Dear editor
ALLOW me to comment on Zambia College of Distance Education (ZACODE), one of the oldest colleges in Zambia. ZACODE has been in existence since 1964 but looking at it today, the college is like it was established two years ago.
The Ministry of General Education must allow ZACODE to diversify in programmes like Education, at diploma and Degree programmes.
Our counterparts like Namibia and Botswana who had learned from Zambia and established similar colleges, their colleges offer diploma and post graduate diploma in distance education where universities and colleges offering distance education programmes send their lecturers.
These lecturers are able to produce quality materials for their distance learners than we are seeing in Zambia.
The programmes that ZACODE need to diversify into apart from their current programmes include:
-Education (primary and early education because they had handle this at one point)
-Teaching methodology
-Business Management
-Public Administration
-Public relations
-Computer programming
-Accountancy
Today, ZACODE can be the leading institution in distance education programmes but due to inertia in the Ministry of Education, the college is still struggling. The college has experienced lecturers who can change the face of the college and generate revenue for the country as foreigners who are aware of its potential can enrol and contribute to the well-being of the country as a whole.
I hope officials in the Ministry of General Education can consult Dr Phiri, the former minister, who had talked about the intentions of Government on ZACODE when he was aired on ZNBC.
WOMBA M. MATONGI