Friday, March 29, 2024

Solve UNZA impass, MP

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Munali member of Parliament, Mumbi Phiri has called on Education Minister, Geoffrey Lungwangwa to try and address demands made by the the University of Zambia Lecturers and Researchers Union (UNZALARU).

Ms. Phiri said addressing demands made by UNZALARU is the only way to avoid the looming strike at the institution of higher learning.

She said demands by the union must be met so that there is peace when students re-open classes next month.

Ms. Phiri also called on the Ministry of Education to improve the students hostels at the institution.

On the land at Munali Secondary School, Ms. Phiri questioned why the land meant for construction of teachers houses and extension of the school has been allocated to people.

She was contributing to debate under the Ministry of Education in Parliament this afternoon.

58 COMMENTS

  1. It is a shame that LPM, graduated from UNZA’s law school and yet his handling of UNZA and CBU, the most important institutions of higher learning is that of a person who cannot spell UNZA. One wonders whether he really passed his studies or his motor accident changed his brain for worse. UNZA and CBU ought to be our premier universities with world class facilities and programs instead of being made to look like war zones where infrastructure is broken, staff demoralized, students glassy eyed due to absence of real learning resources.

  2. GRZ, we have had the same problem at UNZA relapsing. This shows that we have missed the root cause of these unza and cbu problems.

    please, be serious about the lecturing and learning environment at unza. Students need to finish their study programmes in normal time and then move on to do other things in their life time.

  3. hahahah i remember when i passed my sugo exams, i wanted to go to the school of humanities but i was instead sent to the school of education, people not deserving went to humanities and natural sciences and out of frustration i now live in diaspora. surely how do you expect such kind of behavior to loom at an institution of higher education and expect competent graduates to come from there.last time i ust read the paper that some named UNZA people where arrested by ACC for tempering into the computers so that to give seats to undeserving students.

  4. i love zed and but at the saem time i dont like the situations wich is prevailing at institutions of higher education such as UNZA and CBU. the GRZ should do something about it the institutions should be the roll model for our countries education not mentioning the fast movement of an information technology in all. what the heck is the damm minister of education doing anyway, just getting fat out of moneys meant for UNZA or what….

  5. whilst funding is a problem at UNZA/CBU…the major problem is the competency of the management of these institutions.they lack innovation despite the posh titles they hold.as for the MP she seems as shallow as the mgt. themselves.she is demanding mgt. meet the demands of the union….mgt’s and unions negotiate madam they dont issue ultimatums or hold each other to ransom!!what has Munali Sec Sch. done to utilize the land that has obviously been lying idle??innovation madam…any twit can sit and criticise!!

  6. #5 The Original Pundit

    I agree with some of your comments on lack of innovation by UNZA management, and in the country in general. Most universities in the western countries raise billions of dollars doing research and tests for the private sector. UNZA/CBU should position themselves as researchers and policy analysts of choice for the SADC and COMESA regions and beyond. For instance, with all the HIV/AIDS money going around, how much has UNZA school of Medicine, departments of microbiology and chemistry accessed? Are universities working with KCM and Mopani? Is the School of Engineering getting some money from National Road Fund Agency for road and bridge design and construction?

  7. The original Pundit and ZemaNdola, you lack real analysis and understanding of the problems aflicting these Universities. Do you know that these institutions has the lowest tuition fees in the sub-region? They can raise the money by increasing the fees to economical levels, but you will see demonstrations and to make the matter worse Government does not even pay most of the 75% of the tution fees for GRZ sponsored students. The people who run these institution are learned and have been to most prosperous universities which are properly funded by the state. They have ideas of running these institutions but lack motivation through adquate funding.

  8. The original Pundit and ZemaNdola, you lack real analysis and understanding of the problems aflicting these Universities. Do you know that these institutions has the lowest tuition fees in the sub-region? They can raise the money by increasing the fees to economical levels, but you will see demonstrations and to make the matter worse Government does not even pay most of the 75% of the tution fees for GRZ sponsored students. The people who run these institution are learned and have been to most prosperous universities which are properly funded by the state. They have ideas of running these institutions but lack motivation through adquate funding.

