GOVERNMENT will this year embark on the construction of university colleges in Katete, Solwezi, and Nalolo districts. Ministry of Education, Science, Vocational Training and Early Education permanent secretary Patrick Nkanza has said.
Dr Nkanza said when he officially opened the Zambia Education for All (EFA) review national consultative workshop in Lusaka yesterday that Government will continue with its policy of establishing public universities.
“The university college at Katete will offer applied arts while the one in Solwezi will offer technology and Science courses. The Nalolo university college will offer mathamatics and Science programmes,” Dr Nkanza said.
He also said Government has designed an innovative intervention programme called “Fast Track Teacher Training” and entered into partnership with different universities to help in upgrading of teachers’ qualifications.
Good move. Make it a reality.
Please ensure there is a degree program for Hygiene and Toilet cleaning at Solwezi University. But in Mongu give us law and Business programs.
AND PLEASE, INTRODUCE STUDENT LOANS FACILITY. WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? MORE STUDENT RIOTS? STUDENT LOANS WILL SOLVE A LOT OF PROBLEMS AS EVERY PASSING STUDENT WILL QUALIFY FOR A LOAN WHICH REPAYABLE WHEN THEY GRADUATE AND START WORKING.
Have the construction of the universities in Muchinga ,Western and Luapula provinces been completed?
Have these university colleges been budgeted for?If not where is the money going to come from?
What happened to the campaign promise from Dr.Phiri to increase accommodation in all our institutes?
Just asking,no politics please.
Stephen Masumba was ill-qualified to be lecturer at NIPA.
The Diploma in Market program has been cancelled.
These two constitute a microcosm of the elephant in the room.
The question requiring immediate attention is:
Where will quality professors/lecturers come from?
Erecting buildings is one thing, putting them to the intended use is another.
We entirely support this working holiday your Excellency. Clean up the mess both in Government hospitals, Government Agents and institutions that will make your Government deliver serious development now and beyond 2016 to the expectations of your people. Zambia is not just Lusaka and am sure you are more than informed that a lot of people did not support your effort when it mattered most and these should not pretend to be good to you toady simply because you are now in State House.
There are many young men and women who were with you through hard times whilst most big bwanas in higher offices had their legs in two camps and supporting your enemies.
This is time to reflect and put your devoted and loyal team to work.
God bless you your Excellency.
An excellent idea! But do we have the qualified lecturers? We don’t want mediocre qualifications. Right now most Zambian school leavers can hardly speak or write English.
Standards should be set high of we are to produce graduates of an international standard.
Enough of universities. Not all can be graduates. We need more artisan skills like bricklaying, carpentry, boilermaking and these can be taught starting in basic schools. The level/quality of such skills in Zambia is apalling!!!!
Right Quest! There is greater number of loitering school leavers needing skills than universities! Even these planed universities will need skilled labor to erect them! And what criteria is being used to choose Nalolo and Petauke instead of Mungu and Chipata? Typical of “Lusaka knows better what the outskirts need!” Misplaced priorities here better to rehabilitate teacher training institutions and colleges like NORRTEC and ZIT.
Spot on We need more craftsmen around
Iwe. Its University college. That is a different model to a full University. Read and understand statements before you rush to your comments
Trouble is we never hear of leaders speaking of “our human resources strategy to help us become the middle income nation we want to be in 30 years is this….
…..to support it requires us develop xxx number of doctors / scientists / engineers / artisans / commerce grads / security specialists etc.. annually and we only have and produce xxx of them today.
….many more continue to leave because of 1,2,3 in the local environment hence the need to change this law and that and this….
..current colleges / university capacity is xxxx which is insufficient hence the need to build this and that. Current quality is LOW hence the need to invest in improving existing infrastructure……
Then govt actions make sense
EL is Nsenga now they need a university in Katete. Come on.
Yeah right! The late Sata built stadiums and Universities in each province ka!
To me it sounds like Lungu administration is going to build castles in the air.
Your observation is very correct.We need more trade schools.Take a leaf from Zimbambwe.We are tired of our children going round with degrees begging for jobs.What we need are people who can employ themselves after that education.We have alot of mathematicians already.Entrace should be grade 9 and grade twelve drop outs.Some youths have not gone further in education due to different factors.
Here we go, universities of individuals:
Katete is for President Edgar Lungu
Nalolo is for Vice-President Inonge Wina.
Universities in Muchinga will never be finished, the owner died.
I will agree with many people that Zambians might be second highest percentage of f***lish ministers and civil servants.
Now you are talking curriculum not institutions, but I support that. Along with appropriate institutions, we should refocus our school curricula and syllabi to make it practical and production oriented not so much Job oriented so that graduates can immediately become productive even just after leaving secondary school.
In addition we need to create community centres where those who are hard of learning through the book can be taught by practical means. I mean how many people have learnt various trades from their fathers or uncles back yards. But there are some not so fortunate to have had industrious fathers or uncles who could benefit from such centres.
In fact some of the best mechanics I’ve found use only their God given resources like eyes and ears to solve complicated engine…
Speed up these projects. In Zambia the first problem at higher education is access, only about 7% access university education. This is mainly on account of lack of places.
So those that were promising free university education would have provided free university education to the few while majority would have continued to be left out. Free would have diverted funds from infrastructure development to bursaries, salaries for teachers, materials and such things.
They didn’t understand the real problem!
