DPM1 By Patrick Molutsi, PhD Executive Secretary Tertiary Education Council, Botswana
Slide 1 DPM1 Dr. Patrick Molutsi, 5/3/2012
THE AFRICAN UNIVERSITY HAS HISTORICALLY BEEN MORE INTERNATIONALISED THAN MANY IN THE WORLD. HOWEVER IN THE PAST FEW DECADES THE AFRICAN UNIVERSITY HAS LOST GROUND IN ITS INTERNATIONALISATION ROLE AND CHARACTER ALL DUE TO SEVERAL FACTORS AND CHALLENGES. THE AFRICAN UNIVERSITY MUST REMAIN UNIQUE TO AFRICAN EXPERIENCE SO THAT IT CAN ATTRACT LEARNERS AND PROFESSORS.
I. DEFINING INTERNATIONALISATION 2. AFRICAN HIGHER EDUCATION IN CONTEXT 3. HISTORY OF INTERNATIONALISATION IN AFRICAN UNIVERSITIES 4. NEW TRENDS IN AFRICAN INTERNATIONALISATION STRATEGIES 5. ISSUES AND CHALLENGES SADC AS CASE STUDY 6. CONCLUSION
SIMPLY DEFINED INTERNATIONALISATION REFERS TO MOVEMENT OF LEARNERS, TEACHING AND RESEARCH SCHOLARS AND ASSOCIATED EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES FROM ONE COUNTRY OR REGION TO ANOTHER. IT ALSO REFERS TO POLICIES AND STRATEGIES ADOPTED BY COUNTRIES, INSTITUTIONS, ORGANIZATIONS AND OTHERS TO PROMOTE THE MOVEMENT OF LEARNERS, TEACHERS, RESEARCHERS AND OTHER EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES. INTERNATIONALISATION HAS SEVERAL OBJECTIVES - PARTNERSHIPS, STANDARD/QUALITY IMPROVEMENT, TRAINING, REVENUE EARNING, INVESTMENT, PRESTIGE/RANKING IMPROVEMENT
ALTHOUGH PROJECTED AS FAIRLY RECENT, INTERNATIONALISATION IS MUCH OLDER IN AFRICAN UNIVERSITIESTHAN IT IS OFTEN UNDERSTOOD. AS DEMONSTRATED SEVERAL TIMES BEFORE AND EVEN DURING THIS CONFERENCE, THE AFRICAN UNIVERSITY IS A FARLY YOUNG INSTITUTION. OUTSIDE SOUTH AFRICA ONLY A HANDFUL OF AFRICAN UNIVERSITIES DATE BACK TO THE 1960s. THE MAJORITY - OVER 90% WERE ESTABLISHED BETWEEN 1970 AND 2000s. INDEED SOME ARE STILL BEING ESTABLISHED AND/OR RE-ORGANIZED.
THE CLOSE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN THE AFRICAN DECOLONISATION AND ESTABLISHMENT OF NATIONAL UNIVERSITY GAVE RISE TO THE CONCEPT OF A DEVELOPMENTAL UNIVERSITY REFERING TO A UNIVERSITY SERVING THE NEEDS OF A DEVELOPMENTAL STATE. AN AFRICAN DEVELOPMENTAL UNIVERSITY WAS BOTH A NATIONAL AND AN INTERNATIONAL PROJECT. IT WAS NATIONAL BECAUSE IT WAS DESIGNED TO PRODUCE THE MUCH NEEDED SKILLED HUMAN RESOURCE, GENERATE KNOWLEDGE TO INFORM POLICY AND TO CONTRIBUTE TO NATIONAL IDENTITY AND SUSTAINABILITY BY PROVIDING INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS TO DEVELOPMENT PROBLEMS. IT WAS INTERNATIONAL BECAUSE IT HAD TO ADVANCE THE AGENDA OF THE LIBERATION OF THE REST OF THE CONTINENT. IN THIS REGARD IT HAD TO ADMIT LAERNAERS FROM OPPRESSED COUNTRIES AND REGIONS AND EMPLOY TEACHERS AND RESEARCHERS FROM THOSE PARTS OF AFRICA WHERE THE NATIONALIST MOVEMENTS WERE STRUGGLING TO LIBERATE THEIR COUNTRIES.
THE AFRICAN UNIVERSITY WAS ALSO CHARGED WITH ADVANCING THE AFRICAN UNITY PRINCIPLES AND GOALS BY ADMITTING STUDENTS FROM OTHER FRICAN COUNTRIES: e. g. Universities of Ghana (Legon), Ibadan (Nigeria), Diop, Dakar, (Senegal), Makerere (Uganda), Nairobi (Kenya), Dar es Salaam (Tanzania), Zambia (Lusaka), UBLS (Roma, Lesotho) and later University of Botswana, University of Swaziland and National University of Lesotho (Lesotho) became havens of African nationalism with students and professors from all over the continent.
WHAT IS LACKING ABOUT THIS MEASURE OF AFRICAN UNIVERSITY S INTERNATIONALISATION IS THE RECORD IN TERMS OF NUMBERS OF STUDENTS AND PROFESSORS WHO CAME FROM DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE CONTINENT PARTICULARLY BETWEEN 1970 AND 2000s. A THOROUGH RESEARCH PROJECT IS REQUIRED TO SET THIS RECORD STRAIGHT. LEADING AFRICAN SCHOLARS SUCH SAMIR AMIN, CLAUDE AKE, MAMOOD MAMDANI, ARCHIE MAFEJE, CHINUA ACHEBE, OLE SONINKA, ALI MAZURUI, NGUGI wa THI ANGO, AND MANY OTHERS WERE/ARE PRODUCTS OF THE AFRICAN UNIVERSITY AND HAVE TAUGHT IN UNIVERSITIES IN THE DIFFERENT AFRICAN COUNTRIES AND ABROAD.
