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ppates
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#61 Posted: Fri Sep 26th, 2008 23:58 |
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On the issue of relevance and how to increase the perceived value of HEI’s in order to attract higher levels of investment:
In a general sense, HEI’s in Africa are caught in a dichotomy between the need to meet the practical needs of its citizens and countries while striving for validity in the academic ivory towers of the western world. To further complicate the situation, many of the HEI’s were structured according to the priorities of the colonists and still retain governance systems that do not resonate with the needs of a modern and global society. In the U.S., in a broader sense, we are struggling with similar issues of accountability. A Department of Education report has sparked much discussion about how HEI’s demonstrate that they provide a quality return on investment to their constituents. Is it by producing intellectuals who generate scholarly research that adds to the body of knowledge in the discipline? Or, is it by producing effective practitioners of social change who will transform lives while building capacity and sustainability in community resources?
I believe both fulfill critical needs. The HEI’s are accountable to the needs of its citizens and countries as well as the value systems of potential investors whether these investors bring financial capital, or human resources. I would argue that both in the short term and long-term, HEI’s in Africa need to develop a system of education that creates scholar-practitioners. Curricula in the disciplines needs to have relevance in the social and economic needs of the communities surrounding the HEI; the body of research produced needs to have immediate practical application as well as address the broader issues of innovation and knowledge production. Additionally, to increase relevance, educational systems in Africa should cease attempts to mirror those of Europe and the U.S. and be responsive to their local and national needs; acknowledge that the task does not begin in HE; every access point to the educational system will need to work in harmony to prepare students for success at the next level; and in particular, there needs to be a shift in paradigms; basic education needs to be contextual, relevant, and bilingual; the development of new textbooks is critical; technology can be leveraged to bring best paractices in teacher education and development to the local arena.
What institutional changes need to be made at U.S. institutions to facilitate stronger, deeper engagement in sub-Saharan Africa?
While on an intellectual or even altruistic level, there are many on this side of the world who know there are critical needs in developing countries, particularly on the continent of Africa, there is more often little acknowledgement of their roles and abilities to make a difference. There’s a great need, in U.S. education, for strategies to increase awareness, understanding, and an appreciation of how events and situations in sub-Saharan Africa impact our lives in the U.S. In general, students in the U.S. are disconnected from global issues; less than 1% of our students participate in study abroad programs and when they do, Europe is the popular destination. The Faculty is focused on promotion and tenure and not enough institutions give credit for international activities. Institutional changes need to be made from the top down; from the strategic planning process to the reward structure; from institutional effectiveness assessment to learning outcomes in the discipline. These issues need to be topics of presentations and roundtable discussions at all the national conferences of the academic and student affairs professional organizations. The first step is to increase awareness and responsiveness, the next would be to design effective methods to address the question "How can we make a measureable difference?"
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HIWOT
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#62 Posted: Sat Sep 27th, 2008 07:12 |
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When we are discussing HEIs in Africa, it is not only the universities but includes the post-secondary education system.Although they may have different paths of development they are set to supply the labor market with trained man-power at the end of the day to respond to the needs of the development of each country and to the globalized world.As stated several times the "youth in Africa"will be the once to decide its destiny.This therefore shows we need educated leaders in all aspects of engagement in society(public,private,all sectors).Access to HEIs is becoming in some cases as a 'right' rather than 'merit'.The balance for quality then entails standards(national and international)to be set against which each university can judge itself and be judged by others.Capacity building in this perspective would have a long-term sustained effect on the African universities.Experiences from US universities on good standard practices of quality assurance can be important contribution to look into.
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yohan
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#63 Posted: Sat Sep 27th, 2008 10:20 |
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Dear Participants,
I would like to forward my remarks regarding the “Quality-versus-Quantity” issue as additional input to this valuable e-discussion.
As noted by Prof. Goolam Mohamedbhai, Africa needs both quality AND quantity. But the question is how to optimize these and maintain the proper balance between quantitative expansion and the quality of education provided.
On one hand, African Governments are challenged with rising demands for tertiary education and consequently universities and colleges in the continent are under increasing pressure to admit more students than the capacity of their staff and infrastructure will allow. On the other hand, educational quality is being compromised in the effort to expand enrollment resulting in poorly prepared graduates for the workplace and low research capacity to generate relevant knowledge. Thus, in order to balance the student enrollment with learning resources, policy makers and public universities should agree on the number of students to be assigned to each university based on mutually approved minimum input standards for ensuring the provision of quality higher education. This of course needs the commitment and political will of the governments.
