Students salute Lungu over loan scheme

PRESIDENT Edgar Lungu’s government quest to provide loan schemes to private and public learning institutions will be a great honour to late First Republican President, Kenneth Kaunda’s legacy, Students for Edgar Lungu national coordinator Isaiah Mambwe has said.

Mr Mambwe said at independence in October 1964, Zambians inherited an exceptionally weak education profile which was inadequate to meet the challenges of the post-colonial society.

He said there were a few trade schools and no universities, but that things started changing under President Kaunda.

“Through the great leadership provided by our late hero all the admitted Zambian students were put on government bursary which covered tuition, accommodation in the university halls of residences, book allowance which was deposited in the University bookshop,” Mr Mambwe said.

Mr Mambwe said President Lungu and the PF government had demonstrated their quest to keeping this legacy and desire to uplift the lives of Zambian learners through construction of more public universities and colleges and the extension of the student loans scheme.

He said today’s population indeed cannot feasibly support total free education but the increase and extension of loans to every Zambian regardless of institution of learning was a welcome move and would honour the vision of the founding father Dr Kaunda. Mr Mambwe said students were proud to learn within Zambia and contribute to the innovative space across the continent of Africa and work at large.