Government says the structure of education curricula is not employment creation friendly in most Southern African countries.
Labour and Social Security Minister Joyce Nonde – Simukoko says this is because education systems in most countries in the region were designed to equip learners with skills to enable them get employed but neglected the inherent skills or talents that could sustain anyone.
She said although most countries were emphasizing on education, they overlooked the need to emphasize on the type of education that was relevant to help increase employment opportunities.
The minister said most countries including Zambia lacked vocational training institutions which were key to skills development.
“In life, it is all about the skills that we offer.
“ We all have talents which should be harnessed for us to succeed in life and it has shown talent-oriented jobs are usually successful,’ Mrs. Simukoko said.
She bemoaned the demise of vocational training institutions in Zambia and the privatization of state owned enterprises saying these were some of the other major contributors to the high unemployment levels the country was grappling with.
Zambia consequently found herself with a huge population of its citizens in the informal sector who lacked well-nurtured skills or talents to effectively engage in their trade, Mrs. Simukoko said.
The minister was speaking yesterday during a panel discussion at the Jobs for Youths in Africa (JFYA) regional ministerial conference organized by the African Development Bank Group held at Sheraton Hotel in Pretoria, South Africa.
She was speaking on the topic entitled: ‘What skills do we need for the Southern African labour market.’
Mrs. Simukoko said the Zambian government was now working to reorganize the informal sector so as to enhance its role on the economic development scene.
She said 80 percent of the working population in Zambia was in the informal sector which meant that the group was not captured in the tax net.
“Only 20 per cent of Zambia’s working population pays tax. This is what is contributing to the running of the economy. If we had all those in the informal sector paying tax, we could have had enough resources to even put up facilities such as vocational colleges to train them.”
“It will be easier for government of even financial institutions such as banks to find and work with them on projects once they are properly organized,” she said.
The minister cited the taxi and bus transportation business and small scale farmers as some of the informal sector areas where reorganization had already started.
She said her ministry, the ministry of Commerce, Trade and Industry, the ministry of Youth Sport and Child Development were involved in the exercise.
And COMESA Secretary General Sindiso Ngwenya said it would be a form of smart partnership for governments to consider whether they should tax private organisations that had developed and implemented programmes that helped with employment creation.
Mr. Ngwenya said AfDB realized that youth unemployment and under employment were fundamental challenges around the globe, and that 70 per cent of Africans were under 30 years hence 50 per cent of the World’s youth will be African in the next three decades.
He said in response to this crisis, AfDB has adopted a JFYA Strategy for the period of 2016-2025 during which plans would be implemented.
Mr. Ngwenya stated that similar regional ministerial conferences have been held in north, west, east and central Africa.
This is according to a press statement issued to ZANIS by Zambian High Commission in South Africa Press Secretary, Nicky Shabolyo.
This is true ofcourse.
It is the reason why I left for Scotland.
Terrible country and its education system.
thanks
Bb2014,16
I remember when I was in grade 5, because i was this much intelligent I was asked to go to grade 7, where I for 689 which was the highest at the time in the copper-belt
People, I am not showing off, but I got 24 points in grade 12 and easily passed to go to grade 10 (388 points) and thus I consider myself a genius
I am surprised how easy it is mow grade 8’s and all these silly trucks missing all pointing to leakages I left when i left Zambia considering I have gone on to be doing my PhD?
Good luck to them all, but remember I did hold the torch once, and led the way. Who ever is holding the torch now, I am happy for them.
Thanks
the same currila made you today ati its not good…
@ mushota
If those were ‘high’ marks on the Copperbelt, you would not have passed in southern province or western province…. But one positive from your statement is it explains why people on the Copperbelt vote un- intelligently, and can be easily cheated,,
Horse shoe Joyce nonde is not qualified in anything herself, corruption is he only major
Ndobo,are you suggesting Tongas and Lozi’s are more intelligent than Bembas ( who are mostly found on the copperbelt)?
Not a nice assertion
Thanks
BB2014,16
@mushota
Come on mushota! You don’t even know that copperbelt is lambaland and I have not mentioned tribes,,, the true bembas I know are from northern province, good people,,,, not those bemba speaking thievies on the copperbelt
@mushota dobo is not saying southern or west are intelligent but merely starting that the cut off point was higher than cb. The reason was to make those villagers not migrate to the cities. Imagine a huge junk of tongas lozis swarming the streets of our cities on cb investors wouldn’t have stayed. We made the cut off point high to restrict cattle rustlers from coming to big cities except for a few enlightened ones.