  9. #7&8

    Share some of your analytical “skills” by offering us solutions. Government funding will always be limited and tertiaty education has to comptete with all other pressing needs. Even though UNZA/CBU get the largest chunk of Ministry of Education funding, greater impact can actually be attained by Govt focusing on universal basic eduaction and vocational training (it is a more equitable approach). UNZA/CBU can supplement Govt funding through innovation. You say they have lack of adequate funding, well alternative sources of finance could be a solution. Looking forward to your practical ideas.

  10. Just hand UNZA back to Commonwealth Universities Association, let us admit defeat guys, we cannot run these institutions, to high for our standards. HE is nothing in Zambia, it has become unrecognised in the outside world.

  11. I just read a paper on Citizen empowerment in Zambia. I am shocked by the shoddy work. It is clear to me that our GRZ is immature and needs to be remanned by competent people. Levy is lazy and is unable to be creative, typical of a lawyer. Most lawyers are reactive and least imaginative fellows. UNZA / CBU funding is a waste of public funds according to Levy and his pretenders. They are busy destroying the ladders that they, themselves used to become what they are academically.

  12. get real#8,refurbishing a hall of residence & classrooms & providing modern teaching aids to the English dept would attract students from Angola/Mocambique who trust me, $15,000/yr is affordable.tapping into the regional education market is an innovation the govt.(Magande) would back wholeheartedly.being learned and being right for a particular challenge i.e. varsity admin, are two different things.we have acknowledged poor funding but what plans are tabled to raise money of their own??those prosperous varsities you refer to are self supporting with grants from govt. for capital exp. & training!!

  13. ZemaNdola, the siolution is to allow UNZA/CBU to charge economical fees and they will be able to sustain themselves plus some other resources they can raise independently.

  14. “They talked and talked while the rest of the world developed.”

    Whatever the Italian’s name will be….
    UN Secretary General
    March 12, 2048

  15. A makaka is an interesting monkey with terrible habits…its actually spelt macaque….makaka is the zambian version!!!
    hehehehehehehe!!!!

  16. #13 NDUBULILWA

    And what is your solution for the poor but intelligent who cant afford your “economical fees”. Education is not the preserve of the rich. I would like to pick your “analytical” mind on this one, if I can. My contention is that fees is just one stream of income, among many.

  17. #17 Poor students must apply for loans from commercial banks or low interest loans from government. GRZ will never fund universities enough, they must charge the real cost of offering higher education and then pay their staff decent wages.

  18. increasing the fees is all well and good. The rest of the world gives loans to the students which they have to pay back…thus a circulating fund for the institution.
    For some weird reason Zambian institutions dont think its necessary.
    Cant be that hard.. its not like we have to re-invent the wheel.. sometimes copying what others before us have done isn’t a bad idea rather than this sad state of affairs we’re in.

  19. zed believer(19), you forget our record keeping is so archaic how will GRZ track those who have got loans for their education?? unless GRZ & UNZA/CBU introduce an endorsement on your official degree transcript to indicate that you are free from any financial/bondage obligation to GRZ!!it is possible to track and get repayments through PAYE like it is done in Europe…but is there committment for such an undertaking??

  20. #19. I agree with you. Zimbabwe is in a deep crisis right now, but look at the univeristy of Zimbabwe. It is still doing far much better than UNZA. let us imitate what Zimbabwe is doing to maintain the standard for the university of Zimbabwe.

    Just check on the webmetrics for rankings of universities in Africa, you will acknowledge that Zed is behind in seriousness over education.

