UNIVERSITY LEADERS FORUM: NEXT GENERATION OF ACADEMICS Accra, Ghana November 2008 “Understanding the Problem in Africa: The Global Context” By Goolam Mohamedbhai Secretary-General Association of African Universities

Outline of Presentation Historical Background – the North Forces Driving HE in the North Historical Background - Africa African Universities Today Staffing of African Universities Challenges Ahead for African HE Consequences of Challenges Not Met

Historical Background - the North Over several centuries, North developed an excellent HE system, strong in teaching & research, well-funded by the state, but mainly for elite Latter part of 20 th century, importance of HE to development appreciated, HE moves from elite to mass system Pressure on universities to be less dependent on government funding, to diversify income, to be more transparent & accountable Income more dependent on: tuition fees (mainly foreign students), industry, business, contract research, etc. HE adopts business-oriented and managerial approach – clients, stakeholders, quality assurance, etc.

Forces Driving HE in the North Advent of Knowledge Society: - knowledge generation, dissemination & utilisation become key drivers to economic development - research & innovation become increasingly important - highly-killed people needed for such a society - universities start to play an even greater role Knowledge institutions outside academia appear – R&D labs, consulting firms, think-tanks, corporate training, etc; they attract academic staff from universities Severe shortage of academics in some key areas: medical, physical & biological sciences; engineering; ICT Dramatic improvement in transportation, communication & ICT facilitates globalisation - global movement of goods, people, services, knowledge & technology

Forces Driving HE in the North (Cont’d) Universities recruit best brains globally e.g. US attracts from Europe, Europe from developing countries. Large number of PhD students in Europe from South Creation of ‘European Research Area’ to drive knowledge economy – Europe relaxes immigration laws to facilitate foreign (mainly from South) PhD students to stay on in Europe Competition and search for ‘market’ (best staff & students, wherever they are) drive universities. Creation of powerful networks of the best universities to improve their competitive edge Concept of ranking – to be among the world’s best – fuels more competition

Historical Background of HE in Africa Universities in Africa created after independence in 1960’s All patterned on universities in North – structure, mode of operation, etc. Mostly set up in main cities Initially, all academics from North, or Africans trained in North Until 1980’s African universities flourished, well-funded by states & supported by the North From 1980’s severe deterioration of African economies, preventing investment in higher education. Budget cuts as a result of structural adjustment, affecting financing of HE Major national & inter-state conflicts, very poor governance, dictatorship, political repression

Historical Background of HE in Africa (Cont’d) Social unrest reaches university campuses Universities threatened, regarded as bastions of free- thinking people & democracy Persecution, even murder, of academics in several countries. Hence flight of academics to other countries, mainly North At the same time, huge increase in output from primary & secondary sectors, putting huge pressures on African universities to increase enrolment Mid-1990’s, funding/donor agencies decide funding of HE provides less economic returns than basic education – this policy dictates their support to governments UNESCO 1998 WCHE becomes turning point in the fate of African universities

African Universities Today Despite many hurdles, African universities survived & learnt to do more with same – or even less! Enrolment in most universities doubled or trebled – campuses designed for less than 10,000 students accommodate 25-40,000 students Paradox - yet Africa has lowest HE enrolment (about 6%) than any other world region, and greatest outflow of students to foreign universities – fuelling brain drain HIV/AIDS in universities seriously hampers efforts Academic staff sent to the North for postgraduate training do not return

Staffing of African Universities Poor salaries, institutional infrastructure & facilities make it difficult to attract or retain academics Academics have heavy teaching loads – no time for research Poor facilities for research – hence limited possibility to train future academics Ageing academics – serious problem in many countries Because of unmet demand for HE, cross-border education from the North moves in – compete with local HEIs for academics

Staffing of African Universities (Cont’d) Private institutions also set up – mostly for-profit, commercial, poor quality; also compete with public HEIs for staff Growing tendency to create more & more universities – yet no qualified academics for them, or deplete existing ones Most countries have no national quality control mechanisms for private or CBHE but also for public institutions Private business & industry in Africa get well-established – they attract academics away from universities

Challenges Ahead For African HE How to provide quality HE in Africa to meet the ever- increasing demand for HE, thus limiting the outflow of students to foreign countries? How to mobilise the huge amount of funds required to: - improve the teaching & research facilities, especially infrastructure - improve salaries & conditions of service to attract and retain academics in Africa? How to encourage academics to do more research rather than just teach, and how to create a research environment? How to train the large numbers of academics required for expanding HE in Africa, and replacing the ageing academics, considering the limited research & postgraduate capacity of African universities?

Challenges Ahead For African HE (Cont’d) Should all academics be trained through PhD research? Should not Africa create differentiated institutions, some very strong in research, others excelling in teaching only, including use of Distance and Online Learning? How to ensure that the future generation of academics is sensitive to Africa’s problems, yet conscious of global development challenges? How can CBHE institutions in Africa be made to cooperate with local institutions, rather than compete with them? In what ways can Africa & the North collaborate to stem brain drain?

Challenges Ahead For African HE (Cont’d) How can governance of countries and institutions in Africa be improved to lead to a tolerant & peaceful environment? What role can universities play in this task? Since it is difficult to get African Diaspora to return, how can they be encouraged to contribute to improving HE in Africa? How to encourage universities in the North to cooperate with those in Africa, considering their own challenge to be globally competitive? In an age of globalisation, competitiveness and market- driven economy, why should universities in the North assist those in Africa rather than those in emerging & rapidly expanding economies such as China, India and Latin American countries?

Consequences of Challenges Not Met Insufficient high-skilled manpower in Africa Further weakened public universities, providing poor quality teaching and hardly any research Serious consequences on African economic, social & human development Africa further marginalized in the global knowledge economy In this globalised world, Africa’s marginalization will affect the rest of the world Africa & the rest of the world cannot afford to let this happen

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