Also the expansion of higher education in Africa should be monitored ensuring minimum quality standards and relevance to labor market. Otherwise, if it expands unsystematically, there would be a high risk of graduate unemployment affecting the socio-economic development of the continent negatively. Moreover if access is not balanced with quality and proper quality assurance mechanisms are not set timely in the higher education system, it will be counter productive. Hence it is imperative to add quality focus to the quantitative effort for long-term effectiveness. Accordingly, tertiary institutions need to improve their internal quality assurance mechanisms and enhance their effectiveness in teaching and research through self-assessment and peer-review. Indeed, there is a huge capacity development need in quality management and self-evaluation at program and institutional levels. The Africa-U.S. Higher Education Initiative is a good opportunity to foster capacity building in quality assurance.
Regards
Yohannes Woldetensae
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CraigBlewett
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#64 Posted: Sat Sep 27th, 2008 10:47 |
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"I have a dream..." are well known words that freed a nation and still ring across time and space. Vision and dreams are vital if BIG changes are to be made. There is no doubt (and I speak as an educator in Africa) that Africa needs BIG changes driven by powerful vision. Yet sadly many H.E. institutes dream too small, if at all. It's not good enough to have a vision of an Africa which has caught up with the rest of the world, we need to dream (and believe) of an Africa that leads the world.
So to answer "what changes do you feel need to be made?" We need to believe in ourselves, dream BIG, rid our univerisities of stifling structures, reward innovative teaching, and most of all embrace the passion and belief of our Gen Y students that together (ubuntu-style) we will be better - far better!
Craig Blewett
Last edited on Sat Sep 27th, 2008 10:48 by CraigBlewett
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Luis Borrallo
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#65 Posted: Sat Sep 27th, 2008 12:05 |
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I think that the following is an excellent summary by one of our colleagues of what African HEI should be like. It would be worth thinking more about each one of these points and also what we need to do to make sure that more of the HEI in Africa follow these general principles.
The African higher education institutions that concentrate on investing in the generation of mission-oriented intellectual property are the ones that own the future. What are the characteristics of such higher education institutions? Those that readily come to mind are the following (there may [and should] be more):
1. They (the higher education institutions) are highly focused on purpose-driven education that responds to the needs of their community, the nation and/or the world.
2. They aggressively source for the best faculty to generate the intellectual property needed to produce employable and respected graduates
3. They aggressively source for and admit the best students in strategic disciplines
4. They engage in purpose-driven and results oriented world class research
5. They render top quality services to their community, the nation and the world
6. They relentlessly pursue and procure prestigious grants and contracts to fund major research, education and outreach programs
7. They establish a formidable alumni association primarily to support university projects and establish valuable networks that promote university programs worldwide
8. They set up university endowments to advance major university initiatives
9. They are managed by a highly dedicated, disciplined and competent administration under the leadership of a respected and accomplished academia and administrator (Vice-Chancellor) who is fully accountable to the University Board of Trustees, Governors, Council or any other similar overall University authority; and stakeholders.
10. They run transparent operations and are open to the scrutiny of the stakeholders and the general public at all times
11. They are flexible and constantly seeking and employing the best strategies to implement university programs
12. They use all available means to promote university programs locally, nationally and globally, and
13. They promote and nurture good relations with the government and the private sector (including the non-government/not-for-profit organizations, foundations, funding agencies, etc.) but are not subject to the whims and caprices of the political class or the private sector.
Regarding universities in the USA, I also agree with the person who said that when it comes to the problems we face in Africa, not only they do not have all the answers, but they do not even know all the questions. They need to come to Africa to learn and understand the situation better. More humility on their part would help a great deal.
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mdiack
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#66 Posted: Sat Sep 27th, 2008 14:44 |
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I strongly agree with most of my colleagues in this forum that a rethinking of the role public education in Africa is urgently needed. I will particularly argue in support of the need for defining ICT (Information and Communication Technology) policies that are geared toward development and universal access to knowledge. ICT for Development (ICT4D) presents a unique opportunity for tackling many urgent issues and problems facing our higher educational systems. These include particularly the paucity of high quality teachers and the need for comprehensive teacher education models; the inadequate infrastructure of the systems and more specifically the libraries and the unavailability of quality of educational resources to deploy e-learningand e-training geared toward increasing the quality of education and the quantity of qualified national workforce. I do believe that higher education in Africa has a primary role to play for adopting and deploying ICT-based innovations. Among other factors, this necessitates a networked partnerships between African Universities and US/African University-Partnerships.
In the framework of the MERLOT Africa Network (http://man.merlot.org/) we strongly advocate a partnership model that can help alleviate/address many issues and questions raised in this discussion.
