District of Muchinga Province is nearing completion. In the picture,
workers working on final touches of the structures. The facility which
will be offering Mathematics and Sciences opens its doors to the
public next year
Government says it has set aside K650 million for the rehabilitation of the country’s three major public universities.
And government says the construction of five new universities across the country is on course but without a specific cost.
Education, Science, Vocational Training and Early Education minister Michael Kaingu said this in parliament today.
This was when he issued a ministerial statement in Lusaka today that the decision follows the need to repair the state of the three institutions.
Dr. Kaingu named the three public universities as University of Zambia main campus, the Copperbelt and the Mulungulushi universities.
He further disclosed that his ministry would construct the Solwezi University College of Science and Technology, King Lewanika University, Luapula university, Nalolo University College of Science and Mathematics and Petauke university college of Applied Arts.
The minister said government is also upgrading Kwame Nkhurumah, Chalimbana and Mukuba universities adding that Councils at these tertiary institutions have been appointed.
Dr. Kaingu said other higher institutions of learning in order to absorb the growing demand for people seeking education.
He disclosed that government would create 10,000 bed spaces at these higher institutions including at the Evelyn Hone College of Applied Arts and Commerce where students are currently facing accommodation challenges.
He expressed happiness that the private sector have shown willingness to invest in the education sector by improving the higher education system from its current state.
The minister has at the same time challenged former students of these higher learning institutions in the country to consider giving back to their ‘dilapidated’ infrastructures as government alone cannot manage.
“I challenge you former students that you owe your institutions some money as you’re aware that government through the Ministry of finance can’t manage,” Dr. Kaingu said.
Meanwhile, Dr. Kaingu says government has established and approved the Zambia Qualifications Authority (ZQA) to over-see the qualifications of pupils and students in the country.
Rhetoric as usual. Do your homework and ensure qualified lecturers are available to live and teach in these areas, otherwise the quality of graduates you will get will not make our country any more competitive than it is now.
#prayforzambia
Lord give our leaders integrity to triage priorities
Why are these universities taking long to finish?
I bet they will not be ready by 2016 due poor planning and lack of money.
Rumour has it that, the Chinese constructing the Robert Makasa and Mushindo universities are threatening to pull out due to non payment.
PF ni ba chimbwi no plan chabe.
Mr. Minister, when are you building a University for Cattle Management in Southern province? Surely we also deserve a university. Put it somewhere in Sinazeze.
Great move, when I was in Jordan I was amazed to learn that with an exception of Saudi Arabia, all Arab nations including some from North Africa send their best and brightest to universities in Jordan.
The Jordanians built great universities such that getting a college degree from there is an equivalent of a Harvard education in the Arab world. The smart people of the Zambian Enterprise can do the same.
Education is a huge forex earner in Jordan which together with Israel are the only 2 countries in the Middle East with no oil reserves. Building on the legacy of UNZA and CBU we can make our universities so attractive that everyone would want our degrees.
Prestige and the candidates’ return on investment as high starting salaries emerge once they graduate would incentivize all.
This is a step in the right direction and this has been long overdue. But the government should have upgraded the University of Lusaka Great East Road Campass. This once great institution is a joke. Improve it and then build some more. Is the government confident that there will be well qualified lecturers etc. they also need to sort out the corruption that has hit UNZA where entry requirements are not observed and people can bribe to get their children even if their pass mark is not great. Hence we are getting graduates who are so poorly trained and of a low calibre. Entrants should be accepted on merit if we are to have well qualified graduates.
FEEL NAUSEATED JUST TO SEE THE NAME KAINGU
PF GOVT MINISTER ,PLEASE VOMITUS BOWL NEED IT.
THESE ARE HIJACKERS ,THE MAN CANT EVEN FEEL ASHAMED TO SERVE IN PF GOVT THAT WAS CREATED BY SATA THE MAN HE HATED .
PLEASE PF CHASE THIS TATA WAMPALI WITH NO BRAINS TO EVEN TEACH HIS DAUGHTER IRIS
Goodness me, is that a university or Primary school? It’s not just the name universities, but accreditation matters as well. This is a failed approach, attract proper universities in to the country like what Malaysia. We are still working on wrong models like these ministers never went to school.. Put up standards old papass??
