Address University Challenges....in Zambia.....to Easy Youth Excelling

World-over, its acknowledged that the University is a premier center of excellence for research and training aimed at offering practical and workable answers to the challenges mankind faces. Therefore, the university occupies a critical position in any nation.

As rightly observed by the First President of Zambia, Dr Kenneth Kaunda at his inaugural ceremony as the chancellor of the University of Zambia in 1966, ‘that a University is one of the keys that can open the door to the future of our nation and help us to overcome the persisting evils of poverty, ignorance and diseases without such an institution we cannot hope to become the nation we want to be’

This view was recently echoed by the Gabonese President Omar Bongo at the 2006 Association for the Development of Education in Africa conference held in Gabon, of which Zambia was part. He stated that effective learning institutions are powerful ‘weapons’ against most of the continents’ challenges these include poverty, ignorance, diseases and illiteracy.

However, the strategic role and glorified position of Zambian Universities is being undermined by the many old challenges they face. Prominent among these are poor and inadequate infrastructure, persistent closures and students’ demonstrations, which are all highly attributed to poor funding and untimely disbursement of funds to the institution. Therefore, addressing these genuine concerns is critical to finding an enduring solution to the Universities' hurdles and improve their image.

Last year the country witnessed a number of demonstrations not only from university students but also from their college counterparts. The issues raised need systematic attention from all stakeholders, which are the government, private sector and ex-students. It must however be pointed that the spirit and approach under which these genuine concerns are pursued should be revisited by Student Unions and peaceful and positive strategies adopted.

The frequent disturbances at the highest institutions of learning may sadly represent the single most important factor that shapes ordinary Zambians’ perceptions and understanding of Universities. This is because the opinions of people about the Universities are anchored in these experiences. This has began to regrettably erode the citizens’ sympathy on the genuine plight of our Universities and further deny students and graduates an opportunity to foster the necessary positive image as the intellectual group of the nation.

Our society faces so many challenges. Our nation is beset by high unemployment (estimated at over 70%), poverty (over 70%), corruption, illiteracy and general underdevelopment. To overcome these challenges Zambia requires dedicated and committed trained graduates to inspire and advance the cause of the people. Our future hope lies in graduates who are able to transform the dreams and visions of our people into realities.

The late Zambian Professor Lameck Goma, once said “its not enough for our Universities to produce just graduates, it is important that they produce men and women of broad vision and wide culture, men and women with sympathy for their fellow humans, men and women with integrity, men and women who are dedicated to the serious purposes of life, men and women of hard objective thinking and courageous enough to engage in it”.

However, in order for new University graduates to assume and perform this responsibility, major hindrances needs to be addressed.

First, graduate casualisation. Its sad that, after years of dedicated training and hard work, some graduates are paid the equivalence of their then students’ allowances. Some employers have taken advantage of the lapses, gaps and inadequacies of our laws, compounded by the prevailing high unemployment and the evident desperation for jobs amongst graduates to deprive them

Workers’ rights are central to human dignity and therefore they must be protected and promoted at all costs. Its gratifying to note that the Mugomba Draft Constitution contains important sections relating to employment. In the Bill of Rights (Part 6), economic, social and cultural rights are included. Among these are workers’ rights to fair wage, equal work equal pay and to work under acceptable, safe and healthy conditions. Further, old labour laws should be revised, stiffened and enforced to curb graduate casualisation.

Secondly, graduate unemployment. According to the Living Conditions and monitoring Survey of 2002 to 2003, only 15% of the productive Zambians are in formal employment. This value is not so different, as a snap survey indicates that 2 out of 10 graduates are in formal gainful employment. The high unemployment levels have compelled graduates to seek greener pastures in other countries. This sadly, has resulted in our country witnessing one of the most disastrous brain drains in her history.

Further, Its lamentable that more than five years after the Millennium Declarations adopted by the General assembly of Heads of State of which Zambia is part, not much has been done to resolve this. The heads of State made a commitment to resolve youth unemployment by developing and implementing strategies that give young people every where a real opportunity to find decent and productive work.

The challenge of unemployment is further compounded by the presence of foreign expertise in jobs that can easily and competently be executed by locally trained graduates. Though, I appreciate the various merits that come with foreign investment such as advanced skills and technology, the fact that most foreign firms come with their own professionals renders our highly trained graduates disused. Zambia is not short of brilliant brains or intellectual capital to fill up these positions.

I therefore urge the authorities to protect, preserve and promote its own trained graduates, as it is the case in other countries. Further, in order to encourage and tap rare business skills from graduates to implore government to create a graduates’ fund from youth fund budget.

As observed by His Excellency the President of Zambia, Mr Levy Patrick Mwanawasa SC at the official opening of the National Assembly on 15th January 2006, that government-private partnership is vital to resource mobilization for the Universities. As adequate finance is crucial to finding an enduring solution to university troubles. Whilst, we appreciate the private sector’s current contributions to Zambian Universities, there is need for more private investment in fixed assets such as construction of hostels and recreation facilities. These are viable business ventures for the corporate organizations!

Further, graduates should be made to be more accounted to Universities. Graduates need to have a bigger and greater responsibility to give back to the University.

In the absence of well meaning commitment, University troubles will persist and the country will also continue to lose its graduates to other countries that offer better and attractive conditions of services. Therefore, in order for the graduates to translate knowledge into realism and national ills, we require genuine leadership in opinion, thought, character, words and deeds at all levels in the nation.

So with adequate support, University graduates can provide intellectual balance and realism on issues affecting the Zambian people. With commitment, university graduates can provide socio-economic and environmental turning points for the Zambian people. With political will and zeal, they can adequately face the historical challenge of contributing knowledge for sustainable development, transformation, empowerment, future survival and competition. Finally, with foresight, University graduates can be able to crystallize the aspirations and desires of the Zambian people.(Borrowed from Herman Kunda)