Yes my president HH oval head, i was raised in chimwemwe, that low cut-off points have enabled alot of us to trek to lusaka and start selling plastic bags.
The only unfortunate part is that lusaka people couldn’t allow us to rename independence stadium to Gabon air disaster stadium, we wanted to do this in rememberance of the great trek from Northern Zambia to lusaka after the Gabon air disaster courtesy free transport by zccm, a bevy of us came and filled up the streets.
Mushota is right. The Zambian educational curriculum is below international standards. In the UK, bachelor degrees ( and other higher degrees) from Zambian universities (including UNZA & CBU) are not recognised as as degrees. If in doubt, please go to the UK NARIC website – the UK institution which grades foreign qualifications.
@KE NAKO. If the UK does not recognise Zamiban degrees it shouldn’t bother that that much. The UK equally currently has a useless education sysytem. The UK has done nothing inspirational or innovative in the fields of Science, Engineering and medicine. The only reason the seem to be doing fine is because they have kept a lot of reserves of what they stole from their colonies probably multiplied those resources. If you’re looking for inspiration in education, look to countries that spearhead innovation in the world such as Germany, USA, China, Japan, India, Finland, Netherlands etc. Try comparing the course contents of the same programs of study in Zambia and any western country, you find that there are very minor differences. The UK only uses those strategies to keep out mostly Africans…
@Mushota. Don’t lie. That’s why I’ve always suspected that you’re dull. Now I have proof. The fact that you got 689 @12, 388@G9 and 24 points @g12 shows that you’re just average and not genious as you claim. Yes passing marks used to be low in the Copperbelt as they still are but people who get the highest marks still come from there at times and if you were really that good, you were not going to study that nonsense you keep mentioning that you studied. People from the Copperbelt used to and still score as high as 850 or more @G7 and sometimes even girls do that. So what torch are you talking about? There was Mpelembe Secondary School for the best those days run by ZCCM. If you were that good you would’ve gone to Mpelembe. You would,ve gone to Hillcrest or D.K if you parents were…
Public and private initiatives for employment creation (economic growth) lack a coherent strategy. The distortions need to be eliminated for employment creation to succeed. Skills in themselves can not lead to employment where there are no employers in industry and commerce. All stakeholders must be involved and the processes must be adjusted constantly to meet emerging needs.
Why does Nonde talk like she is in opposition or from an NGO? What is her government doing about it? They have been in power for 6 years and the only changes they have brought to education is for local languages to become medium of education in classrooms. How is that going to help job creation and entrepreneurship?
Look at my comment on the disturbing article on Jan 4, where funds for youth development were used to purchase 75 buses.
wwwDOTlusakatimesDOTcom/2017/01/04/75-buses-meant-youth-empowerment-programme-country-soon/
No country can develop without vocational skills. Thats why even chinese r bringing in their own artisans instead of hiring locals.
Mere pronouncements from a dull laggard. So what will you do about it underperformer Joyce?
Good comment @Mr Kudos. Why is a Cabinet Minister whining and moaning about the educational system instead of doing something about it? When do these people attempt to implement any society-changing ideas?
the british concentrated on teaching us how to speak english only …we are meant to receive instructions thats all…..In zambia when you speak english it means you are educated….
Very right, in Zambia those who speak English are taken to be the very wise our education system is all about speaking good English. You can imagine at grade 12 memorizing the 5 great lakes in America, I can still remenber…… 1 or 2 is pampas or something like that….
Just listen to yourself, still blaming the British all of 53 years after independence! If Zambians believe this is wrong why has it not been changed alp these years? Who is in control of govt in Zambia? Why blame the British who left a long time ago?
When are you for once going to accept responsibility for your failure ba pf. This monkey minister is very dull.
Minister the vocational and training centers are there but there has been no investment, we have the agriculture colleges, natural resources development college, science and technology institutes etc. all built under KK. But GRZ and the private sector continue to churn out students from an education sector that makes them end up looking for employment…revive the old sectors bring back industry forgotten in the name of privatization manage it properly and Zambia can be the fastest growing nation with the lowest unemployment ratios…but then again its much easier to sit behind a desk as a fat dodo and former typist whose only credentials was to bed the md of building society…
It’s govt’s responsibility to provide skills to its citizens. Skilled labour will in turn contribute to the development of the country through production of goods and services. What is on the ground is not lack of vocational training centres per se, but the fees charged for training in most public institutions are, to most Zambian parents, unaffordable. We Zambians talk too much and do nothing. It is talk after talk…we come back to our offices, sit …coffee…go home. Get paid month end.
