After three years, the ZESSTA (Zambia Education Sector Support Technical Assistance) facility came to an end on 31 January 2018.
Delivered by the British Council, ZESSTA has produced positive results in the education sector. Working with Zambia’s Ministry of General Education (MoGE), we provided technical assistance within a broad range of areas including public financial management, institutional leadership, knowledge management, teacher education, and curriculum assessment systems, to name but a few.
The results across all areas have been significant and provided valuable insight to help shape future interventions.
Work through ZESSTA has led to the development of several new policy frameworks and professional standards, including a Policy Framework for Early Childhood Education Implementation, the revision of Zambia’s Education Act, and the development of national learning assessment and training frameworks for teachers.
What makes ZESSTA transformational however is the way in which the technical assistance facility operates. ZESSTA adheres to the ethos of ‘do with, never for’ and the support given is in total collaboration with and at the request of MoGE. And, in that way, it is truly responsive to the Government of Zambia’s needs.
The success achieved through ZESSTA, in spite of its many operational challenges, proves that buy-in and long term capacity strengthening is best achieved through responsive, flexible technical assistance.
ZESSTA was funded by UK Aid and the Global Partnership for Education. Visit the ZESSTA website to access the legacy materials, including a podcast entitled ‘Green shoots of growth’ (co-produced by the Ministry), and a legacy blog on the Global Partnership for Education website.