Geography Education at the Crossroads - Opportunities and Challenges of Teaching and Learning of Geography at Kwame Nkrumah University, Kabwe, Central Zambia: Finalist Students' Voices

The goal of this study is to share some insights with a reader on the significance of aspiring to study Geography.For various reasons, Geography discipline does not seem to be a preferred course or subject to be pursued by both students, and learners at all levels of education ladder, hence the title, Geography education at cross roads.Given a choice, Geography cannot easily be considered as someone's study area.To qualify this disinterest, in 2020, at KNU, 418 (167 female and 251 male) students entered to study as face-to-face (F-2-F) students at KNU.Out of this number, only twenty-three (23) majored in Geography, and 395 pursued other disciplines.If Geography discipline is attached with high level importance as depicted under this study, one would expect it to have a higher figure, even beyond fifty (50) candidates, but the opposite is true.Even if we were to consider enrollment levels for Open and Distance Learning as well as postgraduate students, the numbers are still on the lower side as compared to other disciplines like Civic Education, and English Language to mention a few.Emphasising the importance of the discipline Geography it is well noted that it anchors both natural and social scientists (Bayir, Cakici, & Ertas, 2014).As a matter of fact, it is one of the few disciplines, if not the only one, that is concerned with understanding why and how both physical and cultural phenomena differ from place to place on the surface of the earth (Mundende, Mubita Milupi and Kalimaposo (2023); Mubita, Mundende, Milupi, Kalimaposo (2023), Mundende, Mubita, Kalimaposo, Haambokoma, Milupi, Sikayomya (2022); Kariuku, 2020).It is a discipline with various career opportunities for those who may wish to become teachers, pilots, meteorologists, geologists, environmentalists, cartographers, and many more.