Funding for OU teacher development project in Zambia

An Open University (OU) project which will help primary teachers in Zambia to develop their skills and practice has been awarded significant funding by the Scottish Government.

Zambian Education School-based Training (ZEST) will see The OU work with partners World Vision Zambia to develop and roll out a high quality, school-based teacher professional development programme which will reach up to 4000 primary school teachers and leaders across Zambia’s Central Province.

ZEST builds on The OU’s existing work with teachers across sub-Saharan Africa and focuses on enabling teachers to adopt a pupil-centred approach in primary school classrooms.

Quality primary education is critical to the economic and social wellbeing of Zambia and we are delighted to receive this funding which will help to make that a reality. 

Building on The OU’s skills in, and experience of, education and teacher training across Africa, we will work with World Vision Zambia and Zambia’s Ministry of General Education to create an online professional development programme for primary school teachers across Zambia, focused on enabling them to take a student-centred approach to teaching. 

We’re grateful to the Scottish Government for supporting this important project.

Susan Stewart
Director of The Open University in Scotland

The project, which begins in October 2017 and will run to 2022, has been awarded a grant of £1,284,524 by the Scottish Government.

Dr Alasdair Allan, Minister for International Development at the Scottish Government, said: 

“Scotland is outward looking and a good global citizen and we are determined to take a stand in the fight against global poverty, injustice and inequality.

“These thirteen projects [including ZEST] will help individuals and families in Zambia and Rwanda and make a real and lasting difference to communities.”

You can find out more about The OU’s international development work here. ​

The Scottish Government press release, with information on all projects funded in this round, is here.  

Dr Lore Gallastegi, lead academic on the project, explains more in the video below: