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.