M. Diack
Director, MERLOT Africa Network
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Dr. Denoya
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#67 Posted: Sat Sep 27th, 2008 15:07 |
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My response has to do with the question of funding in relation to the issue of relevance.
What are other considerations in relation to this issue of relevance and funding levels?
What should be done in the short AND long-term to increase the perceived value of HEIs in order to attract higher levels of investment?
One way to explore the perceived value of African HEIs would be through research on alumni and the world of work. I believe that African HEIs should focus on the meaningful connections between the academy and the labor sector. African HEIs ought to consider alumni and employers as strategic sources for providing critical assessment of institutional performance in preparing students to lead productive and rewarding lives. African HEIs should also contemplate alumni relationships as an alternative resource to actively attract financial support to invest in establishing endowments funds and gifts.
I recommend that African HEIs initiate or continue research studies on alumni satisfaction with their education and employer satisfaction with level of performance of African graduates. Alumni bring the benefit of having tested the outcomes of an educational program in the marketplace, while employers offer feedback on the effectiveness and quality of academic programs. As external pressure mounts on institutions to conduct more self-examination and to find alternate avenues of financial support, research of alumni and employers will elicit believable and useful information on the value of a college degree, postbaccalaureate employment, and the social and personal development of graduates.
I suggest the following short term strategies:
1) Deliver training programs in African HEIs on alumni and development areas. Topics to include would be: models of university alumni associations and development offices; best practices on fund solicitation programs, approaches, and techniques; and programs in financial aid. This training would be offered to African HEI staff responsible for alumni and development programs. In the event that some African universities might not have alumni affair practitioners and/or development directors and the structure to support their work, it would be useful to train staff in these areas and create the needed structure to initiate plans and activities.
2) Alumni Research to encourage African HEI staff to conduct alumni research in areas such as fundraising from alumni, understanding why alumni make gifts to their alma mater, doing critical assessment of the institution’s performance and educational programs, comparing alumni and employer ratings of alumni preparation, and evaluating alumni views of their institutions. Develop an alumni records database, online journal, directories, and records of gifts.
3) Annual international conference on alumni research to disseminate alumni/employers findings to the public at large. It would be useful to plan an annual alumni research and development conference in one of the African HEIs, publicizing and exchanging information on research results. Private and public sectors will benefit from this conference.
I suggest the following long term strategy:
Creation of the African Higher Education Alumni Network to assess and develop goals and plans related to financial aid, employer satisfaction, alumni services, and other pertinent academic, research, and institutional programs. This African HEI alumni network could serve as catalyst to assist in the formulation of financial aid policies proposed by African governments in conjunction with the private sector
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Cliff Monahan
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#68 Posted: Sat Sep 27th, 2008 22:00 |
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The reality of limited funding argues rather strongly for pragmatism. All developing countries are experiencing rapid urban population growth far beyond their capacity to supply basic infrastructure like sewers, clean water, health care, and a sustainable food supply. To meet these needs, Africa's HEI must supply a skilled workforce in engineering, architecture, construction, public health and medicine, agriculture, etc., otherwise there will be unrest that we don't want to imagine. Many of our collaborations between African and US HEIs should target those very pressing needs. Economic development or growth won't be sustainable without that infrastructure, workforce, and educators to foster continued improvements. Technical schools should receive serious consideration for collaborations and funding.
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saikins
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#69 Posted: Sun Sep 28th, 2008 01:22 |
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African Universities can be more relevant to their local economies by aligning their strategic goals with national needs and those of the communities they serve. This will help them to: a) impart, through quality teaching, knowledge that is applicable for sustainable local development, and b) find ways, through effective basic and applied research, to address local problems by bridging the gap between theory and practice. Producing students with knowledge and skills that can be applied locally requires curriculum development that dwells heavily on the needs of the respective countries and communities while taking into consideration relevant knowledge and/or best practices that can help the respective countries to be competitive in this global economy. This can be done, especially in the professional programs like medicine, engineering, urban and regional planning, accountancy, business administration, public administration, etc by having program advisory boards consisting of local experts and practitioners who will provide inputs regarding community and national needs in the respective fields of study to aid in curriculum development.
Practical ways of aligning University goals and community needs, particularly at the local level, are periodic collaboration and workshops where academics, practitioners and local community members come together to share knowledge and learn of problems within the community that need to be addressed through, for example, applied research. Outputs from such efforts could help boost community development, legitimize the Universities in their localities and ultimately aid in easing funding from national coffers for University efforts. Another way of connecting the Universities to their communities is to develop very strong internship structures to provide University students the opportunity to spend part of their study time working with local organizations such as government agencies, NGOs, local businesses, community development programs etc. Many African Universities do not offer such opportunity to their students partly because they do not reach out and interact with their communities and, for the most part, have little awareness of the exact practical knowledge needed to solve the communities’ problems and enhance development. Consequently, many of the students they produce do not have adequate basic problem solving skills and make little meaningful impact toward the resolution of the problems their countries and respective communities face. The fall out is that some of the countries and regions where these academic institutions are situated do not perceive the practical importance of these institutions, resulting in the lack of motivation to provide the needed financial support and other resources.
