Advancement of Children’s Rights and the Education Budgets in Zambia 2001-2006

The study “Advancement of Childrenʼs Rights and the Education Budget in Zambia 2001-2006” assesses Zambiaʼs commitment to childrenʼs rights from a budget perspective. It is the second study to be undertaken in Zambia. While the first study focused on six areas, the current one focuses only on the education sector and on the attainment of child rights through the specific area of the education budget. The study therefore concentrates on education delivery between early childhood education up to secondary school. This is the age group of the child as defined by Zambian child policy document that has set an age limit of up to 18 years.

The study report is divided into five chapters. Chapter 1 presents a situational analysis of children from a macro- economic perspective and its impact on childrenʼs education in Zambia. Chapter 2 analyses the governmentʼs commitment to children by examining the national constitutionʼs child rights focus, legislative measures, policies and plans on childrenʼs rights and the international rights and treaties and their domestication in the Zambian legal framework. This chapter also examines the government structures committed to childrenʼs programmes and budget allocations. Chapter 3 “Children in the Budget,” provides a profile of the current budgetary process and budget performance. Chapter 4 focuses on the education budget allocations and expenditure with a focus on the child. It attempts to ascertain the degree to which the Zambian government prioritises on children in its budgeting and expenditure profile. Chapter 5 is a small chapter that makes a synoptic review of the funding of child related ministries across sectors. This chapter provides a synoptic review and it is an attempt merely to map out trends in child related sectors that do not focus on education delivery per se. Chapter 6 provides a conclusion and also makes a number of recommendations for the specific area of the education budget and children.