Friday, March 29, 2024

Zambia: The Opportunity to Pursue Higher Education

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The news concerning the thousands of our fellow citizens who have withdrawn from the University of Zambia where they were accepted to pursue studies because they could not get government bursaries is disgraceful. It is shameful that at a time when our beloved country is about to celebrate 50 years of independence, we cannot afford to provide bursaries and/or loans to all our fellow citizens who have worked so hard over the years to finally get a nod to pursue higher education.

In 1917, a philosopher by the name Alfred North Whitehead warned about the ill-fated destiny of any given country that does not make meaningful investments in its people’s education that is perhaps truer today than it was during his time; he said: “In the conditions of modern life, the rule is absolute … [a nation] which does not value [education] … is doomed.”

Accessible and high-quality education can, therefore, be said to be the most important investment a government can make, simply because it is practically not possible for any country to succeed in the pursuit of other human endeavors without adequate pools of skilled and enlightened citizens.

In other words, education is the linchpin that holds together all the other facets and spheres of human endeavor, such as agriculture and food security, public health and sanitation, socioeconomic development, science and technology, national defence and security, environmental stewardship, peace and stability, and international relations.

In this regard, I wish to revisit my earlier press releases concerning the provision of education in Zambia, with special emphasis on the financing of higher education.

Funding of Higher Education

There is a need for the government to increase spending on higher education in order to enhance the quality of instruction, basic research, and administration at the University of Zambia, the Cop-perbelt University, Mulungushi University, and at all the government-funded colleges and institutes.

There is also a need to ensure that the training to be provided in technical and vocational training institutions is designed to develop and enhance trainees’ technical knowledge and skills consistent with the changing needs of commercial, industrial, and agricultural sectors of our country’s economy.

In other words, it is essential to craft an educational and training regime that does not only equip the citizenry with the knowledge and skills needed in developing our country, but also one that is designed to equip each and every citizen with the knowledge and skills they need to succeed in the global marketplace of the 21st century.

Besides, a “Loans and Scholarships Committee” should be constituted under the auspices of the Ministry of Finance to replace the Bursaries scheme, which I thought was abolished by the MMD government in 2004. The Committee should be charged with the responsibility of disbursing loans and scholarships to students and trainees in both private and public colleges and universities based in Zambia as stipulated below.

1) Loans and Scholarships: We should create a fund designed to provide loans and scholarships to gifted Zambian scholars, research-ers, and apprentices to pursue educational and training programs within Zambia, and disburse the funds as follows:

  • High-school graduates who would obtain a Division 1 should be automatically awarded scholarships upon being accepted at any Zambian college or university.
  • High-school graduates who would not obtain a Division 1 should be granted with low-interest loans to pursue studies at Zambian colleges or universities where they would be accepted to pursue studies. And
  • All citizens who would graduate from Zambian colleges or universities with “Distinction” should be automatically awarded scholarships to pursue higher educational and/or training programs upon securing places at accredited colleges or universities based in Zambia.

2) Loans to Working Citizens: Low-interest government loans should also be made available to working Zambian men and women wishing to pursue further studies and/or training in order to enhance their professional and general knowledge and skills.

3) Debt Forgiveness: To promote scholarship and academic excellence in tertiary education, loan recipients who would graduate with “Distinction” should be absolved of 75% of their debt obligations, while those who shall graduate with “merit” shall be absolved of 50% of their debt obligations.

Also, loan recipients who would decide to work in the educational, agricultural, and healthcare sectors, or in any of the branches of Zambia’s defence forces, for at least 4 years should be absolved of 100% of their debt obligations.

And provision for debt forgiveness should inevitably require private tertiary institutions to adopt objective and strict admissions criteria and academic standards to be generated by the Ministry of Education, Training and Sport in collaboration with all relevant stakeholders.

4) Enforceable Contracts: Applicants for government loans and their co-signers should be required to sign enforceable contracts at partici-pating financial institutions to be designated by the Ministry of Finance obliging them to repay the loans through their part-time, vocational, and/or permanent employment at 5% of their gross monthly incomes, regardless of the countries where the incomes are to be earned. Locally based employers should be required to effect the deductions.

