Equity and Quality in the Revitalisation of African Higher Education: Trends and Challenges

2011 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 348-365 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mala Singh
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Knowledge Based ◽  
Development Agenda ◽  
African Higher Education ◽  
Sub Saharan

The revitalisation of African higher education has been a policy imperative on the agenda of many international and African organisations in the last decade, as well as a focus for research and debate. Revitalisation is a theme which is itself framed by a larger set of current discourses about the powerful role of knowledge in society and in the economy, and about the possibilities and conditions for knowledge-based development. Central to the success of both the revitalisation and knowledge-based development agenda is a systematic and sustained approach to a package of issues relating to access, equity and quality in African higher education. This article examines trends and developments relating to these three issues in higher education in sub-Saharan Africa and reflects on their implications for a successful revitalisation strategy, as well as for knowledge-based development.

Improving Electronic Information Literacy in West African Higher Education

2011 ◽  
pp. 2121-2129
Author(s):  
Ibrahima Poda ◽  
William F. Brescia
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Information And Communication Technologies ◽  
Information Literacy ◽  
Information Society ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Electronic Information ◽  
Knowledge Based ◽  
Knowledge Based Economy ◽  
Information And Communication ◽  
Sub Saharan

Electronic information literacy has gained increased importance with the advent of the new information and communication technologies which, driven by the convergence of computers and telecommunications media, are crucial for facilitating, supporting, and enhancing learning and for the knowledge-based economy of the future. In “Africa’s Information Society Initiative (AISI): An Action Framework to Build Africa’s Information and Communication Infrastructure,” African ICT experts appointed by the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), have described the potential of the Internet to improve learning in higher education and established the foundation for this to become a reality in Sub-Saharan Africa. The AISI document that the group of experts produced was adopted by the ECA Conference of Ministers as the African Information Society Initiative (AISI) in 1996.

Improving Electronic Information Literacy in West African Higher Education

2005 ◽  
pp. 427-432
Author(s):  
Ibrahima Poda ◽  
William F. Brescia
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Information And Communication Technologies ◽  
Information Literacy ◽  
Information Society ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Electronic Information ◽  
Knowledge Based ◽  
Knowledge Based Economy ◽  
Information And Communication ◽  
Sub Saharan

Electronic information literacy has gained increased importance with the advent of the new information and communication technologies which, driven by the convergence of computers and telecommunications media, are crucial for facilitating, supporting, and enhancing learning and for the knowledge-based economy of the future. In “Africa’s Information Society Initiative (AISI): An Action Framework to Build Africa’s Information and Communication Infrastructure,” African ICT experts appointed by the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), have described the potential of the Internet to improve learning in higher education and established the foundation for this to become a reality in Sub-Saharan Africa. The AISI document that the group of experts produced was adopted by the ECA Conference of Ministers as the African Information Society Initiative (AISI) in 1996.

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.

scholarly journals An Appraisal of the Internationalisation of Higher Education in Sub-Saharan Africa

2014 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 71-90
Author(s):  
Sintayehu Kassaye Alemu
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Cultural Values ◽  
Socioeconomic Development ◽  
Unintended Consequences ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Developing Regions ◽  
Internationalisation Of Higher Education ◽  
African Higher Education ◽  
Global North ◽  
Sub Saharan

Over the past decades, the development of the internationalisation of higher education has revised the conceptual framework of higher education, enhanced its scope, scale and importance, and transformed its world, as well as reshaping relationships between countries. More powerful universities play a central role and are suppliers of knowledge, whereas weaker institutions and systems with fewer resources and lower academic standards occupy a peripheral position and are consumers. The centre-periphery dichotomy in the internationalisation of higher education undoubtedly presents considerable challenges to the higher education institutions of the peripheries. For developing regions like Africa, higher education is an important instrument for socioeconomic development, and one of the strategies to improve and qualify higher education is internationalisation. In spite of various attempts to enhance the benefits of internationalisation, African higher education has continued to be peripheral, with relationships remaining asymmetrical, unethical and unequal. Along with some positive benefits, internationalisation has brought complicated implications and new challenges, such as the brain drain, cultural values, the commodification of higher education, the persistence of inequality between global north-south universities, and so on. The purpose of the present paper is to highlight the challenges and unintended consequences of the internationalisation of higher education, with a particular focus on Africa.

