Higher Education Authority

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Higher Education Authority

HEA began its operations in 2015. The HEA began its operations in 2015.
(2)

The Higher Education Authority (HEA) is a statutory body established by the Higher Education Act No. 4 of 2013, to ensure quality of delivery of services by Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). The Higher Education Authority (HEA) is a grant aided institution established under the Higher Education Act No. 4 of 2013, to ensure quality of delivery of services by Higher Education Institutions (HEIs)

. Mandate
“To coordinate, regulate, supervise and monitor standards of higher education in Zambia.”

Vision
“To be an efficient and effective higher education regulatory agency which will bring forth a quality higher education system which is well coordinated, accessible, equitable, responsive and relevant.”

Mission
“To develop and regulate a quality higher education system which produces individuals who are well equipped to contribute to national development.”

Governance
The Minister of Higher Education appoints an 11 member Board of the Authority to implement directives which are consistent with the provisions of Higher Education Act No. 4 of 2013. The Board appoints a Director General who is the chief executive officer of the Authority and is responsible for the day-to-day administration of the Authority. Functions of the HEA

The functions of the HEA as outlined in the Higher Education Act No. 4 of 2013
Part II (6), include

•Advise the Minister of Higher Education on any aspect of higher education

•Develop and recommend policy on higher education

•Regulate HEIs and coordinate the development of higher education

•Promote quality assurance in higher education

•Audit the quality assurance mechanisms of higher education

•Promote equity in access to higher education through the provision of student assistance programmes

•Design and recommend an institutional quality assurance system for HEIs and recommend to the Minister of Higher Education institutional quality assurance standards

Registration of Private HEIs

The Application Process

All applicants shall complete the Application Form and submit to the HEA. Application Fees
K500 (Zambian Owned HEI)
K1, 000 (Foreign Owned HEI)

Application Processing Fees
K10, 000 (Zambian Owned HEI)
K15, 000 (Foreign Owned HEI)

For full registration requirements and list of registered HEIs, visit www.hea.org.zm

Accreditation of Learning Programmes

Accreditation is both a status and process of external quality review used by HEIs to scrutinise higher education programmes for quality assurance and quality improvement. By accepting accreditation status, HEIs agree to uphold the quality standards set by the HEA, and also agree to periodically submit to the Authority requests for accreditation renewal and review. Accreditation of Learning Programmes Processing Fees
K5, 000 (Zambian Owned HEI)
K10, 000 (Foreign Owned HEI)

For full Accreditation of Learning Programmes requirements, visit www.hea.org.zm

08/06/2026

Register Now for HEA’s 2026 Winter School on Quality Assurance and AI Training

By Mr. Birbal Boniface Musoba
Corporate Communications Officer

Join the Higher Education Authority (HEA) for a three (3)-day Capacity Building Workshop for Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) from 15th – 17th July, 2026, at Chrismar Hotel, Livingstone.

To register, scan the QR Code on the poster or use the link, https://forms.gle/Wwx1ia68gB4W2sUS9.

📧 Sign up to HEA Mailing List: https://zc.vg/w2f1Z

📲 Join the HEA WhatsApp Channel here:
https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VasVJip7oQhXnhbaOB2I

05/06/2026

Friday Focus: Lights, Camera, Higher Education!

By Mr. Birbal Boniface Musoba
Corporate Communications Officer

Sometimes the work of communicating higher education takes you in front of the cameras, quite literally.

Yesterday, Thursday, 4th June, 2026, Higher Education Authority (HEA) Corporate Communications Officer, Mr. Birbal Boniface Musoba, sat down with Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation (ZNBC Today) TV1 journalist, Ms. Namwandi Mwiinga, for a television interview at Mass Media, with cameraperson, Mr. Abram Banda, behind the lens making sure it all came together.

The conversation covered HEA's vital role quality improvement in higher education vs closing down of abrogating Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), including the Authority's ongoing efforts to keep students informed and protected in the higher education space.

