NUFU CONFERENCE

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NUFU CONFERENCE Increasing the Impact of
Higher Education Institutions in Development
Processes Lilongwe, Malawi, 11-13 January 2009
International Trends in Higher Education
- Effects on Higher Education Institutions in
the South and in the North AFRICAN
PERSPECTIVES By Goolam Mohamedbhai Secretary-Gen
eral Association of African Universities
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Outline of Presentation

• BACKGROUND OF HE IN AFRICA
• INTERNATIONAL TRENDS IN HE
• High Demand for Human Capital
• Globalisation and CBHE
• HEIs as Knowledge Producers
• Use of ICT in Higher Education
• Global University Rankings
• CONCLUSIONS/RECOMMENDATIONS
• ______________________________________________
• 2 caveats emphasis on SSA SSA not homogenous

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Historical Background of HE in Africa

• Universities in Africa created after
  independence in 1960s, all patterned on
  universities in North
• Initially, all academics from North, or Africans
  trained in North
• Until 1980s African universities flourished,
  well-funded by states supported by the North
• From 1980s 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
• Social unrest reaches university campuses

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Historical Background of HE in Africa
(Contd)

• Flight of academics (often persecuted) from
  several countries to mainly North
• At the same time, large increase in output from
  primary secondary sectors, putting huge
  pressures on African universities to increase
  enrolment
• Mid-1990s, funding/donor agencies decide funding
  of HE provides less economic returns than basic
  education this policy dictates their support to
  governments
• Throughout 1990s HEIs in SSA suffered from
  neglect - UNESCO 1998 WCHE was turning point in
  their fate
• Despite many hurdles, African universities
  survived learnt to do more with same or even
  less!
• Reform of African HEIs really started as from
  2000

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1. High Demand for Human Capital

• In global knowledge economy, human capital is
  the most important resource. Large increases in
  HE enrolment in all world regions, but SSA has
  lowest enrolment (see chart)
• Yet significant increase in HE students over
  past decades
• 1991 1m 1999 2m 2004 3.3m
• Because of shortage of public funds, few
  additional infrastructure in existing HEIs and
  very few new HEIs
• Overcrowded campuses, poor working environment,
  buildings not maintained, no renewal of books
  periodicals in libraries, limited lab equipment,
  etc.
• Old curriculum, poor teaching methods, rote
  learning
• Poor linkages with world of work, high
  unemployment of graduates
• Ageing faculty, difficult to recruit and retain
  qualified faculty, very high student/faculty
  ratio

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1. High Demand for Human Capital (Contd)
Tertiary Gross Enrolment by Region
Source UIS 2008
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1. High Demand for Human Capital (Contd)

• Lack of differentiation in HEIs, too many
  university-type institutions, not enough
  polytechnics, technical colleges, professional
  institutes
• In some countries, large number of public
  universities being rapidly set up yet no
  qualified faculty for them, or deplete existing
  ones
• Private HEIs, mostly commercial, for-profit,
  emerging rapidly. Large numbers but few enrolment
• Quality of most private HEIs dubious. Most
  African countries have no regulatory framework
  for controlling private HEIs
• Africa needs to increase its HE enrolment so as
  not to be further marginalized in globalised
  economy

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2. Globalisation and CBHE

• Globalization promoted by WTO/GATS, facilitates
  free liberalised movement of goods, service
  people across national borders. HE now regarded
  as tradable commercial commodity under GATS
• Huge unmet demand for HE in Africa, cannot be
  met by public funding
• Increasing tendency for HE to be looked as
  private rather than public good, to be funded
  by beneficiaries
• Hence emergence of CBHE HE crossing borders,
  mostly from north to south
• - foreign branches or satellite campuses of
  unis in north set up in south
• - large number of foreign private institutions
• - DE virtual unis delivering HE from north to
  south

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2. Globalisation and CBHE (Contd)

• CBHE institutions are beneficial to Africa in
  many ways
• Improve access to HE and increase enrolment
• Promote lifelong learning
• Lower cost to students than studying overseas
• Reduce foreign currency outflow
• Help to reduce brain drain
• CBHE institutions practice modern management
  techniques, examples for local institutions
• But they also have many negative impacts

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2. Globalisation and CBHE (Contd)

• Quality of CBHE usually poor mostly commercial
  for-profit. Students often exploited misled.
  In DE VL, poor learner support. Most African
  countries have no quality control mechanisms for
  CBHE. Hence OECD/UNESCO Guidelines on Quality in
  CBHE Provision
• CBHE do not share national values and
  development priorities (languages, subjects
  taught, etc.). No research or community service,
  vital for Africa.
• Compete with local unis in subjects taught,
  attract local faculty with high salaries, or
  employ them on P/T basis, thus weakening local
  unis
• Increase social divide, attracting mostly
  affluent students, poorer ones going to public
  unis. Preference of private employers for foreign
  degrees