Is the Character of Institutional Leadership Central to the Quality of Higher Education (HE) Management?

2021 ◽  
pp. 1740-1761
Author(s):  
Nwachukwu Prince Ololube
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Poor Quality ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Institutional Leadership ◽  
Quality Of Higher Education ◽  
The Social ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
The Relationship

This study employed a descriptive, empirical and suggestive approach. The purpose of this study is to determine whether the character of institutional leadership is central to the management of higher education (HE). First, the study x-rayed the role of character in institutional leadership and management of HE. Second, it highlights the character of institutional leadership in combination with values, morals, principles and ethics in the management of HE, and third, the implication of the character of institutional leadership on the quality of HE. To address the descriptive part of this study, this article reviewed literature on the relationship between the character of institutional leadership with particular focus on values, morals, principles and ethics, and the quality of HE management. The empirical part of this article included the collection of data from 250 respondents through a structured questionnaire, and data were analyzed using the statistical package for the social sciences (SPSS) version 21. While the suggestive part portrayed the study's findings, which redolent that the neglect of the role of character in institutional leadership as being central to HE management might possibly explain the dysfunctional and poor quality state of HE particularly in Nigeria and perhaps many sub-Saharan Africa countries. Therefore, appointment of institutional heads should be based on technical qualification and character of institutional leaders, and must be a continual effort towards the integration of positive thoughts, both in words and in actions. The target audiences for this article include educational managers and planners, researchers, academics, professionals, students, and leadership practitioners.

scholarly journals The World Bank's Perspective on African Higher Education

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Damtew Teferra
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
World Bank ◽  
Tertiary Education ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
African Development ◽  
The World Bank ◽  
African Higher Education ◽  
The World ◽  
Catch Up ◽  
Sub Saharan

In it's report "Accelerating Catch-Up: Tertiary Education in Sub-Saharan Africa", the World Bank places education at the fore of African development priorities. This represents a shift in viewpoint from higher education as luxury to higher education as necessity. While this can be seen as progress, the report still contains gaps in data and may indicate a need for increased attention to this changing sector.

Is the Character of Institutional Leadership Central to the Quality of Higher Education (HE) Management?

2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 46-64 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nwachukwu Prince Ololube
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Poor Quality ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Institutional Leadership ◽  
Quality Of Higher Education ◽  
The Social ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
The Relationship

This study employed a descriptive, empirical and suggestive approach. The purpose of this study is to determine whether the character of institutional leadership is central to the management of higher education (HE). First, the study x-rayed the role of character in institutional leadership and management of HE. Second, it highlights the character of institutional leadership in combination with values, morals, principles and ethics in the management of HE, and third, the implication of the character of institutional leadership on the quality of HE. To address the descriptive part of this study, this article reviewed literature on the relationship between the character of institutional leadership with particular focus on values, morals, principles and ethics, and the quality of HE management. The empirical part of this article included the collection of data from 250 respondents through a structured questionnaire, and data were analyzed using the statistical package for the social sciences (SPSS) version 21. While the suggestive part portrayed the study's findings, which redolent that the neglect of the role of character in institutional leadership as being central to HE management might possibly explain the dysfunctional and poor quality state of HE particularly in Nigeria and perhaps many sub-Saharan Africa countries. Therefore, appointment of institutional heads should be based on technical qualification and character of institutional leaders, and must be a continual effort towards the integration of positive thoughts, both in words and in actions. The target audiences for this article include educational managers and planners, researchers, academics, professionals, students, and leadership practitioners.

The International Connections of Religious Higher Education in Sub-Saharan Africa

2011 ◽  
Vol 15 (5) ◽  
pp. 487-499 ◽  
Author(s):  
Grace Karram
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Quality Assurance ◽  
Private Higher Education ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Multiple Stakeholders ◽  
The Past ◽  
African Higher Education ◽  
Key Issues ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Religious Higher Education

Over the past decade, the largest growth in Sub-Saharan Africa’s private higher education has been among institutions with religious affiliations. This article examines the rise of private, religious higher education in Sub-Saharan Africa with international affiliations. Using an analysis of multiple stakeholders from the region and international community, the rationales and implications of religion higher education Africa are considered. Accreditation, quality assurance, funding, and development assistance are explored as key issues within African higher education. This article concludes with a discussion of the global divide between secular and religious ideologies and calls for more research into the impacts of religious higher education in Sub-Saharan Africa.

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