Other Sources of Funding

  1. In addition to government loans and scholarships, there is a need for the government to encourage commercial banks and other financial institutions operating in Zambia to consider lending for education as part of their business portfolio. The Indo-Zambia Bank students’ loan scheme that was launched at Mulungushi University in April 2009 was a good start in this endeavor.
  2. It is also important for locally based business and non-business organizations to provide scholarships to employees and/or high school graduates to make it possible for them to pursue studies at institutions of higher learning and eventually re-join or join the sponsor-organizations upon completion of studies.
  3. The Ministry of Education should design an ambitious program aimed at securing scholarships for talented Zambian citizens through our beloved country’s development partners.
  4. The government should indefinitely delay the construction of new institutions of higher learning and immediately channel the financial resources earmarked for such institutions to provide bursaries for the thousands of citizens who have withdrawn from the University of Zambia due to the lack of government bursaries.It makes no sense to construct new institutions of higher learning when those who are accepted to pursue higher education cannot take up their places due to lack of funding.
  5. The government should also gradually reduce its involvement in operating state-owned companies in order to ease the financial burden of such companies on the public treasury.
  6. 6) After the next general elections, essential government functions will need to be performed by a fewer number of Cabinet Ministers, and 1 Deputy Minister for each government ministry.
  7. Complementary or executive government agencies should be managed by a small ensemble of technocrats to save both financial and material resources for application in meeting some of the basic needs and expectations of the people.
  8. There is a need for a reduction in the number of Zambia’s foreign embassies by having clusters of countries to be served by single embassies through extra-accreditation.
  9. The position of District Commissioner and any other sinecures in the government structure should be abolished.
  10. Parliament should work with the Electoral Commission of Zambia to enact pieces of legislation designed to reduce the incidence and the cost of by-elections.
  11.  There is a need for the government to bolster economic growth and job creation through lower interest rates, lower value-added tax, and lower income taxes in order to make it possible for individuals and business entities to keep more of their hard-earned incomes for investment, savings, and consumption and consequently broaden the tax base by getting more citizens to work who would pay taxes. And
  12. There is a need to consolidate government services in order for government operations to yield cost savings; the consolidation of services should include the following:
  • (a) Incorporation of the functions of the Disaster Management and Mitigation Unit (DMMU) that is currently vested in the Office of the Vice-President into the functions of the Zambia National Service (ZNS) in order to make it more efficient and effective by making it less prone to political meddling and manipulation;
  • (b) Creation of an autonomous Bureau of Statistics and Archives to replace the Central Statistics Office (CSO) and the National Archives of Zambia (NAZ) so that the new entity can freely and independently collect, process, maintain, publish, and archive essential data and information about our country;
  • (c) Detachment of the Food Reserve Agency (FRA) from the Ministry of Agriculture and conversion of the Agency into an autonomous body in order for it to perform its duties without any political meddling or manipulation, and to broaden its mandate to the provision of assistance to the needy by incorporating the functions of the Public Welfare Assistance Scheme currently administered through the Ministry of Community Development and Social Services, includ-ing the Social Cash Transfer Scheme; and
  • (d) Removal of public assistance to chiefs from the office of the Republican president and place it under the aegis of the Ministry of Community Development and Social Services, which should deal directly with the House of Chiefs in matters relating to the various forms of assistance extended to chiefs, including the allowances or subsidies granted to chieftains, electrification of chieftains’ palaces, the procurement of motor vehicles for chieftains, and any other matters relating to the welfare of chieftains.

Higher Education Authority

The creation of a new Higher Education Authority (HEA) to improve the quality of education and training, and to establish a national regulatory framework for education and training in the country, is, in principle, a good idea. Also, the contemplated establishment of a National Health Research Authority (NHRA) is an idea that should be supported by all well-meaning Zambians.

However, there is a need to seriously consider the prospect of creating a National Education and Training Authority (NETA) – an umbrella-kind-of authority that should be charged with the responsibility of monitoring, regulating, and bolstering the standard and quality of education and training in the country.

Such an Authority should be composed of three standing committees, that is: (a) a Standing Committee on Formal Education; (b) a Standing Committee on Tertiary Education; and (c) a Standing Committee on Health and Medical Training.