  21. The Original Pundit, you are the only one who has made sense out of all this nonsense talk here.Graduates are still acting like grade 7 drop outs…

  22. ba Makota#22, your comment is well received and appreciated.our graduates from UNZA/CBU have the best potential for further learning as evidenced by the post graduate results they achieve overseas!!our under grads just lack confidence and the quality of undergrad education in zambia is abysmal at best!the situation is far from hopeless but we need the support of our MP’s to pressure govt. to act and restore the pride and confidence of having a zambian degree.a private members motion is one way..lets find our mp’s(the educated ones) and do sumthin’!!

  23. Bob Gabriel,#24, there are plenty active topics to “chew” on… just flip through the other pages and i’m sure sumthin’ will tickle your fancy!! i do agree though, LT is being a bit slow on bringing forth “edible” topics!!

  24. Original boyi,stop arguing with these lost divers.You have spoken the truth and people without knowledge about what “GOVERNMENT” means want to challenge.You guys need to understand now what “GLOBALIZATION” is.What does our government deal in?Is it a profit or nonprofit making organisation?How does our government recover its money from the students it pays for?

  25. #27. I am behind about what is happening at home at the Bursaries office under MOE. Nonetheless, I left a goverment loan system when I was at UNZA in, I think, my final year. Those of us who had BC #s, things have changed now, atleast by the time I was leaving UNZA. GRZ sponsored student are given Loan #s. I am told they are expected to pay back the money GRZ is offering them for UNZA/CBU fees at some point. How this is being implemented Im not sure.
    As those of us who laernt for free, I dont know if there is a plan to make us pay back the money. Nevertheless, we can ack responsibly by plughing back a few of our earns at UNZA. I know there is a programme under the UNZA Alumni thingy to help

  26. The affluent community has let UNZA down. 90% of them send their kids to study abroad and pay as foreign students. In some cases they pay more than ten times what UNZA charges. Try to invest this money at our local higher education colleges and promote standards at home. The biggest failures in our education system is the leadership. They don’t appreciate that most of the lecturers at our local institutions have exactly the same qualifications as those abroad. Some of them even better than those teaching at these foreign colleges. Look at how much we spend on Levy to be seen, only to be seen, by these Doctors abroad. That money can buy all the equip needed to run Ridgeway Campus.

  27. Whatever the problems of UNZA are ultimately the government must be held to account. They appoint the management, directly or indirectly. The attitude of the government is in keeping with the general trend in the country. We have lost the culture of reading and yearning for knowledge. The new role models are those thieves in high offices of state. Ministers look down on lecturers and other professionals. Whilst the British prime minister earns less than some UK Vice Chancellors, our ministers would not allow a situation like that to arise. This year they are spending more on the NCC than on the Universities. UNZA was allocated K75bn while LPM’s medical bill was K6bn!

  28. … There is no excuse the government can offer for the current situation. Ministers must formulate a vision for the University and then get the right people to realise the vision. The government has also failed to offer leadership in the energy sector. Zesco is in trouble!

  29. I agree with the people calling for raised fees. The students that can’t afford it can get loans from the banks. Are the interest rates still very high? They can then be made to pay back once they start contributing to their pension. I do hope this system is well computerised for it to work. That is what most students do in the ‘developed world’. This system aould also solve the problem of leakages as the banks would ask for the student’s entire school record before giving them a loan.

  30. Was i dreaming or did we indeed just open or are about to open a new Mulungushi university? Somebody please explain the funding dynamics and operational structure of these three ‘Universities’. May be this woman has a point.

  31. Kaweche Kaunda has handed himself over to the DEC for arrest in connection with US$ 7 million found with a Jamaican woman suspected of money laundering. Now now now! We all know where this all leads to, Super Ken himself! It’s a well known fact that KK was swindled out of millions by Chona Mark, where Mark looted, a lot more remained and its without doubt this was money KK stashed during his 27 years in power. Like Chiluba, KK is also a stinking thief and the real truth must now come out. Let the plunder team zero in on the stinking Malawan too.