For those of us working in communications, media engagements are always a reminder that public information is a team sport. It was great proof that the message of higher education quality assurance is finding its way into more living rooms across Zambia, one broadcast at a time.

Don’t miss the ZNBC TV1 News Today, Friday, 5th June, 2026, for the full interview.

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📧 Sign up to HEA Mailing List: https://zc.vg/w2f1Z

📲 Join the HEA WhatsApp Channel here:
https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VasVJip7oQhXnhbaOB2I

📚 Read all HEA News here: https://hea.org.zm/hea-news/

🗳️ Take the National Graduate Survey! https://hea.org.zm/nationalgraduatesurvey/

📲 Follow the Higher Education Authority (HEA) on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube () and join the conversation using .

📌 Higher Education Authority (HEA) │ 2nd Floor, Engineering House │ Stand No. 2374, Kelvin Siwale Road │ P.O. Box 50795, Ridgeway, Lusaka │ +260 976 936 658│ [email protected] │ www.hea.org.zm

04/06/2026

Happy 64th Birthday to His Excellency, the President of the Republic of Zambia, Mr. Hakainde Hichilema

The Board, Management and Staff of the Higher Education Authority (HEA) proudly join the nation in wishing His Excellency, the President of the Republic of Zambia, Mr. Hakainde Hichilema, a happy 64th birthday.

Nelson Mandela once said, “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”

Your Excellency, under your leadership, Zambia has witnessed a renewed commitment to making education more accessible to ordinary citizens, restoring hope to many young people and families across the country.

The enshrinement of free education in Law stands as a landmark achievement of your Government, which has created a stronger pathway into higher education, expanding opportunity, inspiring aspiration and reinforcing the important role education plays in national development.

Your Excellency, this commitment has been matched with bold and tangible action that has led to the construction of new classrooms, the provision of desks, a school feeding programme bringing meals to pupils who once attended school while hungry, and the recruitment of 41,422 teachers, an investment in human capital that will shape Zambia for generations to come.

In the higher education sector, your leadership has equally given renewed hope to students through the restoration of student meal allowances, the expansion of student loans to all public universities and emphasis on internships and work-based learning. These measures have not only eased the financial burden on students and families, but have also strengthened access, equity and retention in higher education, particularly for vulnerable learners whose future depends on sustained public support.

As the Higher Education Authority continues “Ensuring Quality in Higher Education,” we are deeply encouraged by your vision for a more inclusive, educated and empowered Zambia. We remain honoured to play our part in safeguarding quality, strengthening standards and supporting the transformation of higher education in line with the national development agenda.

May this new year of your life be filled with continued good health, wisdom and success as you lead the nation towards greater prosperity and transformation.

Happy Birthday, Mr. President.

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📧 Sign up to HEA Mailing List: https://zc.vg/w2f1Z

📲 Join the HEA WhatsApp Channel here:
https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VasVJip7oQhXnhbaOB2I

📚 Read all HEA News here: https://hea.org.zm/hea-news/

🗳️ Take the National Graduate Survey! https://hea.org.zm/nationalgraduatesurvey/

📲 Follow the Higher Education Authority (HEA) on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube () and join the conversation using .

📌 Higher Education Authority (HEA) │ 2nd Floor, Engineering House │ Stand No. 2374, Kelvin Siwale Road │ P.O. Box 50795, Ridgeway, Lusaka │ +260 976 936 658│ [email protected] │ www.hea.org.zm

04/06/2026

HEA is Calling for Submissions on Research and Innovation

By Mr. Birbal Boniface Musoba
Corporate Communications Officer

The Higher Education Authority (HEA) invites Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) to showcase how they are advancing research, innovation, technology and national development for publication in HEA’s inaugural Research and Innovation Digest 2026.

Scan the QR Code on the poster for the full submission guidelines or click the link below: https://hea.org.zm/hea-calls-on-heis-to-showcase-research-and-innovation-driving-zambias-development/.

