This paper discussed the concept of quality assurance (QA) in higher education and its implicatio... more This paper discussed the concept of quality assurance (QA) in higher education and its implications to higher education institutions (HEIs) and the possible challenges. The study evaluated literature concerning QA in Zambia and elsewhere. The findings of the study show that QA is implemented through external and internal mechanisms such as accreditation, registration, institutional auditing, and the use of external examiners, self-evaluation, and peer reviews. The QA implications to HEIs in Zambia are that there is a need for accreditation of academic programmes with the Higher Education Authority (HEA) by HEIs. Further, HEIs should establish QA units to spearhead quality issues, reactive, and introduce the use of external examiners to ensure quality. The challenges identified in the implementation of QA in HEIs include inadequate funding, infrastructure, shortage of qualified academic staff, and lack of standalone QA units in some HEIs. In this regard, it has been recommended among...
Policies are adopted and implemented to achieve specific goals. In this regard, the Government of... more Policies are adopted and implemented to achieve specific goals. In this regard, the Government of Zambia in 2019 adopted the higher education policy with many objectives which include, the expansion of access to higher education; reduction of gender and other forms of inequity in accessing higher education; the improvement of quality of higher education by increasing funding to higher education institutions, construction, and repair of infrastructure in higher and improvement in the provision of learning materials in higher education institutions (HEIs).This paper, therefore, sought to evaluate the higher education policy of 2019. The four criteria were used namely; effectiveness, equity, policy sustainability, and consistency. Other principles such as political and social acceptability of a policy were not used because the policy is already adopted and being implemented. Further, the principle of efficiency was not used because it would have been problematic to gauge the expenditur...
The higher education act of 2013 with its amendment act of 2021 was enacted to guide and regulate... more The higher education act of 2013 with its amendment act of 2021 was enacted to guide and regulate the provision of higher education in Zambia. This conceptual paper sought to assess the impact of this act in the higher education sector. It was qualitative in design and data was collected using content analysis. In this regard, literature regarding the Zambia higher education act and higher education provisions were scrutinised. The findings show that the higher education act has resulted in the creation of the higher education authority (HEA) which has brought sanity to the higher education sector by compelling all higher education institutions to be registering themselves and programmes with HEA. Further, the HEA has developed a policy for the promotion of academic staff in the higher education sector. However, the higher education act (the amended act of 2021) has negatively impacted the higher education sector. The amended act outlawed the spirit of accountability in the running ...
The private media can contribute immensely to meeting the development information needs of any na... more The private media can contribute immensely to meeting the development information needs of any nation by providing the much needed information for development. While a number of studies have examined the relationship between media and development, few have investigated the link between the private media and development information. Information is essential as it ensures that citizens make responsible, informed choices rather than acting out of ignorance or misinformation. Information serves a “checking function” by ensuring that activities taking place carry the wishes of the majority in the nation. The media whether public or private have the potential to provide that access. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether private media provided development information to people in Lusaka, Zambia. Seventeen private media institutions participated in the study. These included print, online and broadcast private media. The results are reported and include the participants’ types...
Institutions and individuals in many countries are migrating from commercial software (CS) to FOS... more Institutions and individuals in many countries are migrating from commercial software (CS) to FOSS mostly because of two reasons: the increase of costs of purchase and maintenance of commercial software against the backdrop of global economic meltdown, and the increased commitment to open content and technologies in key domains such as research and education. In this regard, some governments have implemented policies that compel government departments, public institutions, and quasi-government institutions to adopt FOSS. The purpose of this article is to summarise the outcomes of a study of an international team of researchers that explores FOSS adoption and policies in some selected countries across the globe. The study is a pilot desk research and qualitative descriptive in nature. Data were collected for 13 countries selected to illustrate the process of FOSS adoption in countries of different economic strength; content analysis was used to identify emerging trends in FOSS adopti...
Introduction-Many governments world over have implemented policies to promote the use of Free and... more Introduction-Many governments world over have implemented policies to promote the use of Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) as a treaty to reduce the cost of running government and ensure compliance to software piracy laws. In this regard, a study was conducted to measure the FOSS in government departments in Zambia. Methodology-The study employed a survey research method in which a sample of 70 IT managers and staff from government ministries, departments, commissions and quasi-government bodies were sampled and interviewed. The sampling method used was purposive; key government departments were elected for the study by virtual of their importance and one IT manager in each government department was interviewed. Findings-The results reveal that 92.9% of the IT managers/staff from government departments in Zambia were aware of the existence of FOSS. Only 7.1% showed ignorance of FOSS. In terms of the use of FOSS Operating Systems, the study shows that majority (78.6%) of governmen...
