Education in Zimbabwe

In Zimbabwe, about two-thirds of school age children go to school. Access to, as well as the quality of, their education is often related to where they live. Children in rural and remote areas struggle to access education, as do children with disabilities and children from families who cannot afford school fees.

Other challenges include under-resourced schools, lack of infrastructure and the effects of disasters on infrastructure. Poor learning outcomes also influence a family's decision on whether to send their child to school.

GPE is supporting the government and partners to achieve transformational change through Zimbabwe’s priority reform area: equitable access to relevant quality education for all children.

Increasing the number of schools with safe and appropriate infrastructure, establishing a system to identify children at risk of dropping out, improving foundational literacy and numeracy for learners, and enhancing teachers’ capacity to deliver quality education will help get more children into school, prevent dropout and improve learning outcomes.

Key to achieving change at scale is Zimbabwe's equitable financing commitment, targeting funding to the poorest and most marginalized schools.

As part of its investment in civil society advocacy and social accountability efforts, GPE’s Education Out Loud fund is supporting:

• The Education Coalition of Zimbabwe (ECOZI) for the 2020-2023 period. This builds on previous support from the Civil Society Education Fund (CSEF).
• The Transnational Networks Advocacy Capacity strengthened for improved ECDE legislation, policies and measures in Southern Africa (TRANAC) led by Zimbabwe Network of Early Childhood Development (ZINECDA) for the 2021-2023 period.
• Addressing the learning crisis through system strengthening led by Global Integrity for the 2021-2024 period.
• Girls Education Advocacy in the Region (GEAR) led by Students And Youth Working on reproductive Health Action Team (SAYWHAT) for the 2021-2024 period.
• Adolescent Mothers’ Education Initiative (AMEI) led by World Vision UK for the 2021-2024 period.

Learn more

• Zimbabwe is part of the KIX Africa 19 hub.
• KIX research projects:
  • Observatory on COVID-19 Responses in Educational Systems in Africa
  • Scaling a Youth-led Social Support and Mentorship Program to Improve Quality of Education for Marginalized Girls in Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe
  • The Inclusive Home-based Early Learning Project
  • Using data for improving education equity and inclusion – MICS-EAGLE