Education systems in Sub- Saharan Africa: Trends and developments

Transcription

1 Education systems in Sub- Saharan Africa: Trends and developments Norwegian Agency for Quality Assurance in Education (NOKUT) Annual Seminar:13-14th October 2008, ASKER Teklu Abate Bekele University of Oslo

2 Presentation outline Sub-Saharan Africa: Demographic information Presentation purpose Literature sources Analysis Education: Historical development Structure of education systems Sub-Saharan Africa education reforms Higher education HE issues, challenges, and reforms Concluding remarks

3 Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA): Demographic information

4 SSA: Demographic information SSA refers to the part of Africa south of the Sahara Population of million in 2005 (UN, 2006) million people in 2006 (World Bank, 2006) Agriculture is the backbone for many SSA economies (Chute & Dookhony, 2007) Agriculture employs 60% of the work force In 2005, 50.3% of the population lived below the poverty line (UN, 2008) This presentation considers SSA education systems

5 Purpose Presentation analyzes SSA education systems This may be helpful in recognition of foreign education systems and credentials Specific purposes are to: Trace the historical development of SSA education Explicate the structures of education systems Identify SSA education reforms Explore HE issues, challenges, and reforms The analysis is based on various literature sources

6 Literature sources online and print secondary sources were used Specifically, the databases of the following organizations were visited: Association of African Universities (AAU) The World Bank The UN and The UNESCO Council for the development of Social Science Research in Africa Association for the Development of Education in Africa Center of International Higher Education, the Boston College

7 Literature sources For more literature, the Google search engine was used with the following key keywords: African education History of African education Education reform in Africa Education in SSA SSA education reforms Developments in African education Education systems in Africa SSA education systems Higher education in SSA/Africa

8 Analysis Analysis is then focused on patterns or trends across the selected themes Focus is on education systems of Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, the Sudan, and Nigeria South Africa is excluded from most of the analyses Where possible and appropriate, country specific examples are provided Based on information supplied, some conclusions are drawn and recommendations are identified

9 Education: Historical development 1. Pre-colonial period: There was indigenous education at all levels before the colonization of Africa (Ajayi et al., 1996): 2 HEIs in Egypt in the last two or three centuries BC In 859 AD, a Moroccan Islamic HEI at Karawiyyinn In 970 AD, Al-Azhar of Cairo established In the 12th C, Sankore in Timbukutu established Ethiopian Orthodox Church provided education since 304 AD (Saint, 2004) Pre-colonial education was similar to modern education at least in intent and was highly elitist

10 Education: Historical development 2. Colonial period: Colonizers established institutions at all levels (Assie- Lumumba, 2006) To transmit their own culture and to tap the human capital Also to assist colonial administration with local skilled workers Education was highly elitist and irrelevant to African contexts (AAU, 2004) Newly formed HEIs were modeled after colonial institutions Many universities were established during the colonial period (Akin Aina 1994:8) Table 1 below presents the first HEIs in six countries

11 Education: Historical development Table 2. Establishment of some first HEIs Country 1 st HEI Established in Ethiopia University College of Addis Ababa 1950 Uganda Makerere technical college 1920s Kenya Royal Technical College of East Africa 1956 Tanzania University College of Tanganyika 1961 Sudan Gordon Memorial College 1939 Nigeria Yaba higher college 1934

12 Education: Historical development Legacies from the pre-independence era still shape the structure and substance of African universities (Saint, 1992) After independence, national governments emphasized the role of universities in facilitating the transition to independence and to speed up socio-economic development (AAU, 2004)

13 Education: Historical development 3. Post-colonial period: The 1950s/60s reforms focused on making HEIs independent and relevant (Assie-Lumumba, 2006) Most universities were created after 1960 (Assie- Lumumba, 2006) Common reforms included: widening of access, inclusion of new fields and streams (Akin Aina 1994) Reform also considered education relevance to African needs e.g. Nyerere (1972) Pre-HE opened for the masses