African scholars have to engage also in research efforts that have direct impact on the prevailing problems in their nations and localities if they are to be perceived as having meaningful contribution toward national development efforts. In many instances, the kinds of research performed have little practical relevance to local problems, and the surrounding problems that can constitute ‘research laboratories’ are unattended to partly because, as stated earlier, most African institutions do not directly engage their communities. Admittedly, part of the problem is due to lack of effective research skills, difficulties in data gathering, and lack of funding. Community outreach efforts can help address some of the non financial constraints, thereby creating partnerships that could serve as vehicles for applied research activities and also help to hone the research and problem analysis skills of University faculties. Such activities could, in turn, help to generate some of the needed funding from area businesses, government agencies, NGOs and external parties for teaching and research. It is important to recognize that American Universities and potential funders are more likely to collaborate with those African Universities whose leadership have demonstrated the vision and initiatives, in the face of prevailing constraints, through community outreach, research and capacity building to find antidotes to the problems of workforce and local sustainable development.
As an individual who is affiliated with an American institution of higher learning, and someone who spent more than a decade in the private sector before coming to the academic world, I can state with practical experience that the key to successful collaborative efforts between American and African institutions is the identification of areas of common interest and expertise as well as areas of strategic focus. Such efforts should be based on mutual respect and serious commitment on both sides, with particular attention to the cultural differences and well thought out plans to resolve the operational differences that are bound to arise with time. Those American institutions who have had previous collaborative efforts in Africa have to measure the performance of such efforts against the intended goals and develop gap analyses to determine the lessons learned, the root causes of any failures or areas for improvement, and design practical measures to bridge the identified gaps based on prevailing resource constraints. Although the conditions and situations in the respective African countries are different, there are many commonalities in the identified problems. One of the things that NASULGC can do, if it has not done so already, is to develop a sharable database of experiences and lessons learned by those institutions already engaged in Africa and those who will be forging future collaborations to help other institutions avoid similar mistakes and problems, while taking advantage of strategies that have proven successful and apply them on case by case basis.
Considering the inadequate qualified teaching staff in African Institutions, a major area of focus needed by American Institutions in terms of change is to design capacity building efforts rooted in the national needs of the respective African countries to help equip African faculty with teaching and research skills geared toward identification and resolution of national and community problems. This means engaging not only their African counterparts but also the local experts and practitioners to help gain understanding of needed ingredients for curriculum and workforce development. Finally, many African countries have numerous nationals teaching and researching in many American Universities. While these professors may not want to return home for good due to prevailing conditions in their home countries, I believe most of them would like to provide periodic teaching and engage in collaborative research with their African counterparts given the right circumstances. Therefore, while we think of capacity building efforts, NASULGC should, in the interim, think of urging its member institutions to develop a framework and put in place mechanisms to facilitate periodic engagement of their African faculties in their home institutions. This could be started, for example, through three months summer teaching and collaborative research through careful planning.
SKA, University of South Florida, USA
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aasusecgen
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#70 Posted: Sun Sep 28th, 2008 10:55 |
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Participating and speaking on behalf of All-Africa Students, Union, AASU.
Universities have been characterized over the centuries by their cultural mission that had a strong impact on society. The mission is based on fundamental teaching programmes and fundamental research, not determined by objectives outside the universities. It is therefore, very important for African Universities to stay connected and relevant by rapidly updating the universities education in other to address all the current challenges as stated in the priorities of AU.
Therefore, to be connected can be described as a process of being involved in all aspects of that institution which include joint planning sessions at college, departmental activities or faculty and student exchange and coordination in terms of objectives and student learning outcomes.
It is also pertinent to say that U.S. institutions must recognize, embrace and value any research and original knowledge or idea produced in African higher education institutions. In fact, there should be collaborative efforts between African higher education and the US institutions researchers which will lend to promotion and development of sustainable transformation. Through these efforts of joint-research experiences between the African higher education and US institutions there will be assurance of complete revitalization of higher education in Africa.
Institutions are to work with their governments or relevant agencies to develop and map-out national plans which will perfectly fall in line with the AU priorities. It is very fundamental idea that African higher education be properly reviewed to match their counterparts in the developed country like United States in order to be relevant. There is need for holistic approach towards intensive training and re-training of teachers or instructors right from the pre-university level to the university education to enable their graduate compete adequately with their colleagues coming out of American institution.
