PURGE BOGUS VARSITIES

THE proliferation of sub-standard universities across the country calls for the immediate strengthening of the inspection and monitoring system in tertiary institutions. A number of them are simply bogus institutions hastily crafted to milk money out of desperate parents and learners. Thus a clamp down on such fake universities should immediately be set on an overdrive to bring sanity in the university education. It is important to refine the education system at all levels as Zambia cannot let the top most education level be infiltrated by privately-owned bogus institutions. They should not be allowed to wreak havoc! Late anti-apartheid and world political icon Nelson Mandela once said, “education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” Additionally, former United Nations Secretary- General, late Koffi Annan also rightly observed that “knowledge is power. Information is liberating. Education is the premise of progress in every society, in every family.” Indeed, education is paramount in all facets of life. At university level, education moulds individuals into fully-fledged candidates for the labour market and also for self-entrepreneurship and development. Yes, bogus universities must be weeded out to leave genuine and highly reputable institutions continue providing high-level skills necessary for the labour market. Although Zambia’s labour market seems to be teeming with a cadre of trained personnel, the country surely needs more skilled professionals from reputable universities. Some of the youth complaining of unemployment, have been churned out from nondescript universities operating from dark alleys, the reason why they cannot be taken up either in the private or public sectors. It is important to nurture university education because it is a critical component of human development and a necessary ingredient for any country’s sustainable development. Some of the so-called universities can never develop any semblance of human capital. They end up producing “graduates” who also go on to lecture in other equally bogus universities because they cannot get enlisted in reputable organisations. Universities are not there merely to push students to the next level of the learning process, but to train personnel who will be able to drive the growth agenda in a competent and resilient manner. These institutions are centres of excellence which efficiently offer the much-needed training, consultancy, research and other valuable services to the nation. Therefore, President Edgar Lungu’s directive on Saturday to purge bogus universities in the country must be implemented religiously. If left unchecked, bogus universities could end up contaminating the minds of desperate youths who would ultimately flood the labour market. The Higher Education Authority must therefore scale up operations in providing quality assurance. The authority should rid the country of bogus tertiary institutions. In fact, the purge must not be restricted to universities only, but must also be extended to colleges and other institutions at tertiary level. On their part, parents and the learners should always ensure they enrol in credible institutions. Prospective candidates have the leverage of cross-checking with the Higher Education Authority and other Government institutions before enrolling into any university. School-leavers who do not meet the entry requirements must not rush into enrolling in sub-standard universities, which do not attach any benchmark to entry. Zambian needs a highly-qualified and credible cadre of professionals fully-baked in reputable universities. Thus purge bogus universities.