HEA proposes mandatory recognition for Professors
HEA Director General, Professor Kazhila Chinsembu, says the idea is to establish a national register of HEA-accredited professors.
Speaking at the official opening of the first Summer School on Media Training, Prof. Chinssaid the presence of a number of bogus and fake professors in Zambia, saying these individuals have neither conducted credible research nor published a single peer-reviewed journal article.
“We have also observed the proliferation of fake professors whose publications are limited to predatory journals,” he said.
Prof. Chinsembu explained that predatory journals are deceptive academic publications that masquerade as legitimate scholarly outlets but exist primarily to extract money from authors rather than advance genuine research.
He said fake professors qualify as academic scams because they deliberately impersonate legitimate academics or fabricate credentials to deceive students and exploit institutions.
Prof. Chinsembu said bogus professors undermine the credibility and reputation of higher education institutions, eroding public trust and compromising academic standards.
He said the presence of fake professors directly contributes to graduate incompetency, as students are taught and supervised by unqualified instructors who cannot provide rigorous training, critical thinking skills, or proper research guidance.
“The unchecked proliferation of fake professors poses a serious threat to the legitimacy of our academic qualifications and diminishes the real skills and competencies that graduates are expected to acquire. It trashes the integrity of our system of higher education,” Prof. Chinsembu said.
He said the presence of bogus and fake professors underscores the urgent need for regulatory intervention and oversight over academic promotions to ensure that only qualified academics are recognised as professors.
According to Prof. Chinsembu, by linking professorial promotion to HEA-approved guidelines and verified research outputs, Zambia can safeguard the quality of its higher education system, enhance graduate competence, and restore public confidence in academic programming.
“We have also come across a number of dodgy and phoney professors with an h-index of zero. Globally, the h-indices of associate professors typically range from 10 to 20, while full professors frequently range from 20 to 40 and above, depending on the discipline,” he said.
He explained that an h-index in the range of 20 to 40 is often typical of established full professors in many research-intensive fields.
“My h-index of 23 reflects a solid and credible level of sustained scholarly productivity and citation impact. It indicates a strong and respectable scholarly profile. The h-index is more than just a number; it is a practical way to measure both productivity and impact of a scholar,” he said.
Prof. Chinsembu said the h-index serves as a key metric of academic impact, demonstrating the sustained influence of a scholar’s work.
He said a high h-index suggests a scholar’s publications are both numerous and widely cited, indicating substantial relevance and recognition within their field.
“Bogus and fake professors undermine the integrity and quality of higher education. Fake professors lack the training, experience and academic integrity required to teach at university level. They directly contribute to graduate incompetency and graduate unemployability,” he said.
“We have invited you to this Summer School because investigative journalism on academic credentials is important. The media can play a powerful role in promoting genuine professorship, deepening scholarship, erudition and academic rigour, and strengthening higher education standards in Zambia,” he said.
He said journalists can investigate and expose fake professors, bogus titles and unverified credentials, and urged them to verify claims of professorship against HEA-approved promotion criteria.
Ends
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