14 Education: Historical development The 1970s saw establishments and expansions particularly at the pre-he level Donors influenced and supported reform and implementation Reforms of relevance, quality and efficiency were not implemented well However, structure of educational systems became more and more elaborated as time passed

15 Structure of education systems Most SSA education systems are organized at primary, secondary, technical/vocational, and university-levels Time required to complete the education levels differs Table 2 presents the length of studies for six SSA countries Average length for primary, secondary, and tech/vocational education is respectively 7, 5, and 3 years And it is 2, 2, and 3 years for undergraduate, graduate, and postgraduate education But medicine and engineering courses usually last longer

16 Structure of education systems Table 2. Length of studies at all levels, by years Country Primary Secondary Tech/voca. Undergrad. Grad Postgrad. Ethiopia Kenya Nigeria Sudan Tanzania Uganda Average

17 SSA educational reforms New reforms across SSA as early as 1980s (Johnson, 2002) The World Bank promoted liberal education reforms in 80s/90s Reform focused on improving efficiency and access at lower levels (World Bank, 1986) The neo-liberal view influenced educational finance In 1986, the World Bank published Financing Education in Developing Countries It provided broad policy options on funding, privatization and decentralization Called for limited public funding of HE

18 SSA educational reforms The World Bank published Education in sub- Saharan Africa in 1988 It set out a policy framework for future development through the 1990s Focused on diversifying sources of financing, revitalization of distance education, research and postgraduate education, and selective expansion (Johnson, 2002) SSA education systems reflected these Bank reports in their reforms The EFA and MDGs also susbstantially impacted SSA education reform

19 SSA educational reforms Nearly all SSA countries have implemented policies to ensure free universal primary education (World Bank, 2008) Rising primary enrolment and completion rates have led to free universal secondary education (Ibid) Issues of sustainable funding, quality, relevance, teacher training and management, equity, & access confront African education systems than before (World Bank, 2008) For decades, greater attention was given to pre-he (Mohamedbhai, 2007)

20 Higher education During the 1990s, several efforts were made to revitalize SSA HE (UNESCO, 2003) In 1999, the Bank published Knowledge for Development, where it acknowledged the importance of HE for development (World Bank, 2003) Higher Education in Developing Countries: Peril and Promise was published in 2000 by the Bank- UNESCO Task Force on HE and Society It Clearly acknowledged the role of HE for SSA socio-economic development

21 Higher education Constructing Knowledge Societies: New Challenges for Tertiary Education was also published by the Bank in 2002 Stressed role of tertiary schooling in building technical and professional capacity and bolstering pre-he Also called for greater states role in encouraging HEIs Countries, it suggested, should not focus only on rate of return analyses But also take account of HE s major external benefits (Bloom, Canning & Chan (2006)

22 Higher education SSA countries responded positively: Ethiopian HE Proclamation was drafted in autonomy, privatisation, relevance, quality agency, ICT, graduate income tax Affirmative action for girls: Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe Fee paying students- e.g. Uganda s Makerere University, Ethiopia Still, SSA HEIs have to deal with several issues and challenges

23 Issues in and challenges for HE Though enrolment has doubled and tripled in many HEIs, Africa has the lowest enrollment rate in the world (Mohamedbhai, 2007; World Bank, 2002; UNSCO 2003) According to the UNESCO (2008): NER for SSA was 5% in 2006 For Ethiopia - 2% For Kenya- 3% For Uganda- 3%

24 Issues in and challenges for HE HE is less accessible to disadvantaged groups and women (Mohamedbhai; 2007; World Bank, 2002; UNESCO, 2003) Limited resource allocation (World Bank, 2002; Mohamedbhai, 2007): Ethiopia s spending for education was 17.5% of GDP of which 17% to HE Kenya 17.9% of GDP, 16% for HE Ugand 18.3% of GDP, 12% to HE Tanzania 11.4% of GDP Sudan 2.8% of GDP (UNESCO, 2008) 80% of budgets go for salaries and student grants (Mohamedbhai, 2007)