By Henry Kyambalesa

The author, Mr. Henry Kyambalesa, is a Zambian academic currently residing in the City and County of Denver in the United States of America.

38 COMMENTS

  1. Private sector and rich individuals should participate in this initiative. Government has a lot on its plate though you may argue otherwise, the cost of Education is high anywhere in the world but there are a lot of ways to sustain it. There should not be classes of division 1 and what have you because we are all in it together whether division one or not. The country will only develop if every one participates.
    Tax evasion should be discouraged by all(any) means (e.g. Post Newspaper and the like) … there should be a way of collection of revenue by both the local authorities and government at large at a set time and date. The students can be employed as tax collectors and in the process rewarded with an education because they will realise that if they do not collect then they won’t…

    • I completely feel I am liberty to comment before many on this topic

      I got 23 points in grade 12 and easily passed to go to grade 10 (388 points) .

      Also I did a a Bsc, Msc, MBA ACCA CIMA, MPA and i am inmy latter stages of my PhD and I am only 27 years of age

      I am paid almost £29,000 a year alone

      I hope I am not showing off just merely saying education pays
      and I have a Toyota Yaris

      Thanks

    • Government cannot abrogate its responsibility of educating its youth, especially in a poor economy like ours where there are so many indigent families. Zimbabwe as we all know has one of Africa’s highest literacy levels and Mugabe continues to grant scholarships to thousands of school leavers to South African and overseas universities. This is in addition to those on government bursaries within Zim. But why are we the only ones going backwards? How can you see sense in investing in roads and expect to sustain them if you can’t invest in those who should maintain them? With the escalating cost of education most families wont be coping with school fees, especially that almost all of GRZ’s goods & services are rendered by Chinese companies who repatriate a monies to China, leaving us…

    • WHETHER ZERO POINTS OR 40 POINTS NO FREE EDUCATION, NO BURSERY , NO SCHOLARSHIP LET PEOPLE WORK FOR THEIR EDUCATION WHO TOLD THEM TO BE POOR? EVEN CHINA EVERYBODY PAYS FOR EDUCATION AND UNIVERSITY SELECTION IS VERY COMPETETITIVE BUT STILL SPONSOR YOUR OWN ASS….Why kubala wana nga simungakwanise???

    • @Mushota, why are you there suffering in the UK? Come to South Africa where with those qualifications (if they are real) you won’t earn anything less R1.2million (64,000 UK Sterling pound) per year. Ala you’re suffering!!!!

    • @Gift, concur. We need to improve access to education for the poor and bursaries given ONLY to poor students whose parents earn below a average pay, especially village folk.

      @Mushota….Gasp at your low pay for all your qualifications!! When I worked in Investment Banking, as an IT Analyst, I earned more even without finishing my 1st degree. I later worked as a Senior Support Assistant to Heads of Banking in an American Investment Bank in Canary Wharf and earned £30-35K pro rata. And my colleagues and I did not have half your list of qualifications!! Now after my Masters And recession, I am being targeted for £40-50K by my head hunters. You need to come down to London for better wages!

  2. I agree with this article only that I dont entirely agree with the points stressed on loan forgiveness. .. its only prudent after grz spending so much on these loans that recipients should repay duly….

    how I wish even one cabinet minister to read and understand this article and take grz to task .

  3. One solution is to provide “performance-based” scholarships and bursaries. There must be no guarantee that the bursary will subsist for the entire duration of study; instead continuity must be on the basis of upholding good scholarship (as determined by the funder or bursary provider). There is always this belief that everyone must be treated the same, regardless. This has killed initiative, produced gluttony and encouraged callous behavior on both sides (the student and the funders). Lets take the best of systems that have worked and put them to good use.

    • Another thing: divorce the implicit tie-up of funding with university education. I believe private universities are doing pretty well in this regard as only those that are sure they will fund their education go there. Admission to an institution of higher learning must not in itself imply funding.

  4. If you think education is expensive, try paying for ignorance.

    You weep your mother and will your pants.

    Part of the adventure of acquiring higher education is finding the money to do so. Those who are serious will find a way, come hell or high waters.

