Despite decades of peace and stability, the Zambian education system is providing neither the access to nor the quality of education that its citizens demand. Primary and secondary school age children in the poorest countries are nine times more likely to be out of school than those in the richest countries. This inequity is the main factor in our work to serve rural communities within Zambia.
Impact Network developed eSchool 360 to address the widespread inequality in global education, which disproportionately affects children in rural Africa. While technology is not a silver bullet to solving these problems, it can be leveraged to increase education quality while also lowering costs. Our eSchool 360 system provides locally-hired teachers with tablets and projectors to deliver eLearning lessons, using an interactive, “learning-by-doing” curriculum that moves away from traditional rote learning, the norm in much of Zambia. Around this, we have built a successful model for holistic education bolstered by intensive teacher coaching, weekly management through mobile data collection, eco-friendly solar power, and community ownership. We complement this model with additional programs to improve education outcomes, including guided reading programs, Family Literacy days and Early Childhood Education classes for three to six year olds.
Impact Network started a little over a decade ago with one classroom of 50 students. Today we work in over 40 schools reaching over 6,000 students from early childhood through Grade 7. Additionally, we have programs for out-of-school girls and the communities where we work, impacting over 25,000 lives. In 2022 we signed an MOU with the Zambia Ministry of Education. This agreement will see government teachers implementing our proven eSchool 360 education model. It is one of the first of its kind in Zambian primary education, and we hope this partnership will improve our sustainability efforts and opportunities to scale. Our long-term goal is to reach 1 million students and additionally benefit 5 million rural citizens across Zambia.
Impact Network has improved outcomes in very rural and remote villages in Zambia. We developed the eSchool 360 model as a way to sustain high-quality education in an economical way. We believe this solution can be adapted to work in other countries and welcome partnerships from other implementing partners. Please contact info@impactnetwork.org for more information.