Continue sidelinning Southern Province Mother FUKAZ, WE DONT GIVE IT A DUMP!
I am not sure feasibility studies were done. Another waste of money, , these will be white elephants. Which lecturers will want to go and live in Muchinga
These are not academic institutions , they are campaign buildings. There location is totally unresearched and the faculties they will deal with are not what we need for the country. My colleagues in Southern province , don’t worry ,you are not missing out on anything, this is a waster of time money bricks and mortar . This is part of PFs tribal agenda to try and build an alliance against Southern province for gullible Zambians. The few Universities we have lack manpower and adequate resources , how will adding more far from the commercial centers improve standards.
Anyway they will be white elephants and are a waste of money. ( tribal political agenda)
Our government at work,thinz r moving smooth.only a fool will nat applaud this
Sensored word means “ichipuba”
Sensored word means ” foool”
Quality not quantity! Why can’t you people just invest proper money and build 1 international standard hospital, 1 international standard airport and 1 international standard university? Is it really that difficult to achieve?
I feel you.
My question is, where will quality professors to teach in these universities come from?
Hon Mr Kaingu, you are asking former students to help. Don’t you think we contribute through the high taxes that we pay?
@Sattish: They Chines (if I am not mistaken) have a saying that goes: “BUILD IT AND THEY WILL COME”!
Surely you don’t expect to attract professors (good ones at that) when their are no enough universities to teach at. With good and sustained investments in this area, soon professorship might just start looking attractive to a lot of Zambian professionals abroad who might want to come home and help shape young minds.
For those who think universities get to be GREAT INSTITUTIONS overnight, you should try and find out the histories of some of the prestigious universities in the world. The Harvard, Cambridge, or Stanfords of this world didn’t get to be schools of high repute overnight—some of these schools have been around for hundreds of years to be what they are today.
These are not universities for learning but for campaigning in the targeted regions, after 2016 God forbid they win , these will become white elephants
Let me educate you my brother! Before you die, please make it a point that you visit UK and enquire how many Universities there are in that country and their contribution to the GDP and welfare of its people. The problem with UPND chaps is that they don’t realize they are the dullest bunch of id10ts that there is and will forever live in denial.
This University in this pic is in the Northern Province and once completed, it will be producing the best technically sound graduates and also generate income in this beautiful part of Zambia. Learn to travel locally and you will appreciate that Zambia is indeed the gem of Africa. All my children will be taught in these Universities and they will later choose where to work locally and abroad.
This is great and PF deserves the praise!!!!
The population is growing duh! Why should people have to travel alll the way from Nakonde to study in Lusaka? Lets be forward thinking. That’s like the UK having only one university in London. It wouldn’t work. I don;t even support PF but lets give credit where it is due this is a good move. Also notice they haven’t said they have forgotten the older institutions they will get an upgrade too and even just getting relief from these other universities means they will no longer be overcrowded.
I still find it appalling that Sata pushed hard to build 3 or is it 4 university in rural Muchinga when there is none in NWP, WP, SP, EP, LP. What a failed leader he was?
@choma manu iwee chika…111a. stop vomitting umulembwee and chisense in social media.
What about the 2 universities in Chongwe, yu can’t see them yu can only see in Muchinga, yu are so obsessed. Open yo blind eyes and see, no wonder yu only see development in on province coz that’s what yu want to see. Shame
Gentlemen or Ladies, Are you earnestly and honestly convinced that building two huge universities in Muchinga is justifiable even when that money is coming from NWP? What criteria was arrived at such a decision? Did parliament approve this? Were other places considered? Did they look at the population? If they were wanting to put a university in provinces with the highest number of high school enrollment then Muchinga would not be on the list, it passing rate was taken into consideration then Muchinga would not be on that list. So who exactly made that decision? Is it a coincidence that they happened to build universities in a province where the president hails from? Sata was such a tribalist who took this country backward. I am glad he is no longer the president of our country.