Deadline: Friday, 5th June, 2026.

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📧 Sign up to HEA Mailing List: https://zc.vg/w2f1Z

📲 Join the HEA WhatsApp Channel here:
https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VasVJip7oQhXnhbaOB2I

📚 Read all HEA News here: https://hea.org.zm/hea-news/

🗳️ Take the National Graduate Survey! https://hea.org.zm/nationalgraduatesurvey/

📲 Follow the Higher Education Authority (HEA) on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube () and join the conversation using .

📌 Higher Education Authority (HEA) │ 2nd Floor, Engineering House │ Stand No. 2374, Kelvin Siwale Road │ P.O. Box 50795, Ridgeway, Lusaka │ +260 976 936 658│ [email protected] │ www.hea.org.zm

02/06/2026

HEA Goes Digital: Online Accreditation System Now in Pilot Phase

By Mr. Birbal Boniface Musoba
Corporate Communications Officer

The Higher Education Authority (HEA) has launched the pilot phase of its Online Accreditation Module, moving Zambia's higher education accreditation process off email inboxes and onto a dedicated digital platform for the first time.

The system, called the Quality Assurance Management Information System (QAMIS), is accessible at https://qamis.hea.org.zm and will allow Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) to submit accreditation applications electronically, track their submissions and manage the process in one place.

This shift will cut processing times, reduce paperwork and bring much-needed transparency to how accreditation is handled across the sector.

The pilot follows a five (5)-day training workshop HEA held from 23rd to 27th March, 2026, at Sandy's Creation Resort in Chilanga, where 50 HEIs sent two (2) participants each, who were drawn specifically from their Quality Assurance and Information Technology units, to get hands-on with the platform, create user accounts and work through its functions before it went live.

HEA Director-General, Professor Kazhila C. Chinsembu, announced the start of the pilot in a communiqué to HEIs, describing it as a meaningful step forward in how the Authority delivers its services.

"The Higher Education Authority wishes to inform all Higher Education Institutions that the Online Accreditation Module is now ready for piloting," Professor Chinsembu said, adding that the Authority appreciates the cooperation of institutions in getting the system off the ground.

Importantly, the transition is being managed carefully as during the pilot phase, the online platform will run in parallel with the existing email-based submission process through [email protected].

This is to emphasise that no institution will be cut off mid-process as the full switchover date will be communicated separately once the Authority is satisfied the system is ready to carry the full load.

Institutions whose staff attended the March training can log in immediately using the credentials created during the sessions, whilst those who missed the workshop or need account support have been advised to contact the Senior IT Officer, Mr. Francis Kawesha, on [email protected] or mobile number +260 979 264 810.

The Online Accreditation Module is part of a broader digital transformation agenda HEA has been building out, aimed at making its regulatory processes more efficient and more responsive to the institutions it serves. For a sector that spans Colleges, University Colleges, Technical University Colleges, Universities, Technical University, Institution for Specialised Training of Professionals in a Specified Field, and Institutes across the country, having a centralised, trackable system for accreditation is long overdue, and the strong turnout at the training suggests HEIs are ready for it.

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📧 Sign up to HEA Mailing List: https://zc.vg/w2f1Z

📲 Join the HEA WhatsApp Channel here:
https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VasVJip7oQhXnhbaOB2I

📚 Read all HEA News here: https://hea.org.zm/hea-news/

🗳️ Take the National Graduate Survey! https://hea.org.zm/nationalgraduatesurvey/

📲 Follow the Higher Education Authority (HEA) on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube () and join the conversation using .

📌 Higher Education Authority (HEA) │ 2nd Floor, Engineering House │ Stand No. 2374, Kelvin Siwale Road │ P.O. Box 50795, Ridgeway, Lusaka │ +260 976 936 658│ [email protected] │ www.hea.org.zm

01/06/2026

From Choma to the Classroom: Why HEA's Director-General Takes Higher Education to the People

By Mr. Birbal Boniface Musoba
Corporate Communications Officer

On a Friday afternoon in Choma, the Director-General of the Higher Education Authority (HEA) sat across from a radio host and spoke for an hour, not to policymakers or university vice-chancellors, but to the farmers, parents, students and community members tuned into Choma Maanu Radio Station 95.1FM.

