7 - Alternative Models to Traditional Higher Education: Market Demand, Networks, and Private Sector Challenges
Journal of Higher Education in Africa,
Vol. 2 No. 1 (2004): Journal of Higher Education in Africa
Abstract
This paper looks at the pluralization of knowledges and knowledge-producing institutions and at the complexification of the higher education systems in sub- Saharan Africa. It highlights the evolution of “traditional” institutions and the factors that led to such an evolution, the development of alternative models, the spread of knowledge networks, and the challenges of private sector in- volvement in higher education. With globalization, liberalization, and democ- ratization came new “modes” of higher learning, and new kinds of knowledges. “Traditional” models have been forced to evolve, adapt, and reinvent them- selves in the context of these changes, and of shifts in development paradigms and rapid global and local economic and technological transformations. There seems to be a gradual evolution towards more hybrid forms and models of higher education. However, the paper argues that, despite the rapid increase in the numbers and variety of institutions and the pluralization of knowledges, both the traditional institutional forms and modes and the traditional kinds of scientific knowledge are, in the case of Africa, likely to remain the dominant forms for the foreseeable future.
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- Agbu, O. (2001). The state of post-graduate research in the Nigerian social sciences: Challenges for capacity building in a changing world. N.p.: Nigerian Institute of International Affairs. Mimeo.
- Aina, T. (1998). The state of social sciences in contemporary sub-Saharan Africa: A status report. Mimeo.
- Ajayi, J. F. Ade, Goma, L. K. H., & Johnson, Ampah G. (1996). The African experience with higher education. Accra, Ghana/London: AAU/James Curry & Athens.
- Allen, C. H. (1986, June). A review of social science research in eastern, southern and some West African states: Report to SAREC. Stockholm, Sweden: SAREC.
- Altbach, P. G., & Teferra, D. (Eds.). (1998). Knowledge dissemination in Africa: The role of scholarly journals. Bellagio, Italy: Studies in Publishing.
- Amuwo, K. (2001, December). Globalization and the crisis of higher education in the south: Case studies of South Africa and Nigeria. Africa Insight, 31(4), 11-19. (AAU.) Association of African Universities. (1999). Guide to Higher Education in Africa. London: MacMillan Reference Ltd.
- Carlsson, J., & Wohlgemuth, L. (1996). Capacity building and networking: A meta evaluation of African regional research networks. Stockholm: Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA), Department for Evaluation and Internal Audit. SIDA Evaluation 96/45.
- Council for the Development of Social Sciences in Africa (CODESRIA). (1996). The state of academic freedom in Africa 1995. Dakar, Senegal: CODESRIA.
- Council for the Development of Social Sciences in Africa (CODESRIA). (1998). Compte-rendu de la reunion du Comite de Selection du Programme des Petites Subventions tenue à Saly, Portudal, 16-20 novembre 1998. Mimeo.
- Diouf, M., & Mamdani, M. (1994). (Eds.), Academic freedom in Africa. Dakar, Senegal: Council for the Development of Social Sciences in Africa.
- Fine, J. C. (1997, July 14–18). Networks for research and learning: A strategic approach to capacity building in sub-Saharan Africa. Paper for the Meeting on Human Capital: African Higher Education, Bellagio, Italy.
- Ford Foundation. (2001). Narrative report of the retreat on Higher Education in Africa, 29 May–1 June 2001. Prepared by Amina Mama. Unpublished report. Gibbons, M. (2000). Universities and the new production of knowledge: Some policy implications for government. In A. Kraak (Ed.), Changing modes: New knowledge production and its implication for higher education in South Africa (pp. 38- 55). Pretoria, South Africa: Human Sciences Research Council.
- Gibbons, M., Camille, L., Helga, N., Simon, S., Peter, S., & Martin, T. (1994). The new production of knowledge: The dynamics of science and research in contemporary societies. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
- Hagan, G. P. (1994). Academic freedom and national responsibility in an African state: Ghana. In M. Diouf & M. Mamdani (Eds.), Academic freedom in Africa (pp. 39- 58). Dakar, Senegal: CODESRIA.
- Jonathan, R. (2001). Higher education and the public good. Kagisano, no. 1 (Summer 2001): 35-91.
- Kraak, A. (2000a). Changing modes: A brief overview of the “mode 2” knowledge debate and its impact on South African policy formulation. In A. Kraak (Ed.), Changing modes: New knowledge production and its implications for higher education in South Africa (pp. 1-37). Pretoria, South Africa: Human Sciences Research Council.