@Choma…, please sh@tup! You !d!ots have lived and thrived on Lamba wealth since colonial times yet you have NEVER, I repeat, NEVER, heard the good people of that land complain. Now NWP contributes only a fraction of the copper Zambia exports and you are up in arms?
The free education you f00ls boast about was all due to copper wealth from ‘KWILAMBA.’ If anything Copperbelt deserves a world-class university in every city considering how much wealth that Land has contribute to Zambia. But what do they get? Polluted rivers and a second class “college” turned into a University only recently. And you want to mourn about a fraction of the copper coming from NWP?
Why don’t you just send your relatives or children to Mushindo university and they will get educated just well!
@Wan
2Universities in Chongwe (Palabana) still at slab level, King Lewanika just an identified site not even a slab? Yet these were started at the same time with Makasa & Mushindo which are at completion. Any special reason other than regionalism?
@YambaYamba
Copperbelt has had CBU ,first as UNZANDO, since the 70s. If you think Lambas do not complain have you wondered why almost all copperbelt rural voted opposition? Isn’t it a protest vote for may be lack of proportional wealth distribution and GVT represention? How many lambas and Swakas are in GVT, remember Central Province went opposition esp Kapiri?
Why also build full fledged universities in other provinces (e.g 2 in western), and yet EP & NWP only get university colleges a.k.a sub universities?
Not to sound pessimistic but this is building castles in the air. The problems with our tertiary institutions goes far beyond lack of infrastructure. For example how much has been set aside to recruit more lecturers and improve learning material at existing institutions? How good in internet accessibility for our students doing research at UNZA? How up-to-date are this resource libraries? Honestly we are so out of date even compared to our neighbors in the region.
Neutral and whoever,
Listen, this is the beginning, Govt has said they will build universities in all provices, whats yo problem, where they have started from? So for yu they should have started in another province. Don’t be so petty and full of hate for certain regions. Everyone has contributed to this nation in one way or the other. Starting to build is whats important.
And for yo information, Robert Makasa University started way back, many years ago by KK as a Police Academy, Mwanawasa or RB decided to complete it, SAta turned it into a university due to congestion at UNZA. So plz don’t lie tell the truth
Why do you people hate Tongas sure. Not even a college of Science and technology in Southern province and yet you have two in Muchinga and two in Western province?
Pathetic fools, pathetic fools ohh pathetic fools, why do you always believe in Dochi kubeba. Who doesn’t know that all Govt coffers are dry. You’re such an embarrassment to the continent at large except Zimbambwe your sister party.
Do yu mean ZRA collects all the mone so Govt uses it all at once. I thought ZRA collects through out the financial year and Govt uses through out the year as per budget. Can someone educate me on this
As Zambians we need ask ourselves why among the countries of the Rhodesia Federation Zambia is the worst performing in most spheres especially education. I agree with those reasoning that it has nothing to do with availed infrastructure.
More citadels of absurdity to take a consuming stake in our meagre resources.how about investing another K650m in research, like for simple technologies in renewable energy sources, plastics and glass recycling?by God do any of our universities even have the phys – chemistry of a solar voltaic cell?we need own generation of knowledge in such areas for a sustainable future
the way to go we need to have more graduates for easy understanding of govt policies and implementation.
Iwe Maano ask also about Chongwe, there are 2 universities there also one under construction and another under upgrading. Yu just have a problem with Muchinga, be broad based
Only foundation in chongwe. is SP deliberately Excluded? Shame! Preaching unit while doing exact opposite
Can our economy support graduates from 5 universities?
Good question @ nyau.. Answer is no. Even with the existing colleges and universities, many graduates end up unemployed.
Maybe that’s why they are changing syllabus and focussing more on maths and science even enterprenureship.
Yes it can. If you had an entrepreneur mindset you would see what a great opportunity this poses, but you are just imagining in terms of graduates getting obs from investors. The more young minds are expanded by education, especially educaction that teaches entrepreneurship, the better.
The issue remains. Does Muchinga deserve the universities more than the rest of Zambia or has it got to do with the late dictator’s ancestry? I agree with you Yambayamba CB deserves the universities but why didn’t they get any? That’s a question for Sata and PF. In his view Muchinga was the most deserving provinces of all the other provinces. That’s the person or party you should channel your anger towards.
