Former minister, Dora Siliya, becomes lecturer in development studies at the University of Lusaka.

According to Nkani Facebook page, Dora Siliya, a former Zambian minister, has made a significant career shift from politics to lecturer in development studies at the University of Zambia. This follows an illustrustrious career in politics, where she served as Member of Parliament for petauke central from (2006 to 2021) and held various ministerial positions under different administrations.

Ms Siliya has a strong academic background, with a PHD in development studies from the University of Lusaka, with a focus on the impact of election expenditure on agricultural public expenditure in Zambia. She also holds a Master’s degree in development economics from the University of Cambridge and a Bachelor’s degree in mass communication from the University of Zambia.

Siliya's transition to academia is one that has be seen as a significant development, given her expertise and experience in development studies. Her decision to share her knowledge with students at the University of Lusaka is expected to have a positive impact on the academic community. They get to hear her experiences in the field and that alone gives students the chance to not only read and learn about development studies but also hear it from someone like Ms Siliya.

Her achievements have given women the motivation they need to pursue an education, it is  women like Ms Siliya that show us the upcoming women that it is not just up to men to get an education and change certain things in our society, but that even women can rise up to the task and take part in today’s Ledership.

Showing her passion for education, in a report by Lusaka times in 2010, Ms Siliya the then minister of education whilst speaking at the sixth annual conference of the basic education teachers union of Zambia in Livingstone, emphased the importance of education stating that it could not be over emphasized because without education there can never be social economic transformation in the country. She further stated that only education can make it possible for economic development to take root in the country but noted that in order to achieve this, there must be consistent investment in the education sector.

A Lifetime of Service throughout her illustrious career, Dora Siliya has consistently demonstrated a commitment to public service and education, and her latest role is no exception. Although this new role might come as a shock for those that have not followed her journey till this point, her desire to see to it that people are educated, women in particular is something that one might say has been her life's work. She made sure that she observed that the Ministry of Education was not a social ministry but a ministry at the center of economic development because the future of the country squarely lay on it. 

As a lecturer, Siliya brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to the classroom, garnered from her years in public service and development initiatives. Her passion for education and development is evident in her work with the Show You Care Foundation, an advocacy platform she founded to support girls' education, particularly in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM), and women's entrepreneurship. 

“We want to strive and bring back the motivation in the teaching fraternity,” she said while speaking in Livingstone at the 6th Annual Conference of the Basic Education Teachers Union of Zambia (BETUZ) held at Fairmount hotel.