  5. 50 years of self-rule and the university of Zambia still enrolls a paltry 10,000 students. The population expands exponentially at 3.5% yearly while student enrollment is static and now the govt can’t afford to finance even this minutiae number of pupils. Yet money for by-elections, salaries and excessive fringe benefits for the head of state and his assistants is never a problem. When they say Zambia is a laughing stock of Southern Africa, may be even that is an understatement. There’s some iD1ocy deeply embedded in the governance system!

  6. Privitise UNZA, period and stop ifyapambale ifya-free. It’s time for Zambian people to refrain from getting free education and learn to work hard.

    • Even in America one can get sponsorship if one shows promise. The problem in Zambia is lack of clear long term policies. No proper educational reforms have taken place since independence. Our ministers lack creativity. For instance, why do we need to have five year degree courses when these can be cut to three years if schools could provide pre-university qualifications? This would not only decongest the institutions but would also save a lot of money. Local colleges of higher education can also be built in all urban centres. Such colleges can then provide not only grade 12 qualifications but also various qualification up to higher national diplomas. Because they are local, students would not need to leave home and stay in congested hostels.

    • There has also been lack of well thought out communication from our minister of education. Instead of giving a full statement on what has gone wrong, he is busy playing politics. Unfortunately, that is what we have come to expect. In the meantime, the likes of Kambwili, who has no time for education, is saying that it is not government’s responsibility to provide education. Presumably tax payers money is only meant for the exclusive enjoyment of MPs and government officials.

    • Much of money allocated to UNZA is spent on unplanned workshops, travels, fuel and double class lecturing. School of engineering lecturers are just on lookout for donors to give them projects they spend much of UNZA’s time.

      There’s no free lunch. Hence no free education. The sponsorship you told about comes in form of a loan whereby payment is done once student start working.

  7. Lusaka times in my view is the best online credible source of information in Zambia unlike the Watchdog which specializes in scandalizing and maligning innocent peoples characters.As a UPND platform,see how they want to destroy the new MP madam Christabel.If i were Sata,i was going to appoint the lady as Minister just to shame them.HH Cow dung online of Dogs should one day face the law and be able to account for their sins….surely that day is coming soon.Its paining me as a woman and in 2016 i cant waste my vote on promoting watchdog….indeed they are dogs who don’t reason.When u post something contrary to what they want,they don’t publish.The PF gvt shud sort out these foolish chaps or dogs who want to bring cowdung in Cairo road and at Statehouse.

  8. I remember we used to have a 1 yr gap year before enrolling into these so called institutions of higher learning., if you go to UNZA and ask the bursar or indeed go to the bursaries commitee you`ll be told that the criterea is still that of giving those students who have served their gap years, the majority of the students who have been denied bursaries are 2013 graduates who do not qualify for a busary this year but next year.
    the system has been confused by the early release of the results and the frequent closures which have changed the shape and timing of the start of calender year at UNZA.

    so please face the facts and just tell the 2013 intake to wait their turn in 2015, Zambia is poor and people need to learn to share the few resources we have.

  9. The world is full of standards.aim for the education that u can pay for so that u don’t cry loud.the world under its state will never be free because of man rule.fairness,yes shall be preached for but it shall remain in the wind and paper.as a human from different levels of society,let’s keep on fighting by chance we get what we want.

  10. @Katoz, that is totally TRUE. Even if I was to offer loans to each prospective student, it wouldn’t a viable undertaking as a good number of those will flank and disappear into oblivion with no means of loan recovery. Yes! Let every parent/guardian or welwisher sucrifice for the first year, work hard and then qualify for a bursary. As for Kyambalesa, indeed, your suggestions border on constitution change, but alas! all those points are not covered but our puerile politicians are only interested in the fifty plus one!!!

  11. Dr phiri what has changed today for UNZA to come up with 6000 first yrs? All the same natural selection has done its part. painful as it may not every one wud go to UNZA some qualification others health and some money. its not PF but law of nature

  12. Might be helpful for most of these organizations e.g. The post, KCM etc. busy evading tax and fighting with government to change there focus and identify UNZA and other institutions as an opportunity, draw into the potential of these college entrants, use their youth to engage them innovate new ideas by sponsoring some of their projects make money and steer the country forward. Shift away from greed for once. There is a genuine opportunity here for once.

