Monday to Friday.

“The feeding programme, which has seen more than five million children being fed from Monday to Friday, is a good policy. With him being there, it means our children across the country are assured of being fed,” Mr Sinkala said.

He said the union also wants government to sustain the implementation of free education, which is now backed by law.

Mr Sinkala said the removal of user fees, including tuition, examination, Parent-Teacher Association, broom and other charges, would provide financial relief to parents.

“Parents who have an opportunity to save from paying examination fees, school fees, will be able to save because education now is free and that it is a law,” he said.

Mr Sinkala also commended the government for recruiting nearly 45,000 teachers during President Hichilema’s first term, saying BETUZ expects more than 50,000 additional teachers to be recruited as enrolment continues to rise.

“President Hichilema and his administration did exceptionally well by recruiting almost 45,000 teachers in five years. We anticipate a recruitment of more than 50,000 teachers because over 2,600,000 children have gone back to our schools,” he said.

He described education as the country’s most important investment in its citizens, saying access to education gives children an opportunity to develop their potential.

“The greatest investment that the country can ever think of is investing in its citizens. Which vehicle do you use to invest in your citizens? It’s education,” Mr Sinkala said.

He said BETUZ expects government to continue supporting learners beyond Grade 12 through enhanced bursaries and allowances.

“I can tell you that I know that the President, when he’s sleeping, thinks about education. When he wakes up, he thinks about education,” Mr Sinkala said.

He said the union was happy with the prospect of continuity in education policies, particularly the implementation of the new competence-based curriculum.

Mr Sinkala said the curriculum required sustained investment in learning and teaching materials, as well as the skilling and retraining of teachers.

He said the phased implementation of the curriculum was intended to ensure a smooth transition, with more grades expected to be integrated into the new system next year.

According to Mr Sinkala, the competence-based curriculum represents a shift from preparing learners primarily for white-collar employment towards equipping them with practical skills.

“In summary, I would say it’s a paradigm shift from promotion of white-collar jobs to blue-collar jobs,” he said.

He said BETUZ expects massive investment to ensure the curriculum is fully implemented and achieves its intended objectives.

Mr Sinkala also welcomed continued investment in education infrastructure, citing the handover of 120 secondary schools by the World Bank in December 2025 and the construction of thousands of classroom blocks through Constituency Development Fund and central government financing.

He said BETUZ expects the infrastructure development programme to continue during President Hichilema’s second term.

Mr Sinkala further said the union expects continued improvements in teachers’ conditions of service, noting that there had been no wage freeze for its members during the previous five years.

“We want to believe that the next five years of this term, we will see more conditions of service being improved upon,” he said.

He also called for stronger incentives for teachers working in rural areas to address the continued rural-urban drift.

Mr Sinkala said attractive incentives could encourage teachers in urban areas to seek postings in rural communities, where shortages remain a challenge.

“We should be seeing teachers in urban areas applying to go to rural areas because the rural areas are highly incentivised,” he said.

He said such measures could help improve the distribution of teachers and strengthen access to quality education across the country.

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