The HEA delegation was led by the Director-General, Professor Kazhila C. Chinsembu, who was accompanied by Dr. Martin Mushumba, Director – Quality Assurance; Mr. Denny Nsokolo, Acting Manager – Quality Assurance; and, Mr. Joseph Munachoonga, Accountant – Revenue and Acting Accountant – Expenditure.

Her Excellency, Ms. Karolina Stasiak, received HEA at the embassy on Wednesday, 29^th January, 2025. The meeting was successful and has yielded collaborations which the Authority will announce soon.

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The following is an edited podcast presentation of the live Higher Education Hour which aired on Monday, 28^th October, 2024, on Lusaka Radio 97.7FM.

This podcast has been shared with express permission from Lusaka Radio 97.7FM.

HEA’s the Higher Education Hour is brought to you with the generous support of Lusaka Music Radio 97.7FM.

Listen to the Podcast below:

1. YouTube: https://youtu.be/YYd_3_aVAyA
2. HEA Website: https://hea.org.zm/download/hea-podcast-episode-2-higher-education-hour-presents-the-corporate-communications-officer/

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The core elements being developed will be mechanisms within an LP which that particular LP would need to have in order to ensure that the LP meets minimum standards to lead to a qualification in that particular field.

HEA began this process when it held a Seminar on the Development of Core Elements with a group of Academic Experts on 3^rd, 4^th and 7^th December, 2020, at Mika Convention Centre.

These Experts had developed working documents with core elements in Bachelor of Science (Nursing), Bachelor of Laws, Bachelor of Economics, Bachelor of Theology, Bachelor of Science in Information Technology, Master’s by Research, and Doctoral Programmes. These documents were being presented to HEA for discussion and refinement, before the documents were presented to Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) and other stakeholders for validation.

Speaking when he gave the opening remarks for the Seminar, HEA Director – Quality Assurance, Dr. Vitalicy Chifwepa, noted the past reliance on HEI Senates to develop LPs and the global trend for minimum content development.

“With the opening up of university education to the private sector, we have had similar LPs being offered at various universities but with differences in content as we relied on the Senates of the various universities to come up with various LPs and content based on their perceptions of what the needs are,” Dr. Chifwepa said.

The Director, however, stated that there is a trend globally for all LPs to have minimum content prescribed that would lead to a particular qualification.

“This is happening at a global level as UNESCO is coordinating the recognition of qualifications,” he said, continuing, “when we come to specific jurisdictions, it is important that there are certain set of standards.”

Dr. Chifwepa further stated strongly that it was not the intention of HEA for every HEI to teach the same things but only to ensure that certain core requirements were present in each LP.

“We don’t standardise so that everyone is teaching the same things but so that certain core requirements are present in each LP in order for there to be comparability of the particular LPs within the country and across borders,” Dr. Chifwepa stated. 

Of the task that has been laid before the Experts, Dr. Chifwepa stated that the Experts comprised of the first teams of experts that HEA would engage.

“It is very important that we rely on experts based on their qualifications and experience to develop standards in our LPs which would ultimately lead to qualifications that will be recognised in the country and across the borders of Zambia,” he said.

The Director pointed out that Zambia was not the first country to endeavour to set these standards, as South Africa had begun the process but is yet to complete it.

“The process will show that we have benchmarked these standards against what is out there,” Dr. Chifwepa said, adding, “in some cases, we might just be the ones leading the way as it should not look like we are always conforming to what is already out there.”

This article was written by Mr. Birbal Boniface Musoba, Corporate Communications Officer, Higher Education Authority (HEA) on 9^th December, 2020.

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Professor Simukanga said this yesterday when he gave his opening remarks during the official opening of the 2-day ZSG-QA Validation Meetings being held at Mulungushi International Conference Centre in Lusaka.

“The objective of this validation meeting is to obtain feedback from you, the stakeholders, on the developed standards and guidelines in order to have a document that will be anchored on mutual trust between HEA and Higher Education Institutions (HEIs),” Professor Simukanga stated, adding that both negative and positive feedback were highly encouraged so that the final document would stand the test of time.

The ZSG-QA are intended to provide a common framework and shared understanding of quality assurance systems for teaching and learning among HEIs and other stakeholders. This means that the standards will be used for registration of HEIs, institutional audits, and in implementing and reviewing of Learning Programme (LP) curricular.

Professor Simukanga stated that the ZSG-QA will provide a basis for quality improvement in higher education through institutional audits and assessments, and LP accreditation.

