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Zambia’s Higher Education Authority (HEA) said on Tuesday it planned to propose amendments to the Higher Education Act that would introduce a mandatory recognition system for professors, in a move aimed at protecting academic standards amid concerns over fake qualifications.
Director General, Kazhila Chinsembu, told journalists at a media training workshop in Lusaka that the proliferation of unqualified individuals claiming professorial titles was undermining confidence in the country’s higher education system.
“The unchecked proliferation of fake professors poses a serious risk to the legitimacy of Zambia’s academic qualifications and undermines the real skills and competencies that graduates are expected to acquire,” Chinsembu said.
He said the amendment would create a formal accreditation process for professors. The lack of such a mechanism, he added, had contributed to what he described as declining graduate competence and weaker employability outcomes.
Chinsembu urged the media to play a watchdog role by scrutinising academic credentials and educating the public on the requirements for professorial recognition.
HEA Manager for Standards Research and Institutional Audits, Denny Nsokolo, said the authority followed a strict procedure before deregistering universities, including giving institutions time to correct irregularities and securing alternative placements for affected students.
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