Zambia Open Community Schools (ZOCS)

ZOCS is a vibrant flagship organisation of schools founded in Zambia in 1992. The organisation empowers communities to provide quality basic education to over 125,000 students in more than 650 demonstration Community Schools across 51 districts in all the 10 provinces of the country, premised on the principle that every child has a right to education.

Through a three-pillared approach focusing on advocacy, service delivery and capacity building, ZOCS has enhanced educational opportunities for children, increased community capacity to provide such opportunities and advocated for government commitment to the sustainability of ZOCS innovations in Zambia’s Community Schools.

Together, EAC and ZOCS are implementing the Community Action for OOSC project in 29 districts throughout the country. Overall, the project is a five-year initiative, seeking to enrol 175,000 OOSC, train teachers and mobilise communities.

ZOCS implemented 12 IFERB projects selected according to the ages of the children targeted in two rural districts. The projects were printed and delivered to the targeted children through their schools. Each of the target schools was also supplied with a radio containing IFERB content. Consequently, the children interacted with the IFERB content in print form and through the radio. A total of 2,000 learners were targeted in 30 schools. The choice of the projects was guided by the nature of the skills and competencies needed by the children for their lifelong learning and success in their educational journey. These skills and competencies, including numeracy, literacy, communication, critical thinking, exploration, creativity, and independent learning, would enable the targeted children to engage in independent and cooperative learning and stretch their inquisitiveness around their environments and contexts. Another factor that was considered in the selection of the projects was their relevance to the Zambian Primary School Curriculum guided by the Ministry of Education.

For more information about this EAC Implementing Partner, please visit the ZOCS website.