It was, in the clearest possible terms, a deliberate choice. For Professor Kazhila C. Chinsembu, stakeholder engagement is not a line item in a schedule. It is the mechanism through which HEA's mandate becomes real, through which regulation, accreditation and quality assurance stop being abstract bureaucratic processes and start meaning something to the young person in Chibombo or Monze wondering whether the college down the road is worth trusting with their future.

The visit to Choma forms part of the Authority's Strategic Objective No. 2 under its Strategic Plan 2022–2026. But what the Strategic Plan describes in policy language, the Director-General translates in plain terms on community radio: check whether your institution is registered. Make sure your programme is accredited. Do not hand over your future to an institution that cannot account for itself.

"We want Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) to embrace AI in a responsible manner," Professor Chinsembu told listeners, pivoting from compliance to opportunity, adding, "AI can help us to accelerate the development of various knowledge solutions, drug discovery, diagnostics, agriculture."

The breadth of the conversation was intentional. In the same hour, Professor Chinsembu spoke about free education as an economic strategy, about drought-resistant crops as a legitimate research priority for Southern Province universities, about the shift from theory to competence-based curricula, and about the two checks every student must make before enrolling anywhere.

None of it was ceremonial. HEA's engagement model is built on a recognition that information asymmetry is one of the biggest risks in Zambia's higher education landscape. Students enrol in unregistered institutions because no one told them to check. Colleges drift away from community relevance because no one demanded accountability. Institutions treat AI as either a threat or a toy because guidance has not reached them.

Professor Chinsembu's answer to all of this is to show up in Choma, on the radio, in the language the community uses, and make the case directly.

"The starting point for transformation of our economy should and must be higher education," he said, concluding, "We must bring higher education back into the centre."

For HEA, that work does not begin in Lusaka. It begins with a microphone in Choma, and a Director-General willing to spend an hour making the argument to anyone who will listen.

Listen to Professor Chinsembu’s full 1 hour interview on Choma Maanu Radio Station 95.1FM here: https://youtu.be/GR7mABU7UC8.

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📧 Sign up to HEA Mailing List: https://zc.vg/w2f1Z

📲 Join the HEA WhatsApp Channel here:
https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VasVJip7oQhXnhbaOB2I

📚 Read all HEA News here: https://hea.org.zm/hea-news/

🗳️ Take the National Graduate Survey! https://hea.org.zm/nationalgraduatesurvey/

📲 Follow the Higher Education Authority (HEA) on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube () and join the conversation using .

📌 Higher Education Authority (HEA) │ 2nd Floor, Engineering House │ Stand No. 2374, Kelvin Siwale Road │ P.O. Box 50795, Ridgeway, Lusaka │ +260 976 936 658│ [email protected] │ www.hea.org.zm

29/05/2026

Friday Focus: Good Vibes and Shared Purpose in Education

By Mr. Birbal Boniface Musoba
Corporate Communications Officer

Sometimes collaboration in the education sector also looks like this, good conversations, shared experiences and positive energy between professionals working to strengthen communication across institutions.

Higher Education Authority (HEA) Corporate Communications Officer, Mr. Birbal Boniface Musoba, shares a light moment with Ms. Coretta Soko, Public Relations Officer at The Teaching Council of Zambia-TCZ (TCZ), during the 2026 Government Public Relations and Crisis Management Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Programme organised by the Ministry of Information and Media through Zambia Institute of Mass Communication- Zamcom in Siavonga.