THE AFRICAN UNIVERSITY BEING YOUNG HAD A MISSION TO MAKE ITSELF INTERNATIONALLY ACCEPTABLE BY OPENING ITS PROGRAMMES TO INTERNATIONAL REVIEW. THE SYSTEM OF EXTERNAL EXAMINATION WAS ENTRENCHED WITH PROFESSORS CRISS- CROSSING THE CONTINENT EVERY JUNE JULY ON EXTERNAL EXAMINATION MISSIONS.
TWO OTHER FACTORS MADE THE AFRICAN UNIVERSITY A REGIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTION: A) SOME UNIVERSITIES WERE SET UP AS REGIONAL PROJECTS OR CENTRES OF EXCELLENCE UBLS, MAKERERE, IBADAN, ETC. B) PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS OF SCHOLARS IN SCIENCE, POLITICAL SCIENCE, PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION, AFRICAN LANGUAGES, ETC. E.G CASAS IN CAPE TOWN PROMOTED MOVEMENTS OF PROFESSORS AND LEARNERS ACROSS THE UNIVERSITIES.
PUBLIC UNIVERSITIES HAVE LOST FUNDING TO CONTINUE INTERNATIONALISATION PROGRAMMES PROFESSIONAL BODIES HAVE WEAKENED EXTERNAL EXAMINATIONS HAVE LOST THEIR SIGNIFICANCE PRIVATE AND CROSS BORDER EDUCATION PROVIDERS VISIBLY BRING NEW OPPORTUNITIES FOR LEARNERS AND OPERATE OUTSIDE PUBLIC UNIVERSITIES PUBLIC UNIVERSITIES ARE LESS ATTRACTIVE TO FOREIGN STUDENTS EVEN THOUGH AND FACE CHALLENGES IN RETAINING FOREIGN PROFESSORS. PRIVATISATION OF INSTITUTIONS EVIDENTLY COMPETING FOR INTERNATIONAL EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES
ROLE OF QUALITY ASSURANCE BODIES INTRODUCTION OF EDUCATION HUBS AS VEHICLES FOR INTERNATIONALISATION AND FDI ATTRACTION.
SADC UNIVERSITIES NEED TO BE RATIONALISED TO SERVE THE SUB-REGIONAL AND REGIONAL AGENDA MORE EFFICIENTLY. THE SADC EDUCATION AND TRAINING PROTOCAL, 1998 NEEDS TO BE IMPLEMENTED MORE SERIOUSLY. SADC STRATEGY ON CENTRES OF SPECIALISATION ADOPTED IN THE LATE 1990s REQUIRE MORE FOCUS AND RESOURCES. NOT ALL COUNTRIES CAN SUSTAIN WORLD CLASS UNIVERSITIES OF MEDICINE, ENGINEERING, VETERINARY MEDICINE, ETC. AU NEEDS TO FOCUS ITS AGENDA ON DEVELOPMENT OF SKILLED HUMAN RESOURCES AS DRIVER OF CONTINENTAL TRANSFORMATION.
ENROLMENTS ARE STILL OVER 38% IN HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES AND LESS IN THE SCIENCES AT 22%. OVER 74% OF STUDENTS IN HIGHER EDUCATION IN SADC ARE ENROLLED FOR UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAMMES. MASTERS AND DOCTORAL ENROLMENTS AVERAGE AROUND 10% OF TOTAL ENROLMENTS
UNIVERSITY FUNDING AVERAGES 15% OF ANNUAL EDUCATION EXPENDIRURE AND HIGHLY DEPEDENT ON PUBLIC FUNDING INSTITUTIONS DEPENDENT ON GOVERNMENTS FOR OVER 70% OF THEIR RUNNING BUDGETS STUDENTS FUNDING IS ALSO DEPENDED ON PUBLIC SOURCES AND LESS ON FAMILY SUPPORT.
UNIVERSITIES AND TERTIARY EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS IN GENERAL HAVE LOW RESEARCH OUTPUT. UNIVERSITY INDUSTRY LINKS ARE WEAK DEPENDENCY ON DONOR FUNDING FOR RESEARCH IS VERY HIGH INNOVATION AND PATENTS OUTPUTS ARE LOW
ALTHOUGH MANY AFRICAN UNIVERSITIES DO NOT HAVE STRATEGIES FOR INTERNATIONALISATION, THE PHENOMENON IS NOT NEW. MANY AFRICAN UNIVERSITIES HAD A CLEAR AGENDA FOR INTERNATIONALISATION DURING THE 1970s, 1980s, 1990s. DUE TO LOSS OF FUNDING AND HIGH DEMAND BY LOCAL STUDENTS THE WINDOW FOR FOREIGN STUDENTS IS NARROWING DOWN. AFRICAN UNIVERSITIES NEED TO FOCUS ON PROVIDING UNIQUE AFRICAN EXPERIENCES TO FOREIGN STUDENTS AND SCHOLARS.