  13. Ignorance and poverty are a huge business in africa of which both the western and african governments are beneficiaries not to mention the NGO’s.
    Look at how the so called prophets have seized the opportunity.

  14. Higher education is not free. The government has the obligation to provide for education from grade 1 to grade 12. After that it is the responsibility of the parents. This dependency on the government is waht is making this country dependent 50years after independence….

    • True. This senseless feeling of entitlement we have should come to an end at once. Scholarships can be provided but these should be paid back and it’s up to the government to implement a mechanism to recover the money, just like in the US and Canada.

  15. You cannot award scholarships to everyone that gets a division 1, that’s just ridiculous. Who is going to pay for that with a broke government like ours?. There should be a limited number of scholarships and more loans just like in the US and Canada. People should pay back the money. There’s nothing for free in this world and it’s time we as Zambians start getting used to this. This senseless feeling of entitlement we have should end at once.

  16. Before looking somewhere else for college/university education funding, people should start from within their households. Parents are expected to be the number one source for their children’s education expenses. It’s our choice to have children and our responsibility to educate them and not the government. Even banks will not lend you 100% of the cost, unless otherwise. They are willing to bridge the gap between the expected family contribution and any scholarships/grants/bursaries received.
    Remember the government has no mechanism in place to track down defaulters in the event they fail to pay back the loans. How many teachers, doctors, nurses has the government educated but left the country to work abroad?

  17. WHETHER ZERO POINTS OR 40 POINTS NO FREE EDUCATION, NO BURSERY , NO SCHOLARSHIP LET PEOPLE WORK FOR THEIR EDUCATION WHO TOLD THEM TO BE POOR? EVEN CHINA EVERYBODY PAYS FOR EDUCATION AND UNIVERSITY SELECTION IS VERY COMPETETITIVE BUT STILL SPONSOR YOUR OWN ASS

  18. In the UK, your student loan is assessed according to your or parents earnings. If you or your parents earn over a certain amount you may not get your student loan.

    Zambia has a lot of its population still poor because of exclusion. It therefore follows that the best way is to support students according to whether they can afford it as above. It is unfair for wealthy peoplein Zambia to get bursaries for their bright kids, because they have privilege to go to better schools (some private). Rich people can afford a good environment for their children to come top in academic performance. The solution is to STOP giving wealthy people bursaries, and adopt the British method that makes study bursaries Income Assessed. It stops being about high achieving only, but about ACCESS…

    • Increase access to education for poor.
      In the UK, there is a large assortment of extra curricular learning and many evening academic courses that can be taken by pupils who can’t access university learning. The current development of Online courses provided for free by Open Source can also be adapted in Zambia so that the poor can access education. This will mean aggressive Internet Networks installed across the country into poor areas and free access for students paid by gov’t.

      Bottom line Bright kids from rich families should NOT be getting handouts from gov’t in this day and age. They must not get bursaries, those should be for poor qualifying students regardless of how many poor manage to get the pass marks(divisions).

  19. I see why Zambians don’t like you people in diaspora, you are saying education is not free but we know most of you are busy burdening other countries’ s coffers, this government is too much CNP, this as a result of lack of planning than no money, PF was warned about colossal expenditure on elections now you have no money to educate our future leaders, I would rather spend money on students because it stays in the system than giving it all to the Chinese.

  20. Imwe mwebantu, my hubby never went to school and you elected him as president for all Zambians, educated and non educated like him. Some of you danced the whole night naked. Anyway coming to the point, does education really pay? The answer of course is no. Am benefiting from an educated man, when i was a so called doctor i relied on doing TOPs for survival. God have mercy on me! And look at the kaponyas they make more in their pockets from selling along the streets, they pay no taxes like KCM and Post Newspapers. They have build mansions in the Kombonis and the so called, some of us, the pen pushers rent their accomodation. In short UNZA is not the solution for poverty, girls look for potential presidents you will enjoy life like me the so called doctor Kasebana.

  21. Education is now for the rich.Ba PF no plan,only creating districts.Well done Kambwili you got a degree.. so I hear.

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