[2] The beginnings of UNZA can be traced back to before the Second World War when the idea to establish a University in Northern Rhodesia was conceived.

A subsequent investigation into the need for higher education for Africans in Central Africa was conducted by Sir Alexander Carr-Saunders in 1952, with a follow-up report submitted in March 1953.

However, a minority report written by Alexander Kerr, provided a counter argument suggesting that the establishment of a higher education institution on the basis of equality between races was not feasible and thus recommended that a university for non-Europeans be established in Lusaka.

[citation needed] The political climate, as a result of the independence struggle, in the late 1950s and early 1960s made the idea of an all-inclusive University College of Rhodesia less attractive.

As a result, plans to solicit support for the establishment of a higher education institution in Lusaka were initiated.