Politicising university education

Thu, 03 Aug 2017 12:57:50 +0000

THE decision by the University of Zambia (UNZA) management to bar over 8, 000 students from sitting for end of term examinations on account of non-payment of tuition is a matter that does not need politicising.

Sadly, populist politics always takes centre stage in such matters, reinforcing public prejudices irrespective of their validity, over-simplifying and distorting alternative options, taking political expedience rather than optimal or principled course.

The danger of populism is that it appeals to sentiment rather than sense and reality. UNZA, like any other institution of higher learning, needs finances to operate smoothly.

Expecting a university with one-third of its enrolled students not fully paid up to offer quality education is not only unrealistic but also a deliberate ploy not to contextualize the challenges that come with sustaining smooth operations of a learning institution of such magnitude.

The huge expense that comes with managing a university cannot be trivialized. For UNZA to have a deficit of K46 million due to unpaid tuition fees certainly has a negative effect on the daily operations of the institution.

The lamentations of UNZA Vice Chancellor Professor Luke Mumba on how the university will facilitate the running of end of term examinations without money which should be used to procure stationery, let alone pay allowances for external examination monitors and makers should be understood in the context of prudential management of resources.

Where will the university find money to accommodate over 8, 000 students who are not fully paid up?

We sympathize with not only UNZA but many other public universities that overstretch their budgets just to keep afloat due to perennial financial challenges which arising from meagre government grants and largely students’ inability to fully pay up for education needs.

Education is expensive. In the United Kingdom, for instance, the Government contributes up to 30 percent of the cost of higher education. The rest must be met in fees and university’s own generated activities.

The same is true of the United States of America where the government contributes about 34 percent. This is in spite of the fact that it has the most expensive education systems in the world.

Students who gain admission to tertiary education are fully aware of the required total fees for the entire academic year. In the case of UNZA, student pay roughly K18, 000 per year.

How would a student who only pays a paltry K2, 000 expect to clear the outstanding balance?

Understandably, there are some students who genuinely would have challenges to settle outstanding balances on their tuition fees due to socio-economic circumstances.

This can be uniquely so with those students who may be on either 75 or 50 percent government bursary but still struggle to raise the other percentage of the fees.

However, there are some students who are self-sponsored whose parents are fully aware of the responsibility to pay fees as and when they fall due but negligently do not so.

Bearing in mind that the outstanding fees are varied. Some owe the university little amounts compared to others. It would be ideal for UNZA management to treat each case on it merits.