Purpose -This paper sought to assess the suitability of Openbilio as a free and open source integ... more Purpose -This paper sought to assess the suitability of Openbilio as a free and open source integrated library management system that answers small libraries' automation needs considering the fact that many free and open source integrated library management systems exit that require more skills and resources which these libraries do not have. Methodology -The study was a qualitative technical paper on OpenBiblio. Qualitative data through documents analysis on OpenBiblio was collected and analyzed in light of its strengths and weaknesses. Secondly, the author used his personal experience of working with OpenBiblio to evaluate its suitability for use among small libraries. Findings- The findings show that OpenBiblio is suitable for small libraries because it is easy to install and configure as compared to Koha, Evergreen and other integrated library management systems which require immense technical knowledge of Linux, MYSQL, HTML and CSS. Further, it has also been observed that O...
This study investigated the challenges facing libraries in higher education institutions in Zambi... more This study investigated the challenges facing libraries in higher education institutions in Zambia in their use of Koha. The study was a descriptive survey involving 41 libraries from higher education institutions. Data was collected using a structured self-administered questionnaire. The findings revealed that the major challenge was the inability of librarians to effectively use all the modules in Koha because of a lack of skills. The modules that are mainly used are circulation and cataloguing modules. The other challenges identified were poor Internet connectivity, lack of technical support, and difficulties upgrading and backing up the Koha database.
This study sought to assess the extent to which the two big public university libraries in Zambia... more This study sought to assess the extent to which the two big public university libraries in Zambia have implemented web library services by comparing and contrasting their web services. The paper further explored the challenges the two university libraries face in their quest to provide web based services to their users. The research was a qualitative comparative study in which a detailed study of web services provided by the two libraries was conducted. Data was collected through documents analysis. In addition, oral interviews were conducted with systems librarians from these libraries. The findings show that the concept of web library services provision in these two public university libraries is a far- fetched dream because many library services are not on the web. For instance, both the University of Zambia and Copperbelt University libraries do not provide on-line reference, self-circulation, and web inter-library loan services. However, both libraries provide web access to the...
This paper discussed the concept of quality assurance (QA) in higher education and its implicatio... more This paper discussed the concept of quality assurance (QA) in higher education and its implications to higher education institutions (HEIs) and the possible challenges. The study evaluated literature concerning QA in Zambia and elsewhere. The findings of the study show that QA is implemented through external and internal mechanisms such as accreditation, registration, institutional auditing, and the use of external examiners, self-evaluation, and peer reviews. The QA implications to HEIs in Zambia are that there is a need for accreditation of academic programmes with the Higher Education Authority (HEA) by HEIs. Further, HEIs should establish QA units to spearhead quality issues, reactive, and introduce the use of external examiners to ensure quality. The challenges identified in the implementation of QA in HEIs include inadequate funding, infrastructure, shortage of qualified academic staff, and lack of standalone QA units in some HEIs. In this regard, it has been recommended among...
Policies are adopted and implemented to achieve specific goals. In this regard, the Government of... more Policies are adopted and implemented to achieve specific goals. In this regard, the Government of Zambia in 2019 adopted the higher education policy with many objectives which include, the expansion of access to higher education; reduction of gender and other forms of inequity in accessing higher education; the improvement of quality of higher education by increasing funding to higher education institutions, construction, and repair of infrastructure in higher and improvement in the provision of learning materials in higher education institutions (HEIs).This paper, therefore, sought to evaluate the higher education policy of 2019. The four criteria were used namely; effectiveness, equity, policy sustainability, and consistency. Other principles such as political and social acceptability of a policy were not used because the policy is already adopted and being implemented. Further, the principle of efficiency was not used because it would have been problematic to gauge the expenditur...
The higher education act of 2013 with its amendment act of 2021 was enacted to guide and regulate... more The higher education act of 2013 with its amendment act of 2021 was enacted to guide and regulate the provision of higher education in Zambia. This conceptual paper sought to assess the impact of this act in the higher education sector. It was qualitative in design and data was collected using content analysis. In this regard, literature regarding the Zambia higher education act and higher education provisions were scrutinised. The findings show that the higher education act has resulted in the creation of the higher education authority (HEA) which has brought sanity to the higher education sector by compelling all higher education institutions to be registering themselves and programmes with HEA. Further, the HEA has developed a policy for the promotion of academic staff in the higher education sector. However, the higher education act (the amended act of 2021) has negatively impacted the higher education sector. The amended act outlawed the spirit of accountability in the running ...
