Teachers for All: Zambia
Improving primary school teacher deployment
Highlights
Report 1: Improving Primary School Teacher Deployment in Zambia
The equitable and effective deployment of teachers is critical to achieving quality education for all. However, the uneven distribution of teachers – both across and within schools – contributes to significant disparities in class sizes and learning conditions.
Recognizing the critical role that teachers play in learning, the Government of Zambia has committed to addressing teacher allocation through large-scale teacher recruitment. This report – the first in the series – describes the teaching landscape in Zambia and suggests avenues for improving teacher distribution in the country. It leverages annual school census datasets, policy and program documents, and other relevant literature to document the status quo of teacher management in the country.
Suggested citation: Kabir, Mabruk. Teachers for All – Improving equity in teacher deployment in Zambia. UNICEF Innocenti – Global Office of Research and Foresight, Florence, 2023.
Report 2: A qualitative investigation into the 2022 mass recruitment and allocation of primary school teachers in Zambia
This second report is a qualitative investigation that builds on the first, using primary data to provide deeper insights into teacher management in Zambia.
In 2022, the Government of Zambia launched a historic recruitment drive, hiring over 30,000 teachers—more than 80% of whom were placed in primary schools to address severe shortages. This case study examines the recruitment and allocation process, highlighting successes, uncovering challenges, and extracting key lessons to improve future teacher workforce planning.
The report offers actionable recommendations to tackle ongoing teacher shortages, gender imbalances, and retention issues, all aimed at ensuring a fairer distribution of teachers and enhancing the quality of primary education across Zambia.
Read the full report to learn more.
Suggested citation: Mills, Michelle, Teachers for All: A qualitative investigation into the 2022 mass recruitment and allocation of primary school teachers in Zambia, UNICEF Innocenti – Global Office of Research and Foresight, Florence, February 2025
