• Budget allocation to the education sector has been going down.
• NAQEZ is very much expectant that the education sector will get the biggest share.
• NAQEZ is expecting that Ministry of Finance will not allocate less than 20 percent of the total national budget.

National Action for Quality Education in Zambia (NAQEZ) says it expects Ministry of Finance and National Planning to allocate over 20 percent of the total national budget to the education sector.
Speaking in an interview with Money FM News, NAQEZ Executive Director Aaron Chansa said the current 10.4 percent allocation is offensive to a lot of international binding treaties, and SADC Protocol on Education which clearly instructs member countries not to spend below 20 percent of their budgets on education.
Mr. Chansa noted that the budget allocation to the education and skills sector has been reducing over the years, with 11.5 percent allocated in 2021 and 10.4 percent this year.
“We are very much expectant that the education sector will get the biggest share especially that we now have two Ministries in one. We are expecting that the Ministry of Finance will not allocate less than 20 percent of the total national budget, we know that we are now sitting at 10.4 percent which in our view is offensive not only to a lot of international binding treaties but also to the aspirations of this country and 1997 SADC Protocol on Education which is very instructive that member countries must not spend below that threshold.”
“As a country we have been going down, last year we were at 11.5 percent and this year in 2022 we are at 10.4 percent,” Mr. Chansa stated.
He added that there is need to increase the allocation so as to recruit more teachers, as well as procure desks and computers, among others.
“We should surely move up so that when we have above 20 percent of the national budget, then we can attend to continued teacher recruitment, purchase of desks, purchase of computers and also motivation of teachers,” he added.
Finance Minister Dr. Situmbeko Musokotwane is expected to present the 2023 national budget on Friday this week.