25 Issues in and challenges for HE Overcrowded campuses (World Bank 2002; UNSECO, 2003; Mohamedbhai, 2007) Poor and limited ICT access (World Bank 2002; UNESCO, 2003; Mohamedbhai, 2007) Old curriculum and books (Wold Bank, 2002; Mohamedbhai, 2007) Poor teaching-learning methods (World Bank, 2002; Mohamedbhai, 2007) Limited research-strong faculty (World Bank, 2002; UNESCO, 2003; Mohamedbhai, 2007)

26 Issues in and challenges for HE Lack of or poor institutional quality assurance agents (Mohamedbhai, 2007) High graduate unemployment e.g. Nigeria- 22% (Mohamedbhai, 2007; World Bank, 2002) limited published academic papers (1995)- (UNECO, 2003; Mohamedbhai, 2007): Africa 5,839 publications in international outlets South Asia 15,995 Latin America & Caribbean 14,426

27 Issues in and challenges for HE Poor research infrastructure (World Bank, 2002; UNESCO, 2003; Mohamedbhai, 2007) Brain drain: 20, 000 highly qualified people leave Africa a year 40, 000 African PhD holders are abroad (Mohamedbhai, 2007) These and other challenges urged SSA to reform HE Major HE reform funders in rank: the World Bank, Japan, Sweden, Norway, EU, African Capacity Building Foundation, Netherland, MacArthur, Carnegie (Mohamedbhai, 2007) Reforms are made at regional, national, and institutional levels

28 Regional-level reform initiatives AAU s initiative for collaboration and partnership AAU s regional capacity mobilization initiative ( ) AU s Harmonization of HE programmes in Africa AU s African HE quality Rating AU s plan ( ) of creating centers of excellence, AUU, scholarships, common curricula, African culture and creativity Partnership for HE in Africa ( ) by Ford, Mac Arthur, Rockefeller, W F Hewett & Mellon Foundations plus Carnegie Revision of Arusha Convention (UNESCO): recognition of studies, degrees (Mohamedbhai, 2007)

29 National-level HE reforms New institutions even in rural areas: Ethiopia, Sudan Women's Universities in Zimbabwe and Kenya UNESCO, 2003). Emergence of open universities: Nigeria, Zimbabwe Establishment of Virtual universities: AVU, FVU Establishment of private HEIs External quality assurance agencies: Ethiopia, Nigeria Student loan schemes- Ethiopia, Kenya policies of cost sharing, privatization and commercialization (Ouma, 2008)

30 Institutional-level reforms Maintenance of old infrastructure and development of new ones Parallel programmes for fee-paying students: Makarere, Nirobi Affirmative action to females and disadvantaged groups: Ethiopia, Kenya Review of governance structures Improved use of ICT for teaching, learning, research, and management (Mohamedbhai, 2007

31 Concluding remarks Modern HE in SSA started nearly half a century ago Waves of reforms were made to make HE more responsible for socio-economic development Reforms generally emphasized: Decentralized decision making and autonomy Centralized standards setting Improved management of education resources Privatization of HE More public funding to lower levels Cost-sharing and reduction mechanisms Access to disadvantaged groups, women, and rural people

32 Concluding remarks Consequently, SSA HE reforms are competitiveness, finance, and equity driven Consistent with Carnoy s (1999) conceptualization of the impact of globalization on education reforms This does not mean that globalization is the only force that drives SSA education reforms Local cultures and needs that cannot be linked to globalization might also have their own shares For competitive advantages, issues of education quality and relevance must be well addressed

33 Concluding remarks While improving infrastructure and acquiring technology are necessary, the human factor is most critical for success SSA HEIs must develop and retain researchstrong faculty across the disciplines Otherwise, HE s role of harnessing accelerated socio-economic development might be just a fairy tale Thank You!