The private media can contribute immensely to meeting the development information needs of any na... more The private media can contribute immensely to meeting the development information needs of any nation by providing the much needed information for development. While a number of studies have examined the relationship between media and development, few have investigated the link between the private media and development information. Information is essential as it ensures that citizens make responsible, informed choices rather than acting out of ignorance or misinformation. Information serves a “checking function” by ensuring that activities taking place carry the wishes of the majority in the nation. The media whether public or private have the potential to provide that access. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether private media provided development information to people in Lusaka, Zambia. Seventeen private media institutions participated in the study. These included print, online and broadcast private media. The results are reported and include the participants’ types...
Institutions and individuals in many countries are migrating from commercial software (CS) to FOS... more Institutions and individuals in many countries are migrating from commercial software (CS) to FOSS mostly because of two reasons: the increase of costs of purchase and maintenance of commercial software against the backdrop of global economic meltdown, and the increased commitment to open content and technologies in key domains such as research and education. In this regard, some governments have implemented policies that compel government departments, public institutions, and quasi-government institutions to adopt FOSS. The purpose of this article is to summarise the outcomes of a study of an international team of researchers that explores FOSS adoption and policies in some selected countries across the globe. The study is a pilot desk research and qualitative descriptive in nature. Data were collected for 13 countries selected to illustrate the process of FOSS adoption in countries of different economic strength; content analysis was used to identify emerging trends in FOSS adopti...
Introduction-Many governments world over have implemented policies to promote the use of Free and... more Introduction-Many governments world over have implemented policies to promote the use of Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) as a treaty to reduce the cost of running government and ensure compliance to software piracy laws. In this regard, a study was conducted to measure the FOSS in government departments in Zambia. Methodology-The study employed a survey research method in which a sample of 70 IT managers and staff from government ministries, departments, commissions and quasi-government bodies were sampled and interviewed. The sampling method used was purposive; key government departments were elected for the study by virtual of their importance and one IT manager in each government department was interviewed. Findings-The results reveal that 92.9% of the IT managers/staff from government departments in Zambia were aware of the existence of FOSS. Only 7.1% showed ignorance of FOSS. In terms of the use of FOSS Operating Systems, the study shows that majority (78.6%) of governmen...
Purpose -This paper sought to assess the suitability of Openbilio as a free and open source integ... more Purpose -This paper sought to assess the suitability of Openbilio as a free and open source integrated library management system that answers small libraries' automation needs considering the fact that many free and open source integrated library management systems exit that require more skills and resources which these libraries do not have. Methodology -The study was a qualitative technical paper on OpenBiblio. Qualitative data through documents analysis on OpenBiblio was collected and analyzed in light of its strengths and weaknesses. Secondly, the author used his personal experience of working with OpenBiblio to evaluate its suitability for use among small libraries. Findings- The findings show that OpenBiblio is suitable for small libraries because it is easy to install and configure as compared to Koha, Evergreen and other integrated library management systems which require immense technical knowledge of Linux, MYSQL, HTML and CSS. Further, it has also been observed that O...
This study investigated the challenges facing libraries in higher education institutions in Zambi... more This study investigated the challenges facing libraries in higher education institutions in Zambia in their use of Koha. The study was a descriptive survey involving 41 libraries from higher education institutions. Data was collected using a structured self-administered questionnaire. The findings revealed that the major challenge was the inability of librarians to effectively use all the modules in Koha because of a lack of skills. The modules that are mainly used are circulation and cataloguing modules. The other challenges identified were poor Internet connectivity, lack of technical support, and difficulties upgrading and backing up the Koha database.
This study sought to assess the extent to which the two big public university libraries in Zambia... more This study sought to assess the extent to which the two big public university libraries in Zambia have implemented web library services by comparing and contrasting their web services. The paper further explored the challenges the two university libraries face in their quest to provide web based services to their users. The research was a qualitative comparative study in which a detailed study of web services provided by the two libraries was conducted. Data was collected through documents analysis. In addition, oral interviews were conducted with systems librarians from these libraries. The findings show that the concept of web library services provision in these two public university libraries is a far- fetched dream because many library services are not on the web. For instance, both the University of Zambia and Copperbelt University libraries do not provide on-line reference, self-circulation, and web inter-library loan services. However, both libraries provide web access to the...
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