  32. #28, u say you were at unza and blablabla, what have u done to contribute to zedian devt?
    I was at unza and was a recipient of BC. What i know is the programme was meant to allow low income zedians to achieve university education not only at unza but outside unza too, this am talking because i have recieved BC both at undergraduate and graduate level. I have since repaid thru PAYE about 180 million ZMK as of my last salary payslip a year ago. Its people like you who just brag that u did A,B,C etc and yet u cant offer tangible solutions to the messy Chiluba brought. Kaunda instituted BC and if u read carefully it says u get bonded to GRZ and by this it implies you must work within zed for

  33. GOVT to reclaim the money. Rather than talking from where ever u are, go back home and contribute positively. The solution is many fold, not just increasing tuition fees. We need to do a lot of R & D and make prototypes from UNZA/CBU so that they(prototypes)can function as a solution to our domestic problems first.
    The other thing is making collaborations and making unza more of a semi autonomous institution that is properly audited and the monies are accounted for in a proper manner. Some of us who recieved free education in the Kaunda period believe me have almost brought back the money we were allocated for studies.
    Let us work together and improve conditions. Those of u who passed thru

  34. UNZA can write the vc, [email protected] or Emmanuel Tembo (ALumni)[email protected] for positive contributions not just blogging for no apparent purpose.
    Check the unza website, and send capacity building comments. Prof Simukanga is a well learned man and i appreciate his research and his stance on develpoment. He will surely listen to you coz i have worked with him.
    The other point i want to mention is that more meaninful industries should be developed to directly absorb the young graduates and these should work like we used to in ZCCM or any govt owned parastatal for about 2 years before they think of going abroad. Efyo twalechita ba monko imwe.Its a pity some of you never went thru ZNS

  35. training, u get jacked up and get productive. I believe zed has all the wealth someone would like to get else where and thats why i stuck to zed , made it and am proud that i can walk with my head up coz i dont owe GRZ any money.

  36. #37 thru 39, thanks for your positive data. I will quickly inform you that I am still a student. I am planning on coming home to see how I can be of use at home as soon as I finish my studies.

    I hope most of us (bloggers) on here will take your comments seriously and make Zambia a habitable place for all Zedians.

    I want to make mention also that I respect the education I received at home. The way informatiom was being impart to me was best compared to some of these universities I have come in contact with. I believe that Zed has a lot to offer in Africa and Word over. So let make a notable difference and do little talking.

  37. I hope its the same Enigma i used to see dressed all in blue jeans in the ruins. Bravo mature, mudala i always remember your contributions and how Africa 4 became habitable due to your strick hygeinic manners.
    Viva progressive alumni.

  38. Both the lecturers and the students should be wired. The lecturers are selfish and students don’t like being in school. Both should be beaten

  39. One idea would be to contract out the management of student financing to an external entity such a commercial bank which could structure low interest student loans and develop the mechanism for bonding the borrowers, (I concur that Zimbabwe has done a sterling job of such a scheme)Infact i would abolish the busaries committee altogether and use those funds as seed money to kick start such a program that would be available to all prospective students who wish to study at the country’s universities rather than the corrupt joke currently in place where people who can afford the fees access the busaries and poor students are left in the cold

  40. #43,why low interest loans?? in other countries where this system is in place there is no preferential rates offered !!the only preferential status accorded is with regard to the credit rating of the applicant!! i however concur with the idea of applying the existing bursary funds to sumthin’ that will yield the intended results not the farcical situation prevailing at the minute!!!

  41. Guys what methodology and criteria do they use to rank Universities how came our two universities are not competing at all????????? UNZA not even on top 100 in Africa???

  42. back in the day UNZA was the shit.. foreign leaders garduated from UNZA..but now.. its a loss.. but i still believe UNZA can be saved.. if only we had the Right PEople in Government…

  43. #46, stop burying your head in the sand and blaming govt. for our own failure to be innovative and solve the quagmire we are in!! your comment can be likened to a child who keeps failing his exams and blaming the parents!!!Can’t you people understand that the best universities in the world are SELF SUFFICIENT with govt. grants merely being a supplement !!! Don’t ever think Harvard is Harvard becoz of funding from the govt.!!!!!