While TCZ helps regulate the teaching profession and HEA promotes quality assurance in higher education, collaboration also looks better with smiles, sneakers and good vibes 😁

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📧 Sign up to HEA Mailing List: https://zc.vg/w2f1Z

📲 Join the HEA WhatsApp Channel here:
https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VasVJip7oQhXnhbaOB2I

📚 Read all HEA News here: https://hea.org.zm/hea-news/

🗳️ Take the National Graduate Survey! https://hea.org.zm/nationalgraduatesurvey/

📲 Follow the Higher Education Authority (HEA) on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube () and join the conversation using .

📌 Higher Education Authority (HEA) │ 2nd Floor, Engineering House │ Stand No. 2374, Kelvin Siwale Road │ P.O. Box 50795, Ridgeway, Lusaka │ +260 976 936 658│ [email protected] │ www.hea.org.zm

29/05/2026

“AI Is Coming to Zambia's Universities” – HEA Director-General Says the Question Is Not Whether, But How

By Mr. Birbal Boniface Musoba
Corporate Communications Officer

The Director-General of the Higher Education Authority (HEA), Professor Kazhila C. Chinsembu, has stated that artificial intelligence has already arrived in Zambia's colleges and universities, and the question the higher education subsector must now answer is not whether to embrace it, but how to use it responsibly and productively.

Professor Chinsembu made these remarks during a live one-hour interview on Choma Maanu Radio Station 95.1FM on Friday, 22nd May, 2026, as part of his stakeholder engagement tour of Southern Province. The engagement is part of Strategic Objective No. 2 of HEA's Strategic Plan 2022–2026, through which the Authority takes its regulatory and policy positions directly to the public, including students, parents, educators and community leaders.

"AI is becoming ubiquitous in higher education," the Director-General said, continuing, "It is now everywhere and we want Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) to embrace AI, to embrace artificial intelligence in a responsible manner, in a way that helps our students to engage in critical thinking."

Professor Chinsembu was clear that the concern is not AI itself, but it is what students do with it. He drew a sharp distinction between using AI as a shortcut for copying and pasting, and using it as a tool for problem-solving, entrepreneurship and innovation.

“HEA wants students doing the latter,” Professor Chinsembu said, adding, "We would like our students to use AI to help them to solve problems, to think critically, and to help our students to become more practical, more entrepreneurial. We want our students to use AI to build enterprises, to create employment for themselves and others."

The Director-General pointed to specific sectors where AI holds transformative potential for Zambia: drug discovery, medical diagnostics, mining and agriculture.

He argued that these were not distant possibilities, but were areas where Zambian students and researchers, if properly equipped, could make a real national contribution.

HEA, he added, is developing a National Higher Education Strategy specifically for AI, a framework that will guide HEIs on responsible adoption and ensure that the revolution benefits students rather than undermining the integrity of their learning.

"The bottom line is that we should be able to use AI to increase intellectual curiosity and innovation," Professor Chinsembu said, concluding, "And to help convert knowledge into solutions for ourselves as a country."

Listen to Professor Chinsembu’s full 1 hour interview on Choma Maanu Radio Station 95.1FM here: https://youtu.be/GR7mABU7UC8.

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📧 Sign up to HEA Mailing List: https://zc.vg/w2f1Z

📲 Join the HEA WhatsApp Channel here:
https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VasVJip7oQhXnhbaOB2I

📚 Read all HEA News here: https://hea.org.zm/hea-news/

🗳️ Take the National Graduate Survey! https://hea.org.zm/nationalgraduatesurvey/

📲 Follow the Higher Education Authority (HEA) on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube () and join the conversation using .

📌 Higher Education Authority (HEA) │ 2nd Floor, Engineering House │ Stand No. 2374, Kelvin Siwale Road │ P.O. Box 50795, Ridgeway, Lusaka │ +260 976 936 658│ [email protected] │ www.hea.org.zm

Address

2nd Floor Engineering House, Stand No. 2374 Kelvin Siwale Road
Lusaka
10101

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+260211227084

Website

http://www.hea.org.zm/

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