Beyond Reforms: The Politics of Higher Education Transformation in Africa

In spite of over a half century of interventions and waves of “reforms,” higher education in Africa today consists of institutions, systems, and practices that lack distinct values and goals, or a mission and vision connecting them to the major challenges of their local and global contexts. What is...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:African studies review 2010-04, Vol.53 (1), p.21-40
Main Author: Aina, Tade Akin
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Africa
African culture
African studies
Authoritarianism
Educational reform
Ethnology
Higher education
Meetings
Nationalism
Political reform
Politicians
Politics
R&D
Research & development
Research universities
Social relations. Intercultural and interethnic relations. Collective identity
Social structure and social relations
Universities
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Summary:In spite of over a half century of interventions and waves of “reforms,” higher education in Africa today consists of institutions, systems, and practices that lack distinct values and goals, or a mission and vision connecting them to the major challenges of their local and global contexts. What is needed in African higher education is true transformation, which will involve practical and epistemological ruptures with previous ways of doing things and a reconstruction of structures, relations, cultures, and institutions. Of particular importance are initiatives that will ensure gender equity, changes in the organization and process of knowledge production, and a reenvisioning of universities' funding sources and mechanisms.
ISSN:0002-0206
1555-2462
DOI:10.1353/arw.0.0290