Once again we reaffirm the importance of academic freedom, the fundamental role of the state in funding education, the autonomy of the institutions and the full participation of students in the decision making bodies in all aspects of the higher education system. The “in-ward looking tendencies,” lack of independence in the universities in Africa has resulted in poor outcomes and a low level of productivity.
I also want to identify the need to deepen and broaden the scope of research works in African higher education which will stem the various problems in the continent and even beyond the continent as in the case of American institution researchers. Of course, the area of technology and engineering needs to be aggressively consolidated with the view of encouraging massive participation of engineers in the modern research that will also prepare these professional employable in any part of the globe. This will certainly make African higher education relevant to that of the western world.
AllAfrica Students Union, AASU, as a continental student organisation, with over three decades of its existence has set for itself such objectives as the integration of student movements for the overall socio-economic development of the continent and pan-Africanism, defending students’ rights, improvement of equity, democratisation and equal access to education at all levels, and the fostering of academic freedom, freedom of research, autonomy of higher institutions of learning, and the promotion of democratic culture amongst its various peoples. AASU has developed a strategic planning that fit with the AU vision in at area of “academic integrity” campaign by setting up a student committee on Education that focus on Quality assurance and Access and Success.
Academic malpractice is a disease that affects all regions and universities in Africa. As it often derives from an abuse of power, we need institutions that are not linked to power relations within universities to address this type of problem. For the system to be effective there is a need for African correspondent, that will ensure a good management of academic integrity at a larger scale, by acting as a higher court of appeal for students and teachers. Ombudsmen are needed inside the universities, but also outside, on an international level, if the trust in the universities or the state to solve this problem does not exist, which is particularly the case in Africa. This is obviously even a bigger problem in cases of violation of basic freedoms.
Concretely, higher education institutions need to learn how to establish procedures to tackle these problems. Formalised, well implemented and widely accepted procedures create the trust in the institution, its teachers and staff, as well as its quality. An institution’s commitment to integrity is seriously questioned when such procedures do not exist, are not applied, are used arbitrarily or are not functional.
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aasusecgen
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#71 Posted: Sun Sep 28th, 2008 11:21 |
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HEI in Africa cannot cease to mirror those of Europe and the U.S under the present era of globalization which had made the local and National needs of every continent to be almost the same in term of technological, medical, Agricultural and environmental need. In fact, there is no known standard for them to imitate apart from those of EU and the US. The most important thing is for Africa Higher Education to use those needs to our advantage in to develop Africa societal needs. Our priorities have always been misplaced
While I concur with your idea of curricula change to accommodate bilingual, It will not also be out of place if Africa H.E introduce local languages in the teaching of some courses like a case of China and Japan
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aasusecgen
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#72 Posted: Sun Sep 28th, 2008 11:22 |
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ppates wrote: On the issue of relevance and how to increase the perceived value of HEI’s in order to attract higher levels of investment:
In a general sense, HEI’s in Africa are caught in a dichotomy between the need to meet the practical needs of its citizens and countries while striving for validity in the academic ivory towers of the western world. To further complicate the situation, many of the HEI’s were structured according to the priorities of the colonists and still retain governance systems that do not resonate with the needs of a modern and global society. In the U.S., in a broader sense, we are struggling with similar issues of accountability. A Department of Education report has sparked much discussion about how HEI’s demonstrate that they provide a quality return on investment to their constituents. Is it by producing intellectuals who generate scholarly research that adds to the body of knowledge in the discipline? Or, is it by producing effective practitioners of social change who will transform lives while building capacity and sustainability in community resources?
I believe both fulfill critical needs. The HEI’s are accountable to the needs of its citizens and countries as well as the value systems of potential investors whether these investors bring financial capital, or human resources. I would argue that both in the short term and long-term, HEI’s in Africa need to develop a system of education that creates scholar-practitioners. Curricula in the disciplines needs to have relevance in the social and economic needs of the communities surrounding the HEI; the body of research produced needs to have immediate practical application as well as address the broader issues of innovation and knowledge production. Additionally, to increase relevance, educational systems in Africa should cease attempts to mirror those of Europe and the U.S. and be responsive to their local and national needs; acknowledge that the task does not begin in HE; every access point to the educational system will need to work in harmony to prepare students for success at the next level; and in particular, there needs to be a shift in paradigms; basic education needs to be contextual, relevant, and bilingual; the development of new textbooks is critical; technology can be leveraged to bring best paractices in teacher education and development to the local arena.
