Back to School

Many of you know that one of my roles here at Namwianga is coordinating the US Sponsorship Program. I match sponsors in the US with needy Zambian high school and college students.

I am slowly learning the ins and outs of the Zambian education system. Students (called pupils in Zambia) take an official government exam at the end of their ninth grade year (late October-early November). Then they go home and wait for their "results." All the other grades start the school year in January, but those who just finished grade nine must wait to see if they got high enough marks to qualify for high school. Once the results are published, the pupil must go to the school and pick up a copy of his results. Those who scored above the government cutoff point are guaranteed a spot in a high school and are assigned by the government to a school. They will have to pay whatever tuition is charged at their assigned school, plus boarding and other expenses. Those who scored below the cutoff but still passed the test receive a certificate. They have to hunt for a school that will accept them. The pupils who failed the test either end their schooling or repeat grade nine and try again.

The results usually come out in late January or early February. This year there were delays, and the marks were not available until February 14. The pupils have two weeks to pick up their results and either get to the assigned school (if they scored above the cutoff point) or find a school to accept them (if they scored below the cutoff). At our house, we have had a steady stream of hopeful scholars. Typically the student timidly reaches into a pocket and pulls out a folded piece of paper, the paper that lists the exam results and promises a future--if there is money to pay the fees for tuition and other expenses. As I unfold the paper, I hear, "Madam, I have a problem. I qualified for grade 10, but my family cannot afford to pay my fees. Can you help me get a sponsorship?"

So many dreams, so many hopes, so many students who desperately want an education. I waver between satisfaction in knowing that the sponsorship program is helping many needy students go to school and the despair of not being able to help all of them.

And I think about the many American students who take the blessing of free education for granted, who chafe at doing homework and following rules and who wish for freedom from the confines of school. For some of the Zambian young people who cross my path, "freedom" means sitting at home in the village wishing for a chance to get an education.