“Academic Criminals Have No Place in Higher Education” – Professor Chinsembu
The Higher Education Authority (HEA) Director-General, Professor Kazhila C. Chinsembu, has described individuals who deliberately misrepresent themselves as professors as academic criminals, warning that such conduct amounts to intellectual fraud and threatens the credibility of higher education.
Professor Chinsembu said this yesterday during the official opening of the three (3)-day Winter School Capacity Building Workshop for Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), being held from 15th to 17th July, 2026, at Chrismar Hotel in Livingstone.
The workshop is being held under the theme, “Strengthening higher education curriculum quality through quality assurance in the era of digital transformation and artificial intelligence.”
In one of the strongest parts of his address, the Director-General said the higher education subsector must confront academic fraud directly and stop treating the abuse of academic titles as a small matter.
“Let us call this problem by its proper name. Those who deliberately misrepresent themselves as professors are academic criminals. They commit intellectual fraud,” Professor Chinsembu said.
He said the title of professor carries academic weight, public trust and institutional responsibility, and must therefore not be reduced to a decoration for those seeking status without scholarship.
“The title of Professor is not a decoration to be worn at will. It is the highest academic rank, earned through years of scholarship, research, teaching and service,” he said.
Professor Chinsembu said the “proliferation of fake professors remains a serious blight” on the higher education system, noting that such individuals parade themselves as distinguished scholars without having earned the qualifications, research record, academic standing or peer recognition required for the title.
He warned that academic fraud does not only damage the reputation of institutions, but also deceives students, parents, employers, government agencies and the public.
According to the Director-General, those who claim expertise they do not possess undermine academic standards, contaminate the knowledge ecosystem and diminish the value of qualifications earned through sacrifice, rigorous research and scholarly excellence.
Professor Chinsembu urged the sector to defend the sanctity of the professoriate by strengthening verification of academic credentials, exposing academic fraud and holding offenders accountable.
He said Zambia’s higher education system must be protected from those who seek academic prestige through deception rather than scholarship as there is no place for academic criminals in higher education.
Download DG’s Speech: https://hea.org.zm/download/opening-remarks-by-hea-director-general-at-winter-school-2026/
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