The Crisis in Higher Education in Africa

1996 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 36-42
Author(s):  
Samuel O. Atteh
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Public Expenditures ◽  
Skilled Workers ◽  
Educational Crisis ◽  
Pertinent Data ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
1960S And 1970S ◽  
The 1960S ◽  
Education In Africa

Africa is experiencing an educational crisis of unprecedented proportions in higher education. Having been hailed in the 1960s as agent of modernization, social mobilization, and economic growth, most African universities are now tumbling down under the pressures of diminishing financial resources. From all indications, Africa is lagging behind other developing regions in terms of public expenditures particularly on education, availability of educational facilities, equal access to education, adequate pools of qualified teachers, and sufficient numbers of professionals and skilled workers. Pertinent data show that most African governments in the 1960s and 1970s made comparable progressive accomplishments in higher education. However, these accomplishments steadily disappeared in the 1980s. What went wrong in the 1980s? Why is higher education now such a convenient target for African leaders/governments, when pressured to trim their overextended public sector? To what extent is the lack of multiparty democracies affecting the deteriorating state of higher education in Africa? Is the declining importance attached to education in sub-Saharan Africa a reflection of the lack of education among Africa’s tyrannical rulers, hence the low appreciation of education? What role did the foreign financial institutions play in the African educational system? How can we turn the educational crisis around? These questions not only address African educational issues but also help us to explain the scope of this crisis. In a comparative analysis, this study describes the main African higher educational problems, identifies the root causes of the problems, and finally examines the implications for the twenty-first century.

The Crisis in Higher Education in Africa

1996 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 36-42 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samuel O. Atteh
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Public Expenditures ◽  
Skilled Workers ◽  
Educational Crisis ◽  
Pertinent Data ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
1960S And 1970S ◽  
The 1960S ◽  
Education In Africa

Africa is experiencing an educational crisis of unprecedented proportions in higher education. Having been hailed in the 1960s as agent of modernization, social mobilization, and economic growth, most African universities are now tumbling down under the pressures of diminishing financial resources. From all indications, Africa is lagging behind other developing regions in terms of public expenditures particularly on education, availability of educational facilities, equal access to education, adequate pools of qualified teachers, and sufficient numbers of professionals and skilled workers. Pertinent data show that most African governments in the 1960s and 1970s made comparable progressive accomplishments in higher education. However, these accomplishments steadily disappeared in the 1980s. What went wrong in the 1980s? Why is higher education now such a convenient target for African leaders/governments, when pressured to trim their overextended public sector? To what extent is the lack of multiparty democracies affecting the deteriorating state of higher education in Africa? Is the declining importance attached to education in sub-Saharan Africa a reflection of the lack of education among Africa’s tyrannical rulers, hence the low appreciation of education? What role did the foreign financial institutions play in the African educational system? How can we turn the educational crisis around? These questions not only address African educational issues but also help us to explain the scope of this crisis. In a comparative analysis, this study describes the main African higher educational problems, identifies the root causes of the problems, and finally examines the implications for the twenty-first century.

scholarly journals African Higher Education: The Rise and Fall in the 20th Century

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Goolam Mohamedbhai
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
20Th Century ◽  
Turning Point ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
World Conference ◽  
African Higher Education ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
The 1960S

After the independence of the colonies in the 1960s, African universities became autonomous and modeled on European ones. The late 1970s and 1980s became the difficult years of economic turmoil. At the same time, a demand for higher education increased. In the 1990s, most universities in sub-Saharan Africa stood in a deplorable state. The turning point in the African universities' fates came with the UNESCO World Conference on Higher Education held in 1998, which provided a framework for renewed support to higher education and led to a revitalization of African universities.

Distance Learning and Virtual Education for Higher Education in Africa: Evaluation of Options and Strategies

2003 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 497-521 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stanley Moyo
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Distance Education ◽  
Full Range ◽  
Virtual Education ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
The Status ◽  
Information And Communication ◽  
Key Issues ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Education In Africa

AbstractThis paper briefly reviews the status of distance education and virtual education in the higher-education sector in Africa. The key issues affecting distance education in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) are identified and discussed. An analysis of the major issues facing distance education in SSA is made. It is noted that the full range of opportunities offered by information and communication technology (ICT) for higher education in Africa is largely underexploited. Factors responsible for this situation are identified and a range of strategies is recommended for resolving this situation. Finally, a model of distance education that can potentially enhance the use of ICT in higher education in SSA is proposed.