- Kraak, A. (Ed.). (2000b). Changing modes: New knowledge production and its implications for higher education in South Africa. Pretoria, South Africa: Human Sciences Research Council.
- Kwesiga, J., et al. (2001). Makerere University 2000: The future of social science in Africa. Report for the Swedish International Development Agency/Department for Research Cooperation (SIDA/SAREC). Stockholm, Sweden: SIDA/SAREC.
- Lebeau, Y. (1997). Etudiants et campus du Nigeria. Paris: Khartala.
- Mamdani, M. (1998, September 14–18). Preliminary notes on political science in equatorial Africa. Paper delivered at the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) International Symposium on Globalization and Social Sciences in Africa sponsored by the Council for the Development of Social Sciences in Africa (CODESRIA) and the Graduate School of Humanities, (HSRC). Johannesburg, South Africa.
- Mamdani, M. (2001, October 25-27). Keynote address to faculty of social sciences,
- Makerere University, International Conference on Challenges to the Social Sciences in the Twenty-First Century, Kampala, Uganda. Published in R. Mukuma (Ed.), Challenges to the social sciences in the 21st century (pp. 9-15). Kampala, Uganda: Faculty of Social Sciences, Makerere University.
- Martin, W. G., & West, M. O. (Eds.). (1999.) Out of one, many Africas: Reconstructing the study and meaning of Africa. Urbana: University of Illinois Press.
- Mkandawire, T. (1995). Three generations of African scholars. CODESRIA Bulletin, No. 2.
- Mkandawire, T. (1997, September). The social sciences in Africa: Breaking local barriers and negotiating international presence. M.K.O. Abiola Distinguished Lecture delivered at the African Studies Association 50th Anniversary Celebrations. African Studies Review, 40(2). Mkandawire, T. (1999). The social sciences and democracy: Debates in Africa. The Claude Ake Lecture, delivered at the Ninth General Assembly of Council for the Development of Social Sciences in Africa, Dakar, Senegal, December 14-18, 1998.
- African Sociological Review, 3(1): 20-34.
- Mukuma, R. (2001). Challenges to the social sciences in the twenty-first century: Proceedings of an International Conference, October 25-27, 2000, Kampala, Uganda.
- Kampala, Uganda: Faculty of Social Sciences, Makerere University.
- Mushi, S. S., Rwabukwali, C. B., Manuel, C. (2001). The social sciences at the University of Dar Es Salaam: An evaluation study for the Swedish International Devel
- opment Agency/Department of Research Cooperation (SIDA/SAREC). Stockholm, Sweden: SIDA/SAREC.
- Nhema, A. G. (2000). The state of social sciences in Zimbabwe: Country Report for the
- Swedish International Development Agency/Department of Research Cooperation (SIDA/SAREC). Stockholm, Sweden: SIDA/SAREC.
- Nyamnjoh, F. (2002, Spring). Introduction: The political economy of violence in African educational systems. African Studies Review. Special issue on African universities.
- Pires, M., Kassimir, R., & Brhane, M. (1999). Investing in return: Rates of return of African Ph.D.’s trained in North America. New York: Social Science Research Council.
- Prewitt, K. (1998). Networks in international capacity building: Cases from sub-Saharan Africa. New York: Social Science Research Council.
- Prewitt, K. (2001). Higher education, society and government: Changing dynamics.
- Paper delivered at the Conference on International Higher Education and African Development, sponsored by the Yale Center for International and Area Studies, African Studies, and Economic Growth Center, October 18-20, 2001, New Haven, CT. Published in this volume.
- Ramphele, M. (2001). The university as an actor in development. Paper delivered at the Conference on International Higher Education and African Development, sponsored by the Yale Center for International and Area Studies, African Studies, and Economic Growth Center, October 18-20, 2001, New Haven, CT.
- Rockefeller Foundation. (1998). Report of the meeting of Conveners of the North American African Development Dissertations Workshops, New York. Unpublished paper.
- Sall, E. (Ed.). (2000). Women in academia: Gender and academic freedom in Africa.
- Dakar, Senegal: Council for the Development of Social Sciences in Africa.
- Sall, E. (2003). The social sciences in Africa: Trends, issues, capacities and constraints. Paper prepared for the Human Capital Committee of the Social Science
- Research Council, conference on Mapping Human Capital Globally. New York:
- Social Science Research Council. Mimeo.
- Sall, E., Lebeau, Y., & Kassimir, R. (2002). The public roles of universities in Africa.
