Cost Sharing in Zambia’s Public Universities: Prospects and Challenges

Abstract

This research paper explores the concept of ‘cost sharing’ which became more prominent in Zambia edu- cation with the advent of democratic form of governance in 1991. As a way of responding to the ever diminishing tax revenues, government through the education policy of 1996, allowed higher education institutions including public universities to introduce cost sharing as way of improving financial vibran- cy, accountability and cost effectiveness. This paper therefore, uses students’ perceptions to examine the cost sharing policy which has now been existence for almost two decades. More specifically, it explores underlying factors which can make cost sharing more effective and sustainable. Recent studies show that the impact of the cost sharing has been modest, though still remains one viable and cost effective way of financing public universities. In exploring these prospects and challenges, a self administered question- naire based on convenient sampling was used to collect data from 729 respondents in Zambia’s three biggest public universities. Data was subjected to Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and Exploratory Fac- tor Analyses. The findings revealed that the current cost sharing policy was appropriate but lacked the government support in its implementation. The study further highlighted the need for re-engineering the current policy by providing details on the implementation process. The study highly recommends that a true cost-sharing model be implemented in an effort towards making public universities more effective and sustainable.

Keywords

• cost sharing, public universities, prospects, challenges, Zambia

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