25/12/2025
When Cut-Off Points Are Not Enough: A Parent’s Nightmare in Zambia’s Education System
For many Zambian parents and guardians, the release of Grade 7 and Grade 9 examination results should be a moment of celebration. It marks years of sacrifice, perseverance, and hope finally bearing fruit. Yet, for those whose children qualify for Grade 8 and Grade 10, this joy is increasingly overshadowed by anxiety, frustration, and uncertainty.
Meeting the prescribed cut-off point is often presented as the ultimate benchmark for progression. In reality, it is merely the beginning of a far more stressful journey. Thousands of learners who qualify academically still fail to secure places in secondary schools due to limited capacity. As a result, parents find themselves in a desperate race against time, moving from school to school, making countless phone calls, only to be told repeatedly that there is “no space”.
This process exposes a harsh contradiction in Zambia’s education system. While the government continues to encourage hard work and merit, the system struggles to absorb the very learners who meet its own standards. Academic success, instead of guaranteeing opportunity, becomes a source of emotional and financial strain for families.
As January 2026 approaches, pressure mounts. Parents watch their savings dwindle long before school uniforms, books, and fees can even be considered. For many households already grappling with economic hardship, the cost of simply securing a school place becomes an unbearable burden. Those without personal connections in the education sector are left particularly vulnerable, relying on chance rather than fairness.
This crisis is worsened by the silent erosion of the teaching profession. Many experienced teachers who once played informal advisory roles are no longer available having exited the system due to poor conditions of service, unemployment, or migration. What remains is an overstretched workforce trying to manage a growing learner population with limited infrastructure.
At its core, this problem raises serious questions about planning, investment, and political will. Is the current expansion of secondary schools keeping pace with population growth? Are rural and peri-urban areas being prioritised? And why does access to public education increasingly feel like a privilege rather than a constitutional right?
Education is widely acknowledged as the foundation of national development. Yet, when parents are forced to beg, plead, or exhaust their resources just to secure a place for a deserving child, the system fails not only families but the nation as a whole.
Until structural reforms address infrastructure deficits, teacher recruitment, and transparent placement mechanisms, the annual scramble for Grades 8 and 10 places will remain a national nightmare. For the ordinary Zambian parent or guardian without influence or financial leverage the question remains painfully simple: is there still hope in our education system?
Credit: image generated by ai for illustration purposes.