Robert Makasa University , or whatever it is called, is an old project, probably from UNIP era. It was meant to be a police training college which was only converted into a university by PF. A lot of infrastructure has therefore been there for a long time and it’s therefore wrong to say Sata built two universities in Muchinga Province. What we need is quality universities and not this talk about each province having a university.
KK built trades training institutes in all provincial towns and they have stood the test of time because they were and are still necessary. He also built some form of industries in each province but most of them are now history. Talk of the fruit cannery in North Western Province, Mansa Batteries, Mulungushi Textiles, etc, they have all gone under.
As for Lamba Land, its yu UP and DN who have been so desperate to win power such that yu have resoted to tribal politics, trying to woo people using tribe and other dirty trick same in NWP. Plz desis from tribal politics of inciting other tribes aginst others. No one will win in the end all will be losers.
mr minister is the NQA for the qualification of pupils and students or for the certification and licencing of teachers?
Building universities should not be a political expedience exercise
Southern Province is the leading province in Agriculture so if Monze College of Agriculture is upgraded to a university, it can make a lot of sense. Alternatively a new university offering qualifications in agriculture courses can be built. Otherwise building universities just for political appeasements will not yield good results.
Surprised with some of the masters degrees offered in Zambia. 12 modules and project. India offers 24 modules and three projects.By the time you are done, you start viewing the world at a different stage of life.
@B R Mumba, Sr, thank you for thinking right!
Number 11 Nyau, the ealier you appreciate that university education chan out graduates not only for local economy the better.University graduates are are meant to work any where in the world wherevere their exprtise is needed.In the same vein professors from other countries will come over and teach at the same universities and the question of where lecturers will come from should not arise.Thye can be from Russia, MAmerica, Kenya,Burundi , Cambodia, Chechnia, Congo etc or indeed Zambians in diaspora . what is important is do they have requisite qualification and experince to teach at these universities.Dont limit your brains and I doubt number 11 if your are a graduate.
The construction of Solwezi University College of Science and Technology, King Lewanika University, Luapula university, Nalolo University College of Science and Mathematics and Petauke university college of Applied Arts is progressing well. All peace loving Zambians must come together to support and supervise these wonderful development projects. Parallel to the strengthening of the university system, there is also need to create a dynamic tertiary education system. One District, One Trades Institute, One University!
This is just Government propaganda and it will not work. What was the reason for leaving out Southern Province? Ndalama ni ya anyoko? Everyone contributes to the treasury. Kaingu’s home has been in Choma for a long time now, and one would think he would have a soft heart for his adopted homeland. But no, not this guy. He would rather pass unpalatable remarks about Tongas and continue eating their food and enjoying their hospitality. Is this not the same person who showed total contempt for Sata by tearing his speech in parliament and today is a minister under Sata’s PF? No morals whatsoever, no wonder his daughter behaved the way she did.
Seen that the govt is in a hurry to build them institutions around the country. Many bloggers have raised an issue of where professors to lecture in these universities will come from. It is important to remind ourselves that it is not only the professors that can lecture in the universities. But indeed we have very few people who can lecture in these institutions and it is high time govt extended its bursary to students such as PhD student who in return will end up in these universities. The govt should not only invest in building but also the people who will run these institutions once they are complete and ready.
I am yet to comprehend this tribal and regional behavior that is now a trophy feature on all blogs, almost regardless of topic. It is as if the f00ls will never die. Why do you proclaim useless ideologies at the expense of welfare of yourselves. The 21st Century is not about asking so-called government to massage your pathetic egos. It is about beginning introspective and well deserved, well earned development that will meet facility!
I remember president Sata.policies,he was a man may his soul rest in internal peace.Until we meet again.
Why should NWP have one University when it is raking in more than half for the countries GDP. These obvious biases are what triggers hate comments. NWP needs at least two Universities as well. One University should be built in Zambezi District. Such a move will win votes for PF come 2016 and politicians will have a reason to give why they should be voted in office again. Infrastruture development in localized few areas of Zambia is being highly myopic and retard.