Zambia’s Digital School Project Opens Doors to Learning

Peter’s mother Clara never finished primary school. After her parents died, she had to work to survive. His father reached Grade 7 before leaving school to earn a living. Today he finds occasional piecemeal jobs, hoping education will give his children a different future. 

The family of seven live in an unfinished house — one of many half-built structures where vulnerable families stay temporarily in exchange for caretaking. Rent is free or minimal, but such homes lack essentials like electricity or water, and families must leave when construction resumes or concludes. 

In communities like Peter’s, the absence of school transport makes the journey long and tiring. In some rural areas there are no state schools, forcing adolescents into private schools and to seek sponsors. For many, this ends their education. 

When his father eventually learned that Peter had stopped schooling, he told him firmly: “If you don’t go back to school, you’ll end up a fool. You’ll end up begging from your friends, and your younger siblings will do better than you.” These words stung, explains Peter, who knew he had to find a way back. 

In 2025, some two years later, Peter heard that his former school, Shifwankula Primary, was part of a new initiative for adolescents who had left school. He went to ask. There he learned about the Digital School Project, a pilot project from the Ministry of Education, VVOB and the Education Above All Foundation. 
 Using a blended model of digital lessons on tablets and in-person classes, the Digital School Project gives out-of-school learners like Peter a second chance at school. The pre-loaded content on the tablets helps learners prepare for the Grade 7 exams that open the door to further education. Without the Grade 7 exam, progression is not possible. 
 

Peter enrolled immediately. After passing an entry test in literacy and numeracy, he received a tablet and began lessons in April 2025.  

School never stops

Going back was not easy. “I was angry about my injury and angry that I had missed my exams which kept me out of school,” he says. Seeing his friends already in secondary school was painful. But his perspective changed. “I decided school never stops. I must continue.” 

Now, Peter is motivated and progressing. He rises early each morning to fetch water for his family and do the chores before he heads to school for the afternoon. He has made new friends, discovered a love of maths and English, and dreams of becoming a civil engineer. At home, he repairs electrical fittings and values his tablet for many reasons including the fact he no longer has to carry books: “There’s no need to cut down trees to learn from paper”, he tells VVOB, smiling.  

Clara, Peter’s mother, has seen a transformation in her son since April. “I’ve noticed a change. He’s more positive. It was very painful to see him at home, without school, because a child without education has no future. Now he’s always on his tablet, always learning.” 

For those working in the Digital School Project, Peter’s transformation is also part of a wider shift. “In Zambia, thousands of adolescents are out of school not because they don’t want to learn, but because poverty, distance, and circumstances pushed them out,” explains Morgan Mwila, Project Coordinator for VVOB in Zambia. “The Digital School Project is about building a system that fits learners’ realities. It is not a parallel track, but part of the national system woven into the curriculum and recognised by the Ministry of Education.” 

Literacy in the digital era

The project’s hybrid model combines tablet-based, self-paced study with in-person classes led by trained facilitators. Learners study five core subjects and practice with mock exams aligned to Zambia’s national curriculum. Three students share a tablet, rotating it across the week. After completing their assignments, they return the device so teachers can check progress, assign homework, recharge it, and pass it to the next student. 

The Digital School Project also recognises that literacy is the foundation of all further learning. New students who fall below Grade 4 levels first join Foundational Literacy and Numeracy Bootcamps using the Teaching at the Right Level approach. This ensures every learner has a chance to attain the literacy skills needed before moving into digital study. 

As the world marks International Literacy Day on 8 September 2025, this year’s theme of “Promoting literacy in the digital era” is personal for Peter and his peers. 

The tablets they use each day are not just devices; they are a way back into education, and into building a future of promise and hope. Peter still feels the effects of his injury, and his leg sometimes swells after the walk to school. But he is determined. “I want to study hard so I can become an engineer and help build my country,” he says. 

Peter’s journey is one of thousands of young people in Zambia who deserve — and are getting — a second chance at learning. It shows what becomes possible when governments, schools, communities and partners work together to design education systems that reach every learner. 

The project’s hybrid model combines tablet-based, self-paced study with in-person classes led by trained facilitators. Learners study five core subjects and practice with mock exams aligned to Zambia’s national curriculum. Three students share a tablet, rotating it across the week. After completing their assignments, they return the device so teachers can check progress, assign homework, recharge it, and pass it to the next student. 

The Digital School Project also recognises that literacy is the foundation of all further learning. New students who fall below Grade 4 levels first join Foundational Literacy and Numeracy Bootcamps using the Teaching at the Right Level approach. This ensures every learner has a chance to attain the literacy skills needed before moving into digital study. 

As the world marks International Literacy Day on 8 September 2025, this year’s theme of “Promoting literacy in the digital era” is personal for Peter and his peers. 

The tablets they use each day are not just devices; they are a way back into education, and into building a future of promise and hope. Peter still feels the effects of his injury, and his leg sometimes swells after the walk to school. But he is determined. “I want to study hard so I can become an engineer and help build my country,” he says. 

Peter’s journey is one of thousands of young people in Zambia who deserve — and are getting — a second chance at learning. It shows what becomes possible when governments, schools, communities and partners work together to design education systems that reach every learner. 

Learn more about the Digital School Project