“ZSG-QA will guide HEIs in the development and implementation of good internal quality assurance systems and practices,” he said, adding that the standards will further promote mutual trust among HEIs, thus, facilitating recognition and mobility of students and academic staff within the higher education sector.

Professor Simukanga stated that the Validation Meetings would centre discussions around core requirements which included, but were not limited to, vision, mission and strategy; financial resources; technological infrastructure; library services and resources; and, public communication.

When pointing out financial resources, Professor Simukanga stated the financial resources an institution needs to have, was among the major areas the meeting needed to validate.

“The question of how much money an institution should have is a going concern, and the general rule of thumb is this, does the institution have the resources to operate for a year without being dependant on fees paid by students?” he said.

The Director General further stated that technological infrastructure had become very important in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. He noted that this tied hand-in-hand with e-library services and the ability of students to access information.

“COVID-19 was very revealing, as even the ‘big universities’ were not ready to provide digital learning to all their students when the pandemic hit,” he said, adding, “it is, therefore, very important that we take technological infrastructure and library services, including e-library services, very seriously, in case we have another pandemic.”

Professor Simukanga further pointed out the importance of public communication as a quality assurance tool.

“Public communication is part of quality assurance as the community should know ‘us’ (HEIs) as this is the only way they will confirm to what standards ‘we’ (HEIs) are adhering, instead of just hearing about ‘us’ during graduation week,” the Director General said.

This was the first of two sets of 2-day Validation Meetings that have been scheduled by the Authority, with the second set of meetings being conducted on the Copperbelt next week.

The ZSG-QA Validation Meetings included participants from the Ministry of Higher Education (MoHE), Zambia Qualifications Authority (ZAQA), and Vice-Chancellors of HEIs or their representatives.

This article was written by Mr. Birbal Boniface Musoba, Corporate Communications Officer, Higher Education Authority (HEA) on 27^th November, 2020.

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Earlier this year, HEA hosted validation meetings with Vice-Chancellors for Classification of Academic Ranks and General Promotion Criteria, as the Authority develops more standard guidelines in order to ensure quality in higher education.

The Ministry of Higher Education (MoHE) held a consultative meeting with the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) in order to finalise the resolutions of the overlaps in other statutory regulations that affects the Draft Higher Education (Amendment) Bill, 2020.

This meeting followed a series of consultative Technical Meetings that MoHE held with key stakeholders in the higher education sector on the proposed Draft Higher Education (Amendment) Bill, 2020, in order to get input that would harmonise the existing statutes in order for the Draft Higher Education (Amendment) Bill, 2020 to be effectively implemented.

The resolutions of the overlaps with current statutes were important in order for the Draft Higher Education (Amendment) Bill, 2020 not to be drafted in isolation of the existing statutes that empower certain authorities and institutions to carry out functions that should be reserved for the Higher Education Authority (HEA).

The conflicting legislations that were identified and worked on include the Zambia Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport Act No.4 of 2014, the Zambia Institute of Marketing Act No.14 of 2003, the National Institute of Public Administration Act No.15 of 1998, the Zambia Institute of Purchasing and Supply Act No.15 of 2003, the Accountants Act No.13 of 2008, the National Council for Construction Act No.13 of 2003, the Zambia Institute for Tourism and Hospitality Studies Act No. 42 of 2016, the Engineering Institution of Zambia (EIZ) Act No. 17 of 2010, the Health Professions Act No.24 of 2009, the Nurses and Midwives Act No.10 of 2019, the Zambia Qualifications Authority Act No. 13 of 2011, the ZIHRM Act No.11 of 1997, the ZIALE Act No. No.37 of 1996, and, the TCZ Act No.5 of 2013.

The meeting, which was held at Radisson Blu Hotel in Lusaka, was facilitated by HEA.

Speaking during the opening of the Orientation Workshop for Programme Accreditation Evaluators which was held last Friday at Mulungushi International Conference Centre in Lusaka, Dr. Chifwepa stated that the Programme Accreditation Evaluators should champion quality assurance through their expertise and experience rather than the institutions or HEIs at which they work.

“We expect you to be champions of quality assurance with respect to LPs that is why we are a bit ‘shy’ to talk about you as members of your respective institutions because we consider you as having expertise and experience in your various areas of study and, as such, you are expected to go to institutions other than where you work and help us look at the LPs on behalf of the Zambian Government,” he said.

The Acting Director General further stated that by looking at the LPs, the Programme Accreditation Evaluators will be able to certify that the LPs qualify for accreditation in that these LPs lead to national qualifications in their particular area of study.