The Rise of the Migration-Development Nexus in Francophone Sub-Saharan Africa, 1960–2010

2018 ◽  
Vol 61 (1) ◽  
pp. 83-108 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean-Philippe Dedieu
Keyword(s):  
Public Policies ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Return Policies ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
1960S And 1970S ◽  
Set Up ◽  
The 1960S ◽  
Migration And Development ◽  
The Way

Abstract:This article aims to analyze the emergence of the migration-development nexus after decolonization in Francophone sub-Saharan Africa. The first section explores the way in which French governmental bodies and NGOs started to frame public policies linking migration and development in the 1960s and 1970s. The second section highlights how developmentalist ideology was mobilized in the 1980s in order to set up return policies in partnership with African governments who were increasingly inclined to control migrants’ monetary remittances. The last section emphasizes how the migration-development nexus was orchestrated to control migratory flows from the late 1980s onwards.

scholarly journals Unusual in Growth and Composition: Ethiopian Private Higher Education

2017 ◽  
pp. 19-21 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wondwosen Tamrat ◽  
Daniel Levy
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Private Higher Education ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Limited Role ◽  
The Future ◽  
Sub Saharan

Ethiopia’s private higher education (PHE) sector is the largest or second largest in sub-Saharan Africa, however a mix of enabling and restrictive policies have let PHE play a limited role in key respects. This article surveys the current landscape and asks important questions regarding the future of PHE.

scholarly journals Higher Education and Economic Growth in Africa

2014 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
David E. Bloom ◽  
David Canning ◽  
Kevin Chan ◽  
Dara Lee Luca
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Economic Growth ◽  
International Development ◽  
Poverty Reduction ◽  
Tertiary Education ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Public And Private ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Développement Économique ◽  
Education And Economic Growth

Enrollment rates for higher education in Sub-Saharan Africa are by far the lowest in the world at 6%. Yet because of conventional beliefs that tertiary education is less important for poverty reduction, the international development community has encouraged African governments’ relative neglect of higher education. This article challenges beliefs that tertiary education has little role in promoting economic growth and alleviating poverty. First, we review recent evidence that higher education can produce significant public and private benefits. Next, we analyze the relationship between tertiary education and economic growth. We find evidence that tertiary education improves technological catch-up and, in doing so, may help to maximize Africa’s potential to achieve more rapid economic growth given current constraints. Investing in tertiary education in Africa may accelerate technological diffusion, which would in turn decrease knowledge gaps and help reduce poverty in the region. We also review new developments and trends in the higher education scene in Africa. Le taux d’inscription dans l’enseignement supérieur en Afrique sub-saharienne est de loin le plus faible du monde, atteignant seulement 6%. Pourtant, parce que l’enseignement supérieur est perçu comme moins important que les enseignements primaire et secondaire pour lutter contre la pauvreté, la communauté internationale a encouragé les gouvernements africains à moins y prêter attention. Cet article conteste l’idée que l’enseignement supérieur joue un rôle peu important dans le développement économique et la lutte contre la pauvreté. Tout d’abord, nous nous intéressons à de récents résultats qui montrent que l’enseignement supérieur crée des bénéfices publics et privés. Ensuite, nous analysons la relation entre l’enseignement supérieur et la croissance économique. Nous montrons que l’enseignement supérieur permet de rattraper le retard technologique et, ce faisant, pourrait aider l’Afrique à maximiser sa capacité à accélérer sa croissance économique dans les conditions actuelles. Investir dans l’enseignement supérieur en Afrique pourrait permettre une diffusion plus rapide des avancées technologiques, qui pourrait à son tour réduire la disparité de savoir et participer à la réduction de la pauvreté dans la région. Nous passons aussi en revue les nouveautés et tendances dans l’enseignement supérieur africain.

Professors without Borders: The Benefits of a Scholastic Mentoring Program

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Maul
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Graduate Students ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Mentoring Program ◽  
Mentorship Program ◽  
Postgraduate Study ◽  
Industrialized Nations ◽  
Similar Program ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Insight Into

Universities in sub-Saharan Africa currently struggle to maintain adequate faculty and resources to take on Ph.D. candidates. Expanding enrolment in recent decades has not been met with improvements in university facilities, and neglect from development agencies has made it difficult for the higher education sector to meet the demands of the knowledge economy. As a result African graduate students have few opportunities to pursue postgraduate study in the region and sub-Saharan Africa’s brain drain persists. In order to address the lack of opportunity for graduate study, the Professors without Borders program has been developed. Professors without Borders is a mentorship program, whereby graduate students in sub-Saharan Africa are partnered with professors and academics at universities in industrialized nations and the students are mentored during the course of their degree. The program aims to promote internationalization among universities as well as facilitate development. This report examines the motivation behind the program and its potential for success. The literature review on higher education in sub-Saharan African summarizes the problems facing the sector but indicates the potential for higher education to contribute to economic growth. In addition, the reception of the Professors without Borders idea among African universities indicates unanimously that such a mentorship program would be very much welcomed and beneficial to African Ph.D. students. The experience of a similar program known as BrainRetain by the Irish-Africa Partnership provides insight into the challenges and logistics of making such a mentorship program successful and sustainable.

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