Tusambilile Chapamo inclusive education

This analysis aims to quantify the additional costs of implementing the Tusambilile Chapamo inclusive education model and to identify the main cost drivers. From a health economics standpoint, it evaluates the efficiency of spending on community engagement, teacher training and school accessibility, and estimates the financial requirements of scaling the model across Muchinga Province.

The Tusambilile Chapamo project spent ZMW 21.15 million over four years, with most costs concentrated in coordination and school renovation. About half of expenditures were start‑up activities, while recurrent costs were smaller. Unit analyses show that infrastructure investments were the most expensive, while training activities were relatively low‑cost. Scaling to Muchinga Province is projected at ZMW 198 million over five years, dropping to ZMW 4.9 million annually once fully established.

The findings show that inclusive education requires significant initial investment but becomes financially manageable once systems are in place. The projected five‑year scale‑up represents a modest share of the provincial education budget and falls sharply in later years, supporting long‑term sustainability. Policymakers may reduce costs further by integrating activities into existing ministry structures and leveraging local funding for school renovations.

• The study used activity‑based costing to capture only incremental expenses attributable to inclusive education activities, drawing on financial records and output data from 2021–2025. A budget impact model, using the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization – International Institute of Educational Planning  (UNESCO IIEP) flow method, projected scale‑up costs using enrolment data, growth rates and unit costs, complemented by sensitivity analyses to test key cost assumptions.

Read the Tusambilile Chapamo project report