What institutional changes need to be made at U.S. institutions to facilitate stronger, deeper engagement in sub-Saharan Africa?
While on an intellectual or even altruistic level, there are many on this side of the world who know there are critical needs in developing countries, particularly on the continent of Africa, there is more often little acknowledgement of their roles and abilities to make a difference. There’s a great need, in U.S. education, for strategies to increase awareness, understanding, and an appreciation of how events and situations in sub-Saharan Africa impact our lives in the U.S. In general, students in the U.S. are disconnected from global issues; less than 1% of our students participate in study abroad programs and when they do, Europe is the popular destination. The Faculty is focused on promotion and tenure and not enough institutions give credit for international activities. Institutional changes need to be made from the top down; from the strategic planning process to the reward structure; from institutional effectiveness assessment to learning outcomes in the discipline. These issues need to be topics of presentations and roundtable discussions at all the national conferences of the academic and student affairs professional organizations. The first step is to increase awareness and responsiveness, the next would be to design effective methods to address the question "How can we make a measureable difference?"
HEI in Africa cannot cease to mirror those of Europe and the U.S under the present era of globalization which had made the local and National needs of every continent to be almost the same in term of technological, medical, Agricultural and environmental need. In fact, there is no known standard for them to imitate apart from those of EU and the US. The most important thing is for Africa Higher Education to use those needs to our advantage in to develop Africa societal needs. Our priorities have always been misplaced
While I concur with your idea of curricula change to accommodate bilingual, It will not also be out of place if Africa H.E introduce local languages in the teaching of some courses like a case of China and Japan
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RoseQ
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#73 Posted: Sun Sep 28th, 2008 11:57 |
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I think one of the issues to consider when trying to “get a handle on” African universities is to consider that in many instances they represent (or suffer from?) the exact dichotomies evident in many areas of the socio-economic landscape of the continent: i.e. lack of resources juxtaposed next to wealth, prosperity and an abundance of resources. I would like to suggest my own institution as an example: University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. We are one of only 3 African universities in the top 500 globally (Academic Ranking of World Universities, 2008) see http://www.ukzn.ac.za/ We have impressive research units and areas of excellence in terms of teaching, leadership and entrepreneurial studies.
We have in the last 4 years fully revamped our vision, internal structures, leadership etc as we have merged 2 institutions from different sides of the apartheid HE divide. We endeavour to be politically vigilant and promote transparency in governance and have experienced highly publicised incidents of dealing with corruption/ fraud or mismanagement. Many have seen this as embarrassing and this has undoubtedly at stages impacted on student registrations - yet our leadership has supported the practices as being necessary and signs of a healthy desire for us to be vigilant and ensure integrity and good governance. Our mission statement is :
“A truly South African university that is academically excellent, innovative in research, critically engaged with society and demographically representative, redressing the disadvantages, inequities and imbalances of the past.”
This would seem almost a model of what the world would like to see happening in Africa- yet- At the same time we have areas, such as the School in which I serve, where we have a lack of Phds, battle to attract teaching staff and postgraduate students. We have many vacancies and current staff battle to fulfil commitments to teaching, research and their own studies while dealing with large groups of students. Nonetheless we produce students who are internationally marketable and highly sought after by local banking institutions and consulting companies. We engage companies in our local area and have numerous opportunities to work in our own community (and have done so at stages) yet something must give in the face of competing demands as staff are hard pushed to meet all these demands. Yet other Schools are well staffed, highly qualified and have good staff:student teaching ratios, engage to large degrees in community projects etc? These are some of the challenges we face as we try and address issues on an institutional scale.
When we discuss issue facing African institutions we must be careful not to make generalisations which simplify challenges, across the continent, regions and even single institutions. In our particular School the idea of 3month summer teaching, sabbaticals, joint projects which are linked and “rolled over” from 1 visiting faculty member to their next replacement could certainly be a viable option if an overarching vision for the project or interventions are guiding the process. It may not suit some groups at all. I would like to suggest some dimensions across which we could debate interventions: Firstly, Perhaps disciplines could engage in debates in terms of the identified needs from the African institutions? This could address needs that individual disciplines (or groups of disciplines) are facing specific to their area e.g. content, curriculum, teaching. Secondly, Focus on multidisciplinary projects aimed at academic collaboration (multidiscipline inputs into specific problem areas, how to adjust curricula to address this?, mentoring postgraduate students etc) and then Thirdly, potentially a host of projects which are problem-oriented, meeting the needs of the community (public and private) which can engage elements of research, teaching and in-service training from one or many disciplines?
