Q FM Africa's Modern Radio
The Zambia National Education Coalition (ZANEC) has called on stakeholders to come up with short term mitigation measures of the poor pupil-teacher ratios that have come about as a result of the free education policy.
ZANEC Executive Director George Hamusunga says the prevailing situation in most government schools is rendering the policy ineffective.
Mr. Hamusunga notes that there is need for urgent measures from stakeholders including the various offices of the district education board secretaries (debs) and school managements to act now as the country awaits the recruitment of the 30, 000 teachers by government.
Mr. Hamusunga has told q news in an interview that stakeholders can consider finding alternative places like churches where some pupils can be learning from so as to reduce the teacher-pupil ratio.
He says school managements can also incorporate the aspect of multiple streams where the pupils are divided and made to report at different times.
And Mr. Hamusunga has noted the need for transit classrooms for those children who have been out of school for longer periods to help them catch up with the rest through specialized teaching methods before they are mixed with others.