BOGUS DOCTORATES ANNOY PRO LUO

By ANDREW MUKOMA in Livingstone

BOGUS doctorates earned on payment of cash are totally unacceptable, Minister of Higher Education Professor Nkandu Luo has said

It was sad, she said, that while it was not easy for someone to become a doctor or scientist, the country now had people calling themselves doctors and scientists without going to school.

“You need to go to the university and pass before you are called a doctor… This thing of paying $5, 000 in Dubai or United Kingdom and stay in a hotel and be awarded a doctorate or PHD should stop in this country,” Prof Luo said.

Prof Luo bemoaned the low levels of science and technology researchers in the country and called on parents to start encouraging their children to take up science at a tender age.

Prof Luo has observed that in Zambia and Africa as a whole, science and technology had not been given the impetus it deserves so it could contribute to the continent’s growth.

Speaking when she graced this year’s Science and Technology Day commemoration in Livingstone on Monday, Prof Luo said science and technology had been forgotten adding that it is for this reason that the Patriotic Front (PF) government had given it the necessary attention through various aspects.

“I think for us to move this agenda, the PF government has placed this with priority and without leaving anyone behind.

“For this country to become wealthy as we need it, we need to look at some aspect areas of science and technology as important areas,” she said.

Prof Luo who is also Munali PF Member of Parliament said that for this to be achieved, the country needs education and above all, science and technology. She said that the PF government has turned out to be the type of government that walks the talk through its ambitions in investing in science and technology. “As government, we want to invite Zambians to understand science and technology and for us to do this, we need more researchers because we can’t talk agriculture just by going to the bush with a hole as we always do…agriculture is a profession that needs scientific approach and research and knowledge,” said Prof Luo.

“Agriculture requires people who see opportunities as business and that is through research... We need to research and know what type of equipment and types of seeds we need,” she said.

Speaking at the same event, Zambia National Council for UNESCO representative Emmanuel Chalema observed the critical role which science plays in society. Mr. Chilema said that science provides key answers in promoting peace, foster development and tackles issues of climate change. International Day of Science and Technology Commemoration is always cerebrated on November 11 each year but this year, it was moved to November 20 because of the Global Science and Technology Council which is being held in Livingstone from today up to Friday.