Dr. Mushumba, who is the Director – Quality Assurance, will be Acting Director-General from 25^th September – 29^th December, 2023, as Prof. Stephen Simukanga, the Director-General, proceeds on his annual leave.

Dr. Mushumba previously worked as Senior Programme Accreditation Officer at HEA. He joined the organisation in 2018.

Speaking of his appointment, HEA Director-General, Prof. Stephen Simukanga, said that the appointment of Dr. Mushumba as Director – Quality Assurance was well-deserved and earned.

“Dr. Mushumba has been with the Authority for a long time and, as such, he brings to the role of Director – Quality Assurance an already in-built knowledge of quality assurance in higher education and of HEA as an organisation,” Prof. Simukanga said.

The Director-General added that Dr. Mushumba further brings a wealth of experience having acted as Manager – Programme Accreditation on a number of occasions. He added that this wealth of experience will add to the national development of quality assurance and guarantee that the Authority will continue “Ensuring Quality in Higher Education.”

And, when commenting on his appointment, Dr. Mushumba expressed his heartfelt gratitude to the Board of the Authority and the Interview Committee that was hired to recruit the Director – Quality Assurance, for believing in his ability and according him this chance for advancement.

“I want to assure the Board of the Authority that I am committed to working diligently and ethically in order to justify the trust that has been placed in me,” Dr. Mushumba said, adding, “throughout my years of service at HEA, I have had the privilege of witnessing the dedication, professionalism, and closeness that permeates in our team. I have learned valuable lessons from my colleagues and superiors, and I am ready to apply this knowledge to my new role.”

Dr. Mushumba further stated that he was particularly excited about the increased responsibilities and challenges that accompany his appointment.

“I firmly believe in the importance of education and the positive impact (that) we can make on the lives of our people through fostering quality higher education,” he said.

The new Director – Quality Assurance concluded by stating that he was eager to contribute his skills, knowledge, and innovative ideas to further the goals and objectives of HEA and serve the higher education subsector with utmost dedication.

Dr. Mushumba has a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Education with Specialisation in Policy Studies and Quality Assurance in Higher Education.

HEA wishes Dr. Mushumba the best of luck and the greatest success in his new role as Director – Quality Assurance.

Speaking during the 6^th Meeting of Quality Assurance Agencies and Awarding Bodies, HEA Director – Quality Assurance, Dr. Vitalicy Chifwepa, stated that the key amendments and implications of the Higher Education (Amendment) Act will greatly diversify the higher education sector.

“(The (Amendment) Act) has been introduced as a way of diversifying the higher education sector, to cater for the weakness of limited definition of what is higher education,” Dr. Chifwepa said, adding that strictly speaking, higher education should be everything post-secondary education.

The Director – Quality Assurance explained that certain Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) did not fall under the purview of HEA.

“Certain HEIs like Colleges of Education, which are Higher Education Institutions, had remained under (the Ministry of) General Education but the Amendment Act has harmonised this,” he said, adding, “with the implication being that all HEIs, for purposes of oversight in certain aspects, have been brought under higher education.”

Dr. Chifwepa explained that the implications of all HEIs being brought under higher education are that HEA has accreditation oversight over all Learning Programmes (LPs) in all HEIs except TEVET programmes, and that HEA will register all private HEIs except TEVET institutions.

“Professional bodies will, therefore, only play an approving/recommendation role in the accreditation process as HEA will also be accrediting professional training programmes to sit on the Zambia Qualifications Framework,” Dr. Chifwepa stated.

The Director – Quality Assurance further stated that through the Higher Education (Amendment) Act there was now an introduction of new categories of HEIs which will compound on the diversification of higher education by increasing on the type of HEIs.

“The categories now include Colleges, University Colleges, Technical University Colleges, Universities, Technical Universities, Institutes for research, Institutions established by any other written law, and Institutions for specialised training of professionals in specialised fields,” he said.

Dr. Chifwepa, thus, clarified that this meant that no new institution would be registered as a university at first registration.

“The implications of this are that at first registration, an HEI shall be registered as a College or University College or Technical University College and would have to operate for 5 years as College or University College or Technical University College before being eligible for registration as a University or Technical University,” Dr. Chifwepa said, noting that a University College or Technical University College will not offer postgraduate education.

The Director – Quality Assurance clarified that this would apply to existing HEIs as well and the HEIs will be re-assessed and regraded as either University or University college.

HEA will soon rollout, in conjunction with the Ministry of Higher Education (MoHE), a nationwide sensitisation campaign to educate all its stakeholders and the general public on the implications of the Higher Education (Amendment) Act No. 23 of 2021.

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