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maryteuwniane
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#74 Posted: Sun Sep 28th, 2008 18:06 |
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La professionalisation des filières de formation me paraît importante même si je tiens à dire qu'elle doit pas être opposée au rôle de formation dans les disciplines fondammentales des universités.
Il y a un retard dans la mise à disposition de l'économie de ressources humaines de niveau intermédiaire comme les techniciens et des agents techniques: dans tous les domaines agriculture, élevage, industrie, batiments, hôtellerie, retauration, menuiserie, etc. Je cite des niveaux de technicité très bas pour juste indiquer qu'il y a beaucoup métiers à prendre qui ne le sont ou sont mal pourvus par manque de formation. L'université a un rôle à y joué si elle accepte de sortir de son cadre classique de formation et d'influence.
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maryteuwniane
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#75 Posted: Sun Sep 28th, 2008 18:46 |
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Il me semble qu'il faut repenser l’Université à travers des relations fortes avec les milieux socioéconomiques, l’insertion des étudiants, la valorisation des résultats de la recherche et de l’expertise qu’elle renferme et enfin les services que l’Université est susceptible d’offrir à la société au delà de ses missions traditionnelles de formation et de recherche.
Dans ce sens il importe de construire des relations fortes et institutionnelles avec les milieux économiques, sociaux, la société civile et les partenaires. Nous avons une expérience d'une année dans la tentative de construire ces relations par la création du Coneil d'Orientation et de Relations avec les Milieux Economiques (CORME). Cette structure dans laquelle participe les différents syndicats patronaux du Sénégal (CNP, CNES, MEDES), des ONG (CONGAD), les collectivités (Mairie de Saint-Louis, Conseil Régional, etc.), présidée par un patron d'une entreprise de TIC, nous a permis de tenir en avril un Forum de l'Insertion et des Relations avec les Entreprises. Trois mois après ce forum 57 étudiants ont été recrutés grâce à la mise en relation avec les entreprises qu'il a permis. Le CORME est entrain de nous aider à drainer des entreprises dans les 20ha que l'université réserve au Domaine d'Initiative et d'Innovation Economique (D2IE) chargé de recevoir des entreprises et des incubateurs d'entreprises.
Je pense que l'intervention de l'université dans l'agriculture ne dois pas seulement se limiter à la formation et à la recherche. L'université doit s'engager dans la création de fermes agricoles, à l'Université Gaston Berger, nous tentons une telle expérience sur 04 ha et maintenant nous sommes entrain de l'étendre sur 30 ha. Elle nous permet d'étendre la formation audelà des étudiants titulaires du baccalauréat, aux jeunes, aux paysans et aux acteurs du secteurs. C'est aussi une source de financement pour les universités.
Le financement des universités est très important. Nos Etats semblent ne pas disposer d'assez de ressources pour faire face aux besoins des universités. Pour les universités publiques, nous devons revoir les textes qui organisent les régimes financier pour introduire un esprit et des modes de gestion entreprenariales. Mixer les étudiants pris en charge par l'Etat sur la base du mérite et des conditions familiales avec des étudiants supportant les coûts de formation sera de nature à assurer la compétitivité des universités et la qualité.
Les staff des universités doivent être formées particulièrement aux méthodes modernes de management des universités.
Le développement de l'enseignement à distance par la formation des enseignants et la mise en place des supporets techniques est de nature à amplifier les efforts de formation des universités en particulier celui des maîtres et des professeurs. Souvent il faut renforcer leurs capacités tout en les maintenant dans les classes. L'implantation par notre université de deux salles de visioconférence, l'une à Dakar à 277km de Saint-Louis et l'autre sur le site de l'UGB à Saint-Louis, nous a permis de tirer profis de la grande masse de professionnels présents à Dakar pour les faire intervenir dans nos enseignements à Saint-Louis mais aussi de développer des coopération et des échanges avec diverses universités à travers le monde: Hameline University, Wisconsin Madison, Haute Ecole Abert Jacquard en Belgique, etc.
Il y a un certaines réformes qui relèvent plus d'un état d'esprit que d'infrastructures ou d'équipements.
A l'UGB nous avons un projet de développement sur les dix ans que nous tentons de mettre en oeuvre, il est intitulé "L'excellence au service du développement".
