Top news items in major Zambian media outlets

LUSAKA, Dec. 20 (Xinhua) -- The following are news highlights in Zambia's major media outlets on Wednesday.

-- The Zambian government will next year sponsor 3,000 girls who dropped out of school due to early marriages and pregnancies in Samfya district in Luapula Province to complete their education. (Zambia Daily Mail)

-- Zambia will in the next two weeks deregister several private higher education institutions that have failed to provide quality education standards.

The Higher Education Authority, a government agency regulating the operations of institutions offering higher education, said it was in the final stages of deregistering the institutions that have been found wanting following an auditing process it conducted. (Daily Nation)

-- The Zambian government is looking for a partner to revive operations of a state-run oil refinery firm that has been facing operational challenges.

Minister of Energy David Mabumba said the government was looking for a partner to invest in Indeni Oil Refinery to help improve operation as the firm had remained stagnant and only producing 650,000 tonnes of fuel against its capacity of 1.1 million tonnes. (The Mast) Enditem