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3. HEIs as Knowledge Producers

• Knowledge production crucial for innovation and
  economic development
• HEIs are key institutions for knowledge
  production
• African HEIs severely constrained in knowledge
  production
• Limited number of research-strong (PhD) faculty
• Heavy teaching load of faculty
• Poor research infrastructure, including ICT

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3. HEIs as Knowledge Producers (Contd)

• Brain drain of faculty to the north push but
  also pull factors
• Shortage of graduate programmes and very low
  output of postgraduates
• Poor research output
• Source Bloom D, Canning D Chan K (2006).
  HE Economic Development in Africa. Harvard
  University

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4. Use of ICT in Higher Education

• Dramatic improvement in ICT over past few
  decades
• HEIs around the world use ICT extensively to
  acquire, produce and disseminate knowledge
• ICT can also improve both access to quality
  of HE
• Producing huge numbers of quality teachers to
  meet EFA targets can best be achieved by using
  ICT-enabled ODL
• But many constraints challenges in use of ICT
  in HE in Africa

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4. Use of ICT in Higher Education (Contd)
Constraints Challenges in Africa

• Poor national ICT infrastructure
• - few telephone lines telephone subscribers
• - low internet users penetration
• - low bandwidth
• - high cost of internet access
• Interrupted electricity supply no power supply
  in rural areas
• Lack of skilled technical support staff
• No enabling ICT policy at national
  institutional levels

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4. Use of ICT in Higher Education (Contd)
Source ITU 2008
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4. Use of ICT in Higher Education (Contd)
Source ITU 2008
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4. Use of ICT in Higher Education (Contd)
Source ITU 2008
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5. Global University Rankings

• Ranking of unis globally is a new trend,
  implying all universities are comparable
• Criteria used for ranking often not known or
  understood by govts, the public or even academia
• The 3 well-known global rankings are
• Times Higher Education
• Shanghai Jiao Tong
• Webometrics

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5. Global University Rankings (Contd)
a. Times Higher Education (THE) Ranking - 2008

• Published annually by newspaper The Times
• 500 universities ranked only 2 in Africa
• University of Cape Town (179), University of
  Witwatersrand (319)
• Very popular but not very reliable, based on
  surveys rankings change from year to year

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5. Global University Rankings (Contd)
b. Shanghai Jiao Tong (SJT) University Ranking -
2008

• Published annually by Institute of Higher
  Education of SJT University
• 500 universities ranked, only 3in Africa
• Uni. of Cape Town (201-302), Uni. of
  Witwatersrand (303-401), Uni. of Kwa Zulu Natal
  (402-503)
• More scientific in approach but biased towards
  research pure sciences

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5. Global University Rankings (Contd)
c. Webometrics Ranking of World Universities
(WRWU)

• Website created by Cybermetrics Lab of
  National Research Council of Spain
• Objective is to promote web publications
  ranking based solely on universities websites
• Only 2 universities in Africa ranked among the
  first 700
• University of Cape Town (384), Stellenbosch
  University (654)
• Not as well-known as THE SJT Rankings

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5. Global University Rankings (Contd)

• All rankings favour well-established,
  well-endowed unis in developed world. Unis in
  developing countries, especially Africa, grossly
  disadvantaged
• Criteria methodology used not relevant or
  appropriate for HEIs in developing countries
• Teaching community engagement, vital for
  Africa, receive no consideration
• Unis use ranking as aggressive marketing tool.
  They recruit staff fund depts to improve their
  ranking some social science depts ignored
• Tendency for highly-ranked unis to group
  together to improve their ranking collaboration
  with non-ranked Unis neglected

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Conclusions/Recommendations

• SSA needs to increase its HE enrolment to at
  least 25 - a huge challenge
• Govts must fund HE adequately its a public
  good
• Greater need for differentiated public HEIs
  govts to exercise caution in creating new
  stereotype unis
• Private CBHE institutions should be allowed to
  operate but need to be regulated appropriate
  regulatory mechanism to be set up
• CBHE providers should abide by OECD/UNESCO
  Guidelines
• Every effort must be made to increase PG
  programmes and improve research output of HEIs
  adequate funding staffing crucial

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Conclusions/Recommendations (Contd)

• ICT infrastructure at regional, national
  institutional levels must be improved concerted
  efforts at regional level necessary
• Govts in Africa must not be influenced by
  existing global uni rankings to plan their HE
  sector
• Attempts to create world class unis may do the
  sector more harm than good
• Use of QA criteria (taking teaching, learning
  community engagement into account) a far better
  approach to improve quality of public HEIs

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THANK YOU