HEA To De-register Institutions Enrolling Students Without Minimum Entry Requirements
Higher Education Authority (HEA) has warned that it will deregister some faith and youth-based institutions of higher learning that are abrogating the law by enrolling students who do not meet the minimum entry requirements.
Addressing Journalists at a media briefing in Lusaka, Authority Director General, Professor Kazhila Chinsembu said fraudulent admission of students into college shall be met with the full force of the recently approved Higher Education Act and its subsidiary regulations.
Professor Chinsembu emphasized that following approval of the Higher Education General Regulation 2024 by Cabinet and its publication under Statutory Instrument No. 51 of 2024 in Zambia government Gazette Supplement notice on 30th August, 2024, the path to the registration of new private universities has now become narrow.
He observed that over the past decade, an era characterized by the mushrooming of corner-shop universities, regulation of higher education institutions was very weak, stating that the country will pay a heavy price if it fails to rethink and revise the permissible parameters in which the private sector should provide university education.
“Registration of new private higher education institutions is at cross-roads, it has reached a critical juncture. Our sympathy to the private university is being re-evaluated in the context of quality. We have noted that some faith-based and youth-based institutions of higher learning are abrogating the law by enrolling students that do not meet the minimum entry requirements. These institutions will be deregistered.”
“You cannot claim to provide opportunities to the youth by breaking the law, by evading the Higher Education Act, by making the youth cheat their way into college. Fraudulent admission of students into college shall be met with the full force of the Higher Education Act and its subsidiary regulations,” Professor Chinsembu warned.
He noted that the provision of higher education by the private sector is important, as it is supported by government policy, but it also presents opportunities as well as threats, with far-reaching implications and consequences.
Professor Chinsembu however stressed that the new regulations do not only target private higher education institutions, but public universities and colleges as well, adding that the Authority will this month be conducting institutional and academic audits at Copperbelt University (CBU) and next month, University of Zambia (UNZA) in December, 2024.
He also expressed concern about the high numbers of private universities providing programmes in medicine and surgery, as well as the relevance of some of the donor-driven PhD programmes in Zambia’s public universities.
“We think the sandwich PhD model is appropriate for our country. Nobody wants to be regulated. But if you want to be a role player in the higher education industry, we shall regulate you with every detail and letter of the law. We are a government of laws, and not of men,” Professor Chinsembu said.
Professor Chinsembu further urged University authorities to uphold the integrity of the examination process, by not awarding marks to students that have clearly flunked their examinations.
Speaking at the same event, Authority Director – Quality Assurance, Dr. Martin Mushumba, emphasized the need for lecturers to ensure that they have the right qualification in the relevant field.
“We have defined how one attains the level of Professor, they must have done some substantial research and publications, they must have worked for a given number of years and also those who get to be Dean of Students or Programme Coordinator, what qualifications do they have? For you to teach in a particular programme, you must have a qualification in the relevant field. You must have the right qualifications that allow you to teach at any given level,” Dr. Mushumba emphasized.
Meanwhile, the Authority has prescribed new fees, with registration and registration of a local private higher education institution such as College pegged at K41,000, University College/Technical University College K51,000, University/Technical University K101,000, Institution for Specialized Training of Professionals in a Specified Field K51,000, and K152, 000 for foreign institutions, among other fees.
The Higher Education (General) Regulations, 2024, were issued to operationalize the Higher Education (Amendment) Act, 2024, and took effect on 29th August, 2024