La question des étudiants et de leur place dans l'université est à mon sens essentielle. La récurrence des grèves la rend incortournable.Last edited on Mon Sep 29th, 2008 13:35 by
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DUA
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#76 Posted: Mon Sep 29th, 2008 15:08 |
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AHHH!!! I agree with a number of your points, being involved in developing a school of nursing in the western region of ghana. One of the sad blights of the English speaking countries of Africa is that many times they have sent their sons and daughters out to England, Canada and the US to learn (esp. in health care fields) with an expectation that they will return and assist both the health care system and the universities develop and improve their schemes for providing care and upgrade educational standards and practices and improving rural health issues which are rampant. However, the young doctors, nurses and other allied health personnell are lured away by the more comfortable living conditions, monetary rewards etc. which are offered in the modernized environments. Colleagues at teaching facilities such as University of Ghana and Cape Coast feel as if it is a catch 22 situation for all involved. Myself and another academic nursing colleague realized when approached by a small mission group to help them with a SON development project that it is important that the school's mission should be to provide health care providers to the local region and in the proposal to the ministry of health this was emphasized and this won their favor. The students have computers, a well equiped nursing lab, qualified Ghanian faculty, and books... the tools needed to provide a quality education. We also managed to match the system, by providing a associate degree program which encorporated the 2-year Registered Community Health Nursing Program into it, meeting the MOH and Counsel of Midwives' and Nurses' requirements. It became win-win. The graduates have an education which awards academic credit for them to grow into the next level of nursing for BSN and SRN credentialling. Rural peoples of Ghana are beginning to have increased access to health care because of this. These are the types of initiatives that can work as well as being areas of expertise that the US/Canadian higher education programs can offer through tapping faculty, staff and administrators of the community college systems.
Respectfully submitted! DUA
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ppates
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#77 Posted: Mon Sep 29th, 2008 15:14 |
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Your organization is doing a good work! I don't want to digress from the focus of our discussion but are you aware that the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation offers an annual Access to Learning Award of $1 million to "innovative organizations that are opening a world of online information to people in need?" The current RFA closes on October 31, 2008. This award is strictly for global development and is only awarded to libraries or other organizations outside the U.S. It is intended to build capacity in developing countries to offer free computer and internet access to the public. It's a tremendous opportunity for Africa HEI's. You can read more about it at this link
http://www.gatesfoundation.org/GlobalDevelopment/GlobalLibraries/AccessLearningAward/RelatedInfo/ATLAApplicationForm.htm
If you (or anyone else) are interested and your organization needs assistance putting a proposal together, please contact me at ppates@mail.ucf.edu.
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ppates
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#78 Posted: Mon Sep 29th, 2008 16:29 |
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| It is imperative that Africa HEI’s develop a structure, governance, and infrastructure that respond to the needs of Africa. When one reflects on the rationale that formed the colonial systems of education in Africa, it is evident that they were not designed to facilitate the growth and development of countries that would be equipped to play a prominent role in modern globalization. Of course there is value to add from studying effective HE systems in the U.S. and Europe. However, global educational systems cannot be built with a “one size fits all” approach. African HEI’s should not mirror the U.S. and Europe; each must draw from best practices in the field and be customized to serve the critical needs of its citizens and economy. In the U.S., the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges (NASULGC) institutions are a good example of how structure and purpose must change in order to prepare students to take their place in a modern, globalized workforce. You can read their history at http://www.nasulgc.org/NetCommunity/Page.aspx?pid=203&srcid=183
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fwakoko
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#79 Posted: Mon Sep 29th, 2008 17:23 |
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• .........What does it mean for higher education institutions to be connected and relevant? What changes need to be made at institutions of higher education both in Africa and the U.S. in regard to the issue of relevance and the other priorities of the AU’s Second Decade?
I believe that that the institutions on both sides have to be willing and committed to:
1. Initiate and sustain educational partnerships aimed at creating an all-rounded carder of citizens who can respond ably to the demands of their local needs and the changing mosaic of the global community. My experience growing up in the Uganda educational system is that these institutions can only be meaningfully connected if the critical resources needed to facilitate learning are in place. For instance, the digital divide is still a major problem in Africa. It is also not rare to find that a school might have a chemistry lab without Bunsen burners, or relevant text books. These and other challenges that face many African institutions pose a serious barrier for successful collaborative initiatives.
2. Being connected and relevant would also mean making changes in the curriculum on both sides (Africa and US). The 21st century has witnessed a rapid growth in interest among US universities to internationalize the curriculum. For quite some time, this interest has not met with a corresponding interest/commitment among African schools in HE. The reasons for this paradox are many. However, the common feeling has been that Africa is being used as a natural laboratory for Western schools. If the apparent unequal relationship between institutions is to change, and if collaborative initiatives in education are to empower students to address their glocalized needs (e.g., employment, health- care, housing), a global educational policy is needed. A policy that will take a holistic approach to address infrastructural challenges while fostering exchange programs for faculty & students.
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maryteuwniane
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#80 Posted: Mon Sep 29th, 2008 20:09 |
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| Merci pour cette information très importante.
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