Politics of corporate social responsibility in the education sector: a study of selected secondary schools supported by Kamoto mine in Central, Zambia.

Abstract

This study explored politics of corporate social responsibility in the education sector. While the provision of education is the primary responsibility of the Zambian government, it was of the considered view that, the mining companies needed to take part in the provision of secondary education as a way of enhancing their Corporate Social Responsibility. After independence, Zambia Consolidated Copper Mines (ZCCM) supported schools and hospitals on the Copperbelt from independence to the early 1990s through its Medical and Education Trust (MET) as its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). However, with the privatization of the mines, it has been observed that CSR in the education sector seems to have declined over the years. Therefore, this study sought to fill the knowledge gap by investigating the contributions made by Kamoto Mine to secondary education in selected schools of Sandwe District of Central Zambia. Kamoto and Sandwe are used as pseudonyms for the mine and the district. The study employed a descriptive design with a sample size of 50 participants. Interviews, focus group discussions and questionnaires were used in the collection of data. The findings showed that, the mining companies had made considerable strides in enhancing their Corporate Social Responsibility in secondary education in Sandwe District. They have spear-headed sports activities, giving presents to higher performing learners, donated teaching and learning materials such as computers, books, pens, and flip-charts. In terms of infrastructure, the mining companies had fenced secondary schools and built 1x3 and 1x6 class room blocks. They had also built computer rooms, science laboratory and toilets. The mining company had no clear sponsorship policies. Nevertheless, they had trained teachers in First-Aid and Information and Communication Technology (ICT). The study recommended that the mining firms should develop a CSR strategy to be integrated into the business strategy. The mining entity should create a communications plan in their CSR execution with various stakeholders particularly the local community. Partnerships between Ministry of Education and business community is key to encourage dialogue between the mining company and education sector in order to understand and promote CSR principles and practices. In this context, integrating CSR into education, training and research should be prioritized. Government should put in place legislation that would encourage business corporations to have Corporate Social Responsibility policies especially in areas such as education so that business corporations give back to the communities where they are operating from. Since the mining sector is the major contributor to the development of the Zambia’s economy in general and the Zambia’s Treasury in particular, there is need for more studies to be conducted in order to ascertain how much the mining industry is contributing to education as part of their Corporate Social Responsibility