The quantity trade-off:Implications of expanded enrolments at two of Zambia's public Universities
Available literature indicates that quantitative expansion of an education system is often accompanied by qualitative deterioration. The present study investigated the implications of the enormously expanded enrolments at two of Zambia's public universities. The dissertation hoped to add to existing knowledge in the field by using a qualitative in-depth case study approach of the University of Zambia (UNZA) and the Copperbelt University (CBU). It tried to provide insight into the problems that arise from expanded enrolments unaccompanied by a proportionate expansion of infrastructure. The research attempted to identify the impact of expanded enrolment of students on the teaching and research activities of the two universities as well as on the learning situations of the students. The study was undertaken in order to bring out the quality-quantity implications of the huge student populations at UNZA and CBU. Qualitative and quantitative methods of enquiry were used including recorded interviews as well as paper and pencil questionnaires. Analysis of the data revealed a number of fundamental bruises occasioned on quality in the process of quantitative expansion. It was found that due to increased workload, the lecturers increasingly failed to meet their mandatory research agendas. The study also found that expanded enrolments of students had outstripped the collective capacity of the two institutions to accommodate the admitted students. The contact between students and their lecturers was found to be increasingly unsatisfactory. The causes of these problems were investigated and finally suggestions were made for the elimination of the negative implications of expanded enrolments unaccompanied by corresponding expansion of infrastructure.
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