A Review of upscaling a skill based Higher Education system for community connectedness in Zambia

Abstract

The article undertook to examine upscaling skills based frameworks in Higher Education for transforming communities. The criteria used is to understand and analyze the three operational levels of higher education; 1) Higher Education Authority, 2) Higher Education Institutions and 3) Higher Education learners.  The article’s examination of the three operational levels of higher education found that there is an existence of operational frameworks with regard to policies, strategic planning and curriculum design. The frameworks functions based on same values of constituted national education laws. However, the upscaling of skill based structures are hardly in operation due to lack of firm supportive frameworks to solidify the linkages of the three entities to community needs which are at the center of their operations.

There is need to build frameworks in higher education that have defined community needs as the basis for upscaling skill based systems. The community seem detached from the three higher education operations even though it supplies its human resources in form of learners.