“We will call upon you to help us assess the standards of accreditation as well, for example, if we look at an LP like Geology, you should be able to ascertain if it should be taught the way it was taught in 1975 or if there are new areas that need to be incorporated today that are relevant to the LP,” Dr. Chifwepa stated, adding that the nature of accreditation standards is that they are dynamic.

With 1,256 LPs already submitted for accreditation to the Authority, and many more estimated still to be submitted, Dr. Chifwepa noted that HEA cannot have all the expertise inhouse to evaluate these LPs, thus, the Authority works with a committee of experts drawn from academic institutions and industry who are selected solely on the basis of their expertise and experience.

For the last week’s workshop, experts in the following fields, amongst others, were oriented: Psychology, Medical Diagnostic Radiography, Insurance and Pension Management, Applied Linguistics, Physiotherapy, Geology, Metallurgy, Pathology, Medicine and Surgery, and, Civil and Mechanical Engineering.

The Acting Director General emphasised that the Programme Accreditation Evaluators needed to embody one of HEA’s core values of integrity in order for them to effectively execute their duties as they visit HEIs that they might have come across in their respective professional careers.

The Technical Meetings were held at Radisson Blu Hotel from Tuesday to Friday and were segmented into four Clusters to ensure adherence to the public health and safety guidelines issued by the Ministry of Health (MOH) on occupancy and gatherings during the COCID-19 pandemic. This Clustering approach ensured that all key players and stakeholders were involved while the meetings maintained adequate social distancing and observed all sanitization protocols.

Speaking during the Meeting, MoHE Director – Planning and Information, Mr. Succeed Mubanga, stated that the conflicts and overlaps in the sector had led to a fragmented sector, with multiple institutions involved in quality assurance, leading to varied standards of qualifications, and uncompetitive and low mobility of graduates.

“The review of the Higher Education Act is supported by the 2019 Higher Education Policy which calls for legislative and institutional reforms that will ensure an efficient and cost-effective higher education system that addressed the challenges in the sector,” he added.

Mr. Mubanga further stated that from the review of current legislation in the sector, a total of 18 pieces of legislation were identified that had provisions for both training and regulation. The Director also pointed out that the review unearthed a number of statutory bodies which had provisions in their legal frameworks for accreditation of LPs, which was a mandate of the Higher Education Authority, as these were in most instances, created before the establishment of the HEA.

During the legislative review, additional conflicts were identified which included statutory bodies being involved in the approval of training institutions and the self-regulation of some statutory bodies, that is, the statutory bodies develop LPs and offer the same LPs without subjecting them to a quality assurance bodies such as HEA or TEVETA.

Therefore, the objectives of the Higher Education Bill, 2020, are to amend the Higher Education Act No. 4 of 2013 so as to redefine the functions of the Authority, reconstitute the Board of the Authority, revise the categories of HEIs, provide for accreditation of LPs, and, provide for matters connected with, or incidental to, the foregoing.

“The desired way forward is to build consensus that will aid the implementation of the objectives of the Amendment Bill and streamline quality assurance systems in higher education,” Mr. Mubanga said.

The Director further added that the accreditation of LPs and the registration of HEIs would be reposed at HEA, whilst the development of LP content and the regulation of professional conduct and practice would remain with the respective statutory and professional bodies.

In giving concluding remarks, MoHE Director – University Education, Mr. Charles Mulenga, thanked the participants on behalf of the Ministry and HEA, stating that the meetings were of grave importance to the sector and for posterity.

“As has been thoroughly explained during the presentations, what is evidently clear is the need to address the lacunas in the legislations in the higher education sector in order to upscale the sector through its restructuring,” Mr. Mulenga said.

The Director – University Education, emphatically noted that this restructuring was not intended to sideline any institution but to bring sanity to the sector. Mr. Mulenga further invited the participants to submit detailed written comments through the MoHE website, www.mohe.gov.zm, before the Friday, 7^th August, 2020, deadline.

The list of stakeholders consulted included Agriculture Institute of Zambia, Copperbelt University (CBU), DMI St. Eugene University, Engineering Institute of Zambia (EIZ), Evelyn Hone College of Applied Science, General Nursing Council of Zambia (GNCZ), Health Profession Council of Zambia (HPCZ), Kwame Nkrumah University, Local Government Training Institute, Lusaka Apex Medical University, Mulungushi University, National Council for Construction (NCC), National Institute of Public Administration (NIPA), Natural Resource Development College (NRDC), Teaching Council of Zambia (TCZ), Technical Education, Vocation and Entrepreneurship Training Authority (TEVETA), Texila American University, UNICAF University, University of Lusaka (UNILUS), University of Zambia (UNZA), Zambia Institute for Tourism and Hospitality Studies, Zambia Institute of Advanced Legal Education (ZIALE), Zambia Institute of Banking and Financial Services, Zambia Institute of Chartered Accountants, Zambia Institute of Human Resource Management, Zambia Institute of Management, Zambia Institute of Marketing, and, Zambia Institute of Purchasing and Supply (ZIPS).