Skills training can only be supported in a country where govt owned companies are thriving. Talk of apprenticeship program only govt can sustain it not private sector. Private companies are only interested in results and profits not training.
Plus what you did my president to provide mentorship to unza graduates is something i will never achieve in my life, congratulations my president for helping the youths in our country.
Germany has a rock solid apprenticeship tradition in private companies. The idea that only govt can do anything that is socially good is a fallacy. Govt should take leadership in setting up schemes that private companies have to participate in.
Sounds like double talk nit addressing anything really, rather than sounding intelligent it came out a mess.
If what the honorable minister is saying is what she believes then why are we building so msny universities.
What jobs are there for a graduate, but we keep spending money on universities. Theys highly qualified graduates cannot find work so NO TAXES. It is a self fulfilling strategy
Do your homework properly Madam Minister before you start exposing Please get the statistics and facts right. South Africa is laughing at you because its industry and world class projects are or were at one time driven by Zambian Artisans and Engineers. Be it mining, construction, IT or manufacturing.
So what lack of skills are you talking about?
South Africa is the biggest beneficiary of almost all the training/skills your government provide to Zambians.
I strongly disagree that Zambians lack the skills for employment. There is simply no job creation by your government.
Having said that, it’s time the education system changed from producing employment seekers.
Replace it with a system that would empower the youth with entrepreneur skills and loan them resources to turn…
Education is there to train to be a good employee or good slave…anyway this dull lady would not know she is the last person i would expect to be speaking about this subject!!
Listening to the minister is a depressing experience. So she has to blame somebody or something. She says only 20% Zambian pay tax. But that’s what the govt has managed to achieve so far since 1964. She even blames privatization! She doesn’t understand that it’s govt’s duty to create an environment where innovation, creativity flourishes. They are constantly on the move to foreign more successful countries. Haven’t they learned yet these nations have an active private sector that drive their economies. Is she suggesting we go back to the command economic polices where the govt takes active part in running companies? At this rate Zambia is headed nowhere.
@ hh oval head how can you have all government owned industries employing apprenyices where Government is challenged already and has difficulty paying public aervants on time….you will just exacerbate the problem.
Name 5 thriving socialist economies. Thats what you are advocating.
I agree. Socialism is dead. Even the Chinese are not socialists.
One joint Indaba for vocational skills training providers together with Zambia Association of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (ZACCI) and Zambia Federation of Employers (ZFE) would go a long way in improving mutual trust, problem identification and problem solving. The vocational curriculum developers need to collaborate with key players in industry in order to reach a win-win situation.
I think she should have spoken to her counterpart in the Ministry of Education. Zambia’s education changed under MMD, students have qualifications that are only recognized in Zambia. Even then unless you are in private education the process to enter an institution is tedious and bureaucratic. If the government engaged the private sector to help with skills training through placements, secondments during study. Creating hubs for entreprenuers as well then there wouldnt be this problem. Its part of their CSR, and SDG agenda.
They have capital, and are earning profits that benefit their countries.
@Dr Kasonde sorry but your attempts at pseudo intelligent rhetoric shows you are a pseudo intellectual,, u use “catch phrases’ to garner interest. Read the situation in Zambia, indabas achieve……hot air. Meetings/indabas are only relevant with result driven outcomes..
As i don’t know u can u please enlighten this forum as to what your doctorate might be and where it was obtained
Your blogs are classic “indaba talk”. Sounds good but means nothing.
But you are entitled to blog the same as the rest of us my friend
Joyce Node is a foolish b1tch. This dunderhead never went far in education I guess and we want to be listening to her telling us how to properly structure our education system.
Unless we want to go back to the discarded apprenticeship programme, this is all nonsense. Schools are meant to equip pupils with “generic” skills- geography, history, Maths, physics, etc. Does she expect primary and secondary schools to start teaching our children how to sell ifitumbuwa?
Clearly this is the problem of being a politician. They say things because they have to say something. Mark my words, today, she may not even remember what she said in her speech.
You couldn’t have put it better. The minister herself never went far in education hence she does not understand what it means to be educated. No Zambian University creates their own courses when coming up with programs of study. Whenever a new program of study is being introduced, The University will consult other institutions that offer similar programs and of course they add other things that will be more relevant locally. But the core of every program of study will remain the same everywhere. If the UK does not want Africans or other people to be going there to work, they will introduce useless classifications that will regard other degrees as worthless. As a matter of fact check with Examinations council of Zambia, You will also find that a Cambridge GCE certificate is regarded as…