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03/03/2016

VVOB Zambia is supporting the new ECE Directorate in the planning, managing and implementation of Early Childhood Education (ECE) in Zambia.

Reform

The Ministry of Education, Science, Vocational Training and Early Education (MESVTEE) in Zambia was recently split into two ministries: the Ministry of General Education (MoGE) and the Ministry of Higher Education (MoHE) in order to help resolve the challenges of financing in the education subsectors and maximise efficiency in the provision of quality education.

During this process of reform, the Cabinet Office also approved establishment of the ECE Directorate in the MoGE, thereby reconfirming the Ministry’s ambition to invigorate ECE in the country. Three staff members including a Director have been appointed to the new unit and further staffing-up of the Directorate is expected in the second half of 2016.

Supporting professional development of teachers

As a key player in ECE in Zambia, VVOB and its funding partners (the Belgian Government, the ELMA Foundation and the European Commission) are keen to support a well-functioning ECE Directorate empowered to increase access to quality ECE.  Our work includes supporting initial training for ECE student teachers and in-service professional development of teachers in work with a focus on the pedagogy of the young child, learning through play, child assessment and mentoring support to students on internships and starting teachers. VVOB will also assist in the development and operationalisation of the ECE Policy Implementation Plan (2016-2020) and the design and implementation of action research.