Strategies used by the University of Zambia to retain the academic staff in 1990 -2016

International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS) | Volume V, Issue VIII, August 2021 | ISSN 2454–6186

Strategies used by the University of Zambia to retain the academic staff in 1990 -2016

Dr. Rosemary Muma Mulenga
Department of Educational Administration and Policy Studies, Kwame Nkrumah University, Zambia

Abstract: This study sought to investigate the strategies that the University of Zambia (UNZA) employed to retain lecturers during the period 1990 to 2016. In order to do so, the following specific objective was framed namely to: Establish strategies that UNZA used in the retention of lecturers. Considering that motivation is critical to academic staff, the study was guided by Maslow’s theory of motivation. There were 137 respondents who were purposively sampled using probability and non- probability sampling procedure with stratified random and purposive sampling respectively. Quantitative data was analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Science version 20 (SPSS) and qualitative data was analysed using thematic analysis. The key findings of the study revealed that conditions of service at UNZA during the period 1990 to 2016 were not favourable to retain staff. Some institutional programmes were disrupted and there was demoralisation among lecturers. Top administrators revealed that lack of finances for a range of activities and amenities, such as attractive salaries, pension benefits, workshops and seminars, accommodation and office space, housing and lecture rooms partly contributed to lecturers leaving the university.
Key words: retention, strategy, job satisfaction, motivation

I.BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT

The most valuable asset available to an organisation is its people or human resource; thus, retention of staff in their jobs is essential for an institution. Social, economic, and political developments coupled with the processes of globalisation and developments in the area of information and communication technologies have contributed towards the flow of highly skilled individuals from one end of the world to the other (Watkins, 2013). In the early 1990s, Zambia lost some academic staff to other institutions within the region and abroad. Some lecturers left for these places because their conditions of service were better than UNZA’s. The deteriorating economic conditions in Zambia, due to structural adjustment programmes and global economic restructuring, (Kelly, 2006) made the academic staff leave UNZA for other institutions or countries abroad where conditions of service were better. For many African countries, Zambia in particular, the pressure to keep up with external debt payments forced the government to reduce funding for the university. A wage freeze was introduced by the government on all its workers and institutions that benefitted from government grants (Lungu, 2006; Nyirenda and Shikwe, 2015). This demoralised employees in the country including lecturers at UNZA.
There was poverty in the countries of origins of lecturers who migrated and therefore they looked to other countries which did not have enough qualified personnel but offered good salaries (Gberevbie, 2009; Osibanjo et al. 2014). Qualified

Read More