  44. #45. The methodology is normally included somewhere on the ranking websites. It is mainly based on appearance of the university’s activities in terms of research and sometimes development. EWhile academic work is consider, I think it counts little. If you go to the following web, you will find the methodology: Currently UNZA is ranked #57 in Africa and # 7,016 in the world on wwwDOTwebometricsDOTinfo/top100_continentDOTasp?cont=africa. Note the DOTs for “.”

  45. ENIGMA has talked alot of shit but i respect that bcoz the old ma seems to be reasonable on one point or the other. Most people here are forgetting that the loan system from commercial banks that most western countries offer is based on the economic performance of the country concerned, how the heck do you expect a bank in zambia to offer a student loan when the GRZ doesn’t even have a tracking record device to tract your so called Green National and Registration Card. for anything to function according in any economy first starts with the interest of the govt in the field concerned and what we see in Zambia is that govt officials what to monopolize the education system to their children…

  46. …so that certain position can always be maintained by the so called upper class. so what we need in Zambia is an attitude change not mentioning the fact that most Zambian think loans are a form a a gift that should not be paid back. as i said above if the GRZ has a tracking system for who ever owes a cent for student loans then it will be a problem for that person to go for greener pastures unless he pays the debts back.that why people will pay back student loans whether they like it or not..

  47. … but the question come to the fact that most people in Zambia as ba CSO says lives below the poverty line, which means that the majority of people that will be requesting for student loans will not have a so attractive credit rating for them to qualify in comparison to middle upper class family background person so how will the Govt tackle this problem in conjunction with lending institutions?
    by the way money should not be give to loan applicants as cash coz they can be a situation where someone goes and drink chibuku in Kaunda square, banks should send the $$$$ directly to university or institutions concerned.

  48. You know what guys? I love my country full of interesting people.
    Zedians!!
    Will contribute later!!
    CIAO

  49. UNZA needs to be transformed. Most universities in the region have transformed but UNZA is stuck in the its ’60s foundation. Add to this the lack of good will from government and you get the current pathetic situation at UNZA. It is surprising that UNZA is worse off than universities situated in smaller countries with equally smaller economies in the region. The difference is that the governments in those countries mean business when it comes to supporting their universities unlike the clowning that is going on in Zambia.

  50. UNZA needs to be transformed. Most universities in the region have transformed but UNZA is stuck in its ’60s foundation. Add to this the lack of good will from government and you get the current pathetic situation at UNZA. It is surprising that UNZA is worse off than universities situated in smaller countries with equally smaller economies in the region. The difference is that the governments in those countries mean business when it comes to supporting their universities unlike the clowning that is going on in Zambia.

  51. People, universities must not necessarily be properties of government that only survive at the mercy of the state. They must charge economic tuition fees,be leaders in research which in itself can be a viable stream of income,offer consultancy services, another stream of income and charge royalties for ventures that they innovate and you allumni can support your old university as well. It seems we will never go past the dependencia rut that marks everything in Zambia cant we at least get this one right?? Yes GRZ can provide a grant but UNZA and CBU can generate their own income sustainably

  52. Zambia has reached a stage where it can start giving students loans for tertially education and arranging for the repayment once the students finish school and get employed. The govt could also choose to bond students to work for the govt for a period of time before they are free to join the private sector or work abroad. Zim have chosen not to give out the certificates until one finishes the bondage. The alternative is to have some form of education tax on all individuals in formal employment since everyone has benefited from free education. UNZA’s problems are finances, nothing else, so lets raise the money!

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  54. Useful information. Lucky me I discovered your website by accident, and I’m shocked why this coincidence did not took place in advance! I bookmarked it.

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