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The internal consultation meeting of the Bill was the prologue to the Bill being submitted to the Legislative Committee of Cabinet.

The Amendment Bill, which has already passed through three (3) comprehensive consultative meetings with all stakeholders around the country, is intended to address the shortcomings in the current Higher Education Act No. 4 of 2013.

Represented at the meeting were the Higher Education Authority (HEA), the Zambia Qualifications Authority (ZAQA), University of Zambia (UNZA), University of Lusaka (UNILUS), Zambian Open University, and Evelyn Hone College of applied Arts and Commerce, amongst those that were invited.

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The Honourable Minister was speaking today when he hosted a multisectoral press briefing at the Ministry of Higher Education in Lusaka with the Ministry of Health, the Disaster Management and Mitigation Unit (DMMU), the Ministry of General Education, and the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting Services.

In his remarks, Dr. Mushimba stressed that the reopening was applicable to all Public and Private Universities and Colleges, and that it will be implemented with strict adherence to COVID-19 regulations on social distancing, washing of hands, masking and avoidance of unnecessary gatherings.

The Minister of Higher Education further stated that before any HEI could be allowed to be reopened, it would need to be inspected and certified ready by the appropriate authorities. Further, HEIs that were used as Quarantine Centres for COVID-19 would require to be adequately disinfected before they were certified ready to receive students back on their campuses.

The Minister further outlined the following key guidelines that will be required for any HEI to be certified to reopen, amongst other measures by appropriate authorities:

1. Temperature checks at entry gates;
2. Provision of hand washing facilities at all entrances of hostels, lecture rooms, labs, administration buildings, etc;
3. Restriction of students two (2) students per room in Hostels and no squatting will be permitted;
4. Restriction of visitors on campus;
5. Social clubs and amenities will be closed;
6. Very strong peer-to-peer monitoring;
7. Provision of a check-in and check-out register in all Hostels;
8. Regular inspections of hostels to ensure compliance; and,
9. Regular cleaning, disinfection of buildings and surrounding areas.

In order to minimise the spread of COVID-19, all HEIs in Zambia were closed on 19^th March, 2020. This followed the declaration of COVID-19 as a global pandemic by the World health Organisation (WHO).

Thus, from that period on, in order to avoid a complete shutdown of learning, MoHE ensured HEIs utilised e-learning platforms to design, package and deliver online courses using various systems and communication for online and offline learning. Dr. Mushimba reiterated that e-Learning would continue being an integral part of the learning process for both graduating students and those in other years.

However, following His Excellency, the President of the Republic of Zambia, Mr. Edgar Chagwa Lungu’s directive that MoHE undertakes consultations on the possibility of reopening HEIs, the Ministry consulted widely in a multi sectorial approach to review and assess the reopening of HEIs.

Thus, with the reopening of HEIs from 8^th June, 2020, TEVET Colleges and other colleges will reopen on 1^st July, 2020, with the TVET Examination Sessional Dates being reduced to two sessions this year, namely:

1. Exams that were scheduled for April/May will be held from 27^th July – 7^th August, 2020.
2. Exams scheduled for July/August and November /December will be combined and held from 8^th – 23^rd December, 2020

Download the full statement here.

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The Higher Education Authority’s (HEA) Management and Staff would like to wish the Founding President of the Republic of Zambia, Dr. Kenneth David Buchizya Kaunda, our beloved K.K., a happy, blessed and healthy 96th Birthday.

Your Excellency, HEA is grateful for the foundation that you laid for, not only Zambia, but higher education in Zambia, a foundation that saw the formation of the first university in Zambia, the University of Zambia; a foundation that saw many Zambians get free education, most of whom could not afford it; a foundation upon without which, Zambia’s education system would not have thrived; and, a foundation upon which we continue to build.

Your Excellency, may today be a reinvigorating reminder of the great hope that lies before our great nation even as we celebrate, reflect and rejoice your 96th Birthday.

Send in your birthday messages for Dr. Kaunda to corporateservices@hea.org.zm and we shall publish it on our Facebook page.*

Wish the Founding President a Happy Birthday @HEAZambia on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube using the hashtag #HEAZambia #HigherEducationZambia, and visit our website for ALL the information on higher education in Zambia.

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