Students’ Perceptions of Financing Public Universities in Zambia: Toward a More Sustainable and Inclusive Policy Strategy

Abstract

Since 1964, when Zambia became independent from British colonial rule, education became a major public agenda item for the development of human capital. The university of Zambia founded in the years after independence and later three more, funding generally remained the responsibility of the central government to use education as a tool for socioeconomic development. As Hoffman (1996) indicated, “[I]n the intermediate afterglow of newly found independence, many countries in Sub-Saharan Africa looked at higher education as one of the essential elements of economic and political revitalisation, and in some instances, as the cornerstone of a new society.” Education, since independence, is seen as a tool for developing the manpower capabilities of the nation. After the creation of the first public university, Zambia followed “a full government support model” to manage this institution. In this model, the government equips and provides learning facilities, including lecture halls, libraries, accommodation, recreation facilities, staff salaries and development. Given the lack of capacity, most staff was sent overseas to train and prepare as academics to take over from a largely expatriate faculty (Coburn, 1993; Kelly, 1991).