Zambia has alot of trades school in case yu dont. Don’t just argue for sake of it. There are millions of tradesmen in zambia who govt is trying to upgrade their skills hence the bridging college/university. If yu live abroad stop boasting with what muzungu sweated for.
You haven’t even laid a single stone or brick at lewanika university you start making new pronouncements please spare us this unending drama
Haven’t you heard that those people want to break away from Zambia? TheGRZ should hold on otherwise it will build a university and a stadium for another country.
These f.o.ols. You wonder whether they are thinking or not.
I commend the government on this one as we have far too few places for graduate entrants and the fact that these are university colleges, it shows that artisan and craft skills will be taken care of. Before you think of recruiting lecturers you need to have infrastructure (Buildings) ready and the Govt is doing just that. The good thing here is that they are proposing these in the region that did not vote for them. I call that an inclusive govt.
The building of universities is timely. After 50 years of independence, it is necessary to provide skills to the workforce at the highest level in all sectors. The selection of campus sites seems random and unplanned. More dialogue at provincial levels can help here but in the long run all corners of the country will be covered. Bravo!!!
Education is the way 4ward.
We have heard this info before & it is not worth news until we progress on the ground. But why university colleges when Muchinga has new full universities?
Small brained f.oo.l. Everything you want to politicize. Do you even know what a university college is. So what if muchinga has full universities, is it only for muchingas? Is Lungu from muchinga….i know you are driving to the tribal debate which is now sounding like a broken record
You object to everything. Whats your problem ??????
No wonder you get ignored
The gov’t is doing very well, people SHOULD be happy.
Zambians always moan and groan. Moving on to another complaint after another, and another.
No one seems proud to be Zambian. People are against their gov’t and treat the gov’t as a dream shop to bring about their specific dreams.
Support your gov’t and be a Patriot. After all you get to vote them out if they don’t do good.
Negative mentality.
But then again, the politicians do a very poor job of rolling out their developmental plans. For instance, the construction of the three universities have been announced in piecemeal while being stingy with detail. Why can’t the president hold a press conference and sell his plan to the nation, so we all have a clear understanding of how everything fits? And assign costs and targeted sources of funding while you are at it.
Things in Zambia will begin to change when begin to demand better without berating each other, starting with politicians wanting the masses to know and be part of what is going on.
Never heard of a university college….do these empty tins know the difference between a university and a college?
You are just showing your ignorance trying to sound wise. There exists university colleges across the world, which are not full universities, but are above colleges. So don’t insult when you can just ask those who know….
This madness must stop forthwith. As tax payers, we are fed up of universities without lecturers targeted in influential politicians’ home villages. This madness, I repeat, must stop forthwith!
The term “university college” is used in a number of countries to denote college institutions that provide tertiary education but do not have FULL or independent university status. A university college is often part of a larger university. The precise usage varies from country to country.
When is Chinsali university opening ???
‘Nalolo and Katete’ my foot! Why can’t PF finish the already half structures of would be universities in Muchinga and Mongu b4 embarking on new pronouncements. Hurriedly and disjointed development will always cost this nation of meager resources. So every other president will take a university to his/her home area. “Me too” syndrome at very best
Akidabweni fye!
If already embarked on project stall for new ones, PF will not deserve it come 2016. Continuity doesn’t mean abandoning what you found. Watch it
@Kamanga…….
I totally agree with you. That is how planning documents ought to be written. That is what most Zambian policy documents lack! Data.
Nalolo!! Why? What is wrong with Namushakende where the late President had pronounced to construct King Lewanika University? Mongu is even better because basic infrastructure already exists. Nalolo is just a village with no basic social and utility infrastructure (water, electricity, satelite institutions, connectivity and centrality, etc) to synergise with a university. As a result it would cost much more. If intellectuals like Dr Nkanza were given an opportunity to plan these things, things would be different. So Bo Inonge is excited to the extent of almost naming the University after herself and NOT after King Lewanika!! Sure???
So you want Nalolo to forever remain backward? It’s opening such facilities there that will quicken the coming of all other requisites like electricity, roads, shopping malls etc…
Zambians must have a wider choice of where to work or live not just Lusaka, Ndola or Livingstone.
More degrees than on a thermometer. You are making people to be unemployable! Who wants to employ a motor mechanic with a degree in tyre fitting and engine oil changing!
#Beee, walitupa. Tabakufundile bwino. Can’t you make your comment without insulting, you cursed being? Why didn’t you tell your Sata that he was being tribal by constructing 2 universities in Muchinga when other pronvices did not have any? Where is money for Muchinga coming from?
Mr President, why not start with the King Lewanika University and the Mongu Stadium before dreaming of new unbudgeted for ventures?
Where are you going to get the money from: from kaloba vulture funds. It is easy to dream of spending, but show us the money first- how are you going to increase our wealth? Do not borrow when you do not reasonable means of paying back – fraudulent loan deal?
In any case, why mass produce graduates of low calibre? Why not improve on the quality of the graduates first, instead of generating half-baked ones who end up roaming the streets?
It does not help to have so many Universities which you can’t manage. India with more than 1.2billion people has less than 800 Universities. These universities include private and public ones. She has more than 12, 000 colleges. This means the bigger investment is at college level.
At University Level we need to invest more in quality rather than quantity. If we can invest in one engineer who can manufacturer plane, it is better than having ten graduate engineers who are just mechanics. Our education standards should be high and adequate, enough to develop human capital required to develop the country. Zimbabwe has less than 5 public Universities yet Zimbabwe has higher education and literacy rate than Zambia