About VVOB in Zambia

As of 2024, Zambia has made sizeable strides in school access with the government’s free education policy leading to 2 million additional pupils entering the system and 81.8% of primary-school-age children in school (UNICEF 2022). However, foundational learning remains weak. Fewer than 30% of children start Grade 1 with pre-primary education experience (UNICEF 2023), leaving many under prepared for the demands of early grades.  

Despite investments in teachers and education, free education has put severe pressure on infrastructure resulting in overcrowded classrooms, a lack of sufficient teachers, and shortages in textbooks and teaching materials. This has an impact on education quality and learning outcomes with only 16% of children finishing primary school with the expected grade 7 level in numeracy and only 9.7% in literacyiii  

While enrolment is seeing positive gains, out-of-school numbers still remain high. There are an estimated 200,000 adolescents in Zambia who are not in school for reasons including poverty, child labor and early pregnancy or marriage. with  access  

VVOB works with Zambia’s Ministry of Education and partners to transform education systems so that every child has the opportunity to learn, thrive and reach their full potential. Our focus is on long-term, sustainable change that strengthens teaching, learning and equity across all levels of education. 

We advance this vision by: 

• Building strong foundations early: High quality early childhood and primary education provide children with the best start in life. We support teachers and schools to create playful, inclusive and responsive learning environments that set children up for lifelong success. 
• Supporting children to catch up: No child should be left behind. Together with the government of Zambia, we strengthen teaching approaches that meet learners at their level, helping millions of children to master literacy and numeracy; the building blocks for all further learning.  
• Creating resilient education systems: We co-design scalable models that integrate structured teaching methods, continuous professional growth for teachers, and strong community involvement. This ensures that learning improvements are not temporary but embedded in the system. 
• Opening doors for young people: Education should remain within reach for all, including adolescents who left school too early. We support pathways that allow them to return, gain essential skills and continue their journey in education or training. 

Through our long-standing relationship with the Directorate of Early Childhood Education, we have trained over 12,000 early childhood education teachers. By supporting colleges that prepare new teachers and providing ongoing training for current teachers, VVOB has helped create better learning experiences for Zambia’s youngest children. 

In 2024, an end-of-programme evaluation for Catch Up showed that the programme supported over 826,000 children in Grades 3 to 5. This is 84% of all children enrolled in these grades across those provinces. 

The evaluation shows powerful and promising results. In reading, children able to read a simple paragraph rose from about 1 in 3 (37%) to 3 in 5 (61%), those struggling with basic letters were cut by more than half from 2 in 5 (42%) to 1 in 5 (20%).  

In maths, the share who can add and subtract grew from 1 in 3 (32%) to more than 1 in 2 (58%), and those able to multiply and divide more than doubled, from about 1 in 10 (13%) to 1 in 3 (33%). 

Catch Up is now officially integrated in preservice teacher training, which will allow new teacher graduates to enter education systems ready and trained to use the Teaching at the Right Level methodology. 

In 2024, the President of the Republic of Zambia was appointed as the Foundational Learning Champion by the Association of the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA), and in 2025, the Ministry of Education, with support from UNICEF and the African Union, launched the End Learning Poverty for All in Africa campaign in Zambia — cementing foundational learning as a top national and continental priority. With Members of Parliament also leading advocacy, momentum if growing. VVOB is well positioned to turn this momentum into results. As a trusted and long-standing partner of the Ministry of Education, with proven expertise in large-scale foundational learning programmes, VVOB provides technical assistance, strengthens teacher professional development systems, and generates evidence to inform policy and practice. Through alignment with Zambia’s education priorities, VVOB ensures that investments in foundational learning translate into sustainable improvements for all children. 

Guided by our values of quality, integrity, respect, commitment and innovation, we work with: 

• Ministry of Education – our strategic partner. 
• Catch Up partners – TaRL Africa, Pratham, UNICEF, World Vision Zambia, Zambia Open Community Schools (ZOCS), the Zambia National Education Coalition (ZANEC), LEGO Foundation, Co-Impact, Government of Belgium. 
• Foundational learning partners - Hempel Foundation. 
• Digital School Project partners – Education Above All Foundation, Ministry of Education Department of Open and Distance Education (DODE), and Gooru. 

If you are passionate about scaling evidence-based approaches that improve learning outcomes and education quality and which can also be sustainability integrated into government systems, VVOB is the partner to work with. 

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