EXTENSION EDUCATION AT THE UNIVERSITY OF ZAMBIA: Issues, Problems and Possible Solutions

Abstract

The desire to respond to the manpower shortage that hit the country at independence culminated into the provision of University Extension Education in Zambia. In order to produce the much-needed manpower to feed the labour market, the University of Zambia employed Resident Lecturers in all the provincial centres. Their role was that of implementing University Education to the community. However, some issues surrounding the policy and execution of University Extension Education have resulted into problems and challenges in its provision and achievements. Some of these issues concern the management style, financing, infrastructure, admission requirements and user fees. The major problems that have resulted from such issues include access and equity, imbalances across fields of study, accessibility and user-friendliness of administrative systems, lack of human resource, lack of teaching and learning materials, poor communication and low participation levels. Some of the recommendations that have been made in this article as a solution to these problems include lowering the user fees, paying tutors attractive allowances, designing courses based on the needs of a particular community and building permanent structures for extension education and of university standard.