By CHRISTINE MWAABA –
VARNISHED desks are arranged in neat rows with computer screens perched on each one in a classroom at Lubengele Primary School in Chililabombwe and behind the desks are adults determined to learn.
Still on the desks are piles of textbooks arranged in heaps and then a teacher walks into a classroom as students take an upright and attentive sitting posture.
This is not a typical primary school classroom as some students are not in uniform and are in their day-to-day regular wear.
These students appear a little different because they are learners on a Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) funded adult literacy programme running since 2014.
The Ministry of General Education provides teachers and classrooms at some Chililabombwe and Chingola schools while KCM caters for finances to run this unique education programme.

• An adult learner Mulima Mwandwa, 54, sits in front of a computer as other students are seen behind him at Lubengele Primary School in Chililabombwe.

The adult literacy programme was initially targeted at empowering out-of-school mothers and market traders with basic literacy skills. However, as word went round about the programme, it attracted widespread attention from communities.
Adults have different stories about their journey into adult education but a constant theme from many of them is how the unavailability of parental support during childhood affected their education.
Mulima Mwandwa, 54, a married father of four who now holds trade qualifications in carpentry and joinery and has also undergone formal motor vehicle driver training, was proud to finally hold a formal academic qualification.
Speaking in polished English, Mr Mwandwa said despite having trade qualifications, his lack of formal academic qualifications had negatively affected his search for formal employment.
“I have certificates, but none of them are academic,” he said.
As a result, he has been limited to running small-scale businesses inhibiting his ability to earn more money.
Mr Mwandwa recalled how he ignored some discouragement over going back to school because of his age.
His mother had been the main source of inspiration and he was already looking forward to going all the way to Grade 12 and pursue a medical degree thereafter.
Asked whether he didn’t feel a medical degree might be too ambitious, Mr Mwandwa smiled and said, “not so long ago returning to school to study felt the same, but now I have a grade seven certificate. It’s never too late.
“There’s no end to education unless you don’t want to learn,” he said.
On the other hand, Richard Banda, 33, who scored 732 marks intoned, “I realised how important school was when I was working as a contractor employee. Without certificates, it is difficult to achieve much.”
“My son and I studied together. I enjoyed sitting down and solving mathematics problems with him. Sometimes he would help me and other times I would be the one to help him. My son is brilliant,” Mr Banda said.
The outcome for Jane Zimba, 26, sounds like a fairy tale. “I used to think of it only as a dream. In the market they initially thought I was not serious when I told them I was going to school at the end of the day. But now, I have written exams and I have a certificate,” said Ms Zimba, who scored 711 marks.
Maureen Twaili, aged 33, dropped out of school in grade six to help care for her siblings after the separation of her parents.
The housewife and mother of three heard about the KCM adult learning programme from a friend in 2014 and she became curious about whether it was actually a chance for her to continue her formal schooling.
Having helped three younger siblings complete their secondary education, Ms Twaili brushed off ridicule from her peers and began to fill her days  with school work again.
“I just had a strong urge to learn,” she recalled.
With her siblings insisting that she completes her education, and her husband and two school-going children urging her on, Ms Twaili worked her way to 724 marks in the Grade seven examinations, no mean achievement at her age. She reflects on the impact of her first step and praises the partnership between KCM and the Government.
“They don’t know the full value of what they have done for us. We ask God to bless KCM and the Government for this important gesture,” she said
Ms Twaili’s early doomsayers have also changed their tune after seeing her results, with many of them reportedly also showing interest in enlisting for the literacy programme themselves.
Bridget Nyemba, a teacher with the adult literacy programme credits the pupils’ commitment to learning and interest for their impressive results.
Ms Nyemba pointed to group effort among the learners as a reason for the high overall pass rate in the 2016 examinations.
She lauded the Government and KCM for bringing this programme.
“Adults can now read and write and are being recognised in the drive for education.”
Mr Mwandwa who had 701 marks said: “I want to educate my children to get better marks and a better life.”
Veronica Kaunda, 29, who scored 723 marks narrated her rough road to academia. “I would sell tomatoes from home during the day and after the children would go to bed, I used to wake up late in the evening to study and revise.”
Moreover, Lackson Chibebe, 26, who got 736 marks said, “I started attending the lessons because I wanted to secure my future. I used to spend a lot of time looking for piece work, but then I started to attend the classes and focused on that.”
KCM community relations manager Brian Siatubi said the latest count showed that 493 adults were enrolled in various streams from grade seven to 10.
The group of six sitting in the classroom at Lubengele Primary School is part of a small section of students who sat for grade seven examinations in 2016.
Forty of the students were part of the successful 2016 grade seven intake set to proceed to grade eight at Chililabombwe Secondary School where the programme has expanded to offer higher education.
Mr Siatubi said 56 of the adults that sat for national examinations at grade seven and nine levels qualified to go to the next stage of education.
Forty of the adults made it to grade eight while 16 of them would progress to grade 10.
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation data shows that sub-Saharan Africa has the lowest adult literacy rates worldwide, with close to one third of adults in the region unable to read and write.
Such adult literacy efforts are a key part in attaining national literacy targets and achieving United Nations Sustainable DevelopmentGoal (SDG) number four of promoting education and lifelong learning opportunities for all.
Overall, the KCM literacy programme results are a precedent set and worth emulating by other multinational companies to foster local literary development.