A/HRC/61/50/Add.1 F. Religious education 69. The majority of Zambian pupils attend government schools, which are nominally free for grades 1 to 7, although parents may have to pay “contributions”, or buy uniforms from the schools. During the meeting with the Minister of Education and other high-level officials, the Special Rapporteur was informed that improvement of the educational system was a priority for the Government of Zambia. As the Special Rapporteur was driving through rural areas, she noted the existence of primary schools in many villages and often also secondary schools, many offered by religious entities. However, with very few exceptions, Zambian schools are chronically underresourced (reportedly with a 1:80 teacher-to-student ratio) and educational standards are extremely low. Another concurrent problem relates to girls dropping out of school, due to early marriage, teenage pregnancy, discriminatory traditional and cultural practices and poverty, especially in rural areas. 70. The Government requires religious instruction in all schools from ages 6 to 15. Students may request education in their own religion, and may opt out of religious instruction only if the school is not able to accommodate their request. Religious Education after the age of 15 is optional and is not offered at all schools.51 The Constitution allows religious groups the right to establish and maintain private schools and provide religious instruction to members of their religious communities. The current Constitution declares, under article 19 (2), that religious instruction cannot be compulsory; based on the wording of that article, a guardian may have to opt a child into religious instruction, though there is no stated ability for a child to opt themselves out in line with their evolving capacities. 71. The Religious Education curriculum of the Zambian education system focuses on Christian teachings but also incorporates comparative studies of Islam, Hinduism and traditional beliefs.52 Religious Education in Zambian schools between 2011 and 2022 has been found to be poor, as teachers and candidates (for examinations) have a “negative attitude towards Religious Education, poor instructional materials for Religious Education, poor teaching approaches by Religious Education teachers, and curriculum design mismatch with material content and assessments”.53 According to one 2018 study: Most stakeholders argued that Religious Education should become more inclusive, but others asserted that due to the declaration of Zambia as a Christian nation, Religious Education should be exclusive to Christianity. This trend defeats the educational aim of Religious Education, which is the acquisition of knowledge, skills, attitudes and values. The dominance of a single religion in Religious Education risks limiting awareness of religious diversity and deprives learners of a genuine space for dialogue with other religions.54 72. The Special Rapporteur heard that freedom of religion or belief standards are not adequately upheld. Many teachers have been found to offer confessional Christian religious instruction, and not Religious Education as such, even though the Ministry of Education mandates a multi-faith approach. G. Access to justice and dearth of jurisprudence 73. There are reportedly 5,000 lawyers across Zambia for a population of over 20 million. This seriously challenges access to justice. Legal authorities and experts all acknowledged the dearth of jurisprudence related to freedom of religion or belief and non-discrimination on that basis. The costs, delay and inaccessibility of lawyers go some way to explaining this lack of jurisprudence, though the authorities report that this is being mitigated through efforts to simplify and digitize access to justice. 51 52 53 54 GE.26-02761 See https://www.state.gov/reports/2023-report-on-international-religious-freedom/zambia/. See https://www.edu.gov.zm/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/RELIGIOUS-EDUCATION-SYLLABUS5-02-2024-FINAL-CORRECTED-FOR-PRINTING.pdf. See https://www.researchgate.net/publication/381670270_Issue_No_1_in_Senior_Secondary_Religious_ Education_Examinations_in_Zambia. See https://dspace.unza.zm/server/api/core/bitstreams/a60d36ec-0543-4b83-88febc5f4ae5d6f4/content. 13