- Overview paper for SSRC-AAU project on the Public Role of Universities in Africa presented at SSRC-AAU-University of Western Cape Education Policy Unit Workshop, July 19-20, Cape Town, South Africa.
- Sall, E., Yap, K. P., & Fellersson, M. (2002). The social sciences in Mozambique, Tanzania, Uganda and Zimbabwe: Synthesis of four country reports. Prepared for Swedish International Development Agency/Department of Research Cooperation (SIDA/SAREC).
- Samoff, J., & Carrol, B. (2002). The promise of partnership and continuities of dependence: External support to higher education in Africa. Paper delivered at the 45th Annual Meeting of the African Studies Association, December 5-7, Washington, DC.
- Sawyerr, A. (2001). African universities and the challenge of research capacity development. Paper delivered at the Conference on International Higher Education and African Development, sponsored by the Yale Center for International and Area Studies, African Studies, and Economic Growth Center, October 18-20, 2001, New Haven, CT.
- Sawyerr, A. (2002). Challenges facing African universities: Selected issues. Paper delivered at the 45th Annual Meeting of the African Studies Association, December 5-7, Washington, DC.
- Singh, M. (2001, Summer). Re-inserting the ”Public Good” into Higher Education Transformation. Kagisano, No. 1, 7-22.
- Subotzky, G. (1999). Alternatives to the entrepreneurial university: New modes of knowledge production in community service programs. Higher Education, 38, 401-440.
- Szanton, D., & Manyika, S. (2002, January). Ph.D. programs in African universities:
- Current status and future prospects. Draft. University of California, Berkeley.
- Tadesse, Z. (1999). From euphoria to gloom? Navigating the murky waters of African academic institutions. In W. G. Martin & M. O. West (Eds.), Out of one, many Africas: Reconstructing the study and meaning of Africa. Urbana: University of Illinois Press.
- Task Force on Higher Education and Society (TFHES). (2001). Higher education in developing countries: Peril and promise. Washington, DC: World Bank and UNESCO.
- University of Groningen. (1997). The flow of information: Social and economic sciences in sub-Saharan Africa. Unpublished paper.
- University of Pretoria. (2002). Paper-based distance education at the University of Pretoria. Submission to the Department of Education. Mimeo.
- Uthuli, R., Ngunga, A., Osoro, N., Angura, T. O. (2001). The status of social science teaching and research in Mozambique. Stockholm, Sweden: SIDA/SAREC. Mimeo.
- Wohlgemuth, L. (2002). Universities in sub-Saharan Africa. Austrian Journal of Development Studies, 18(1), 69-79. This number is a special issue on African Empowerment: Knowledge and Development, edited by H. Melber.
- World Bank. (2001). Constructing knowledge societies: New challenges for tertiary education. A World Bank strategy. Washington, DC: The World Bank, Education Group, Human Development Network.
- World Bank. (2002). Constructing knowledge societies: New challenges for tertiary education. Washington, DC: World Bank.
- Zeleza, P. T. (1996). Manufacturing African studies and crises. Dakar, Senegal: Council for the Development of Social Sciences in Africa.
References
Agbu, O. (2001). The state of post-graduate research in the Nigerian social sciences: Challenges for capacity building in a changing world. N.p.: Nigerian Institute of International Affairs. Mimeo.
Aina, T. (1998). The state of social sciences in contemporary sub-Saharan Africa: A status report. Mimeo.
Ajayi, J. F. Ade, Goma, L. K. H., & Johnson, Ampah G. (1996). The African experience with higher education. Accra, Ghana/London: AAU/James Curry & Athens.
Allen, C. H. (1986, June). A review of social science research in eastern, southern and some West African states: Report to SAREC. Stockholm, Sweden: SAREC.
Altbach, P. G., & Teferra, D. (Eds.). (1998). Knowledge dissemination in Africa: The role of scholarly journals. Bellagio, Italy: Studies in Publishing.
Amuwo, K. (2001, December). Globalization and the crisis of higher education in the south: Case studies of South Africa and Nigeria. Africa Insight, 31(4), 11-19. (AAU.) Association of African Universities. (1999). Guide to Higher Education in Africa. London: MacMillan Reference Ltd.
Carlsson, J., & Wohlgemuth, L. (1996). Capacity building and networking: A meta evaluation of African regional research networks. Stockholm: Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA), Department for Evaluation and Internal Audit. SIDA Evaluation 96/45.
Council for the Development of Social Sciences in Africa (CODESRIA). (1996). The state of academic freedom in Africa 1995. Dakar, Senegal: CODESRIA.
Council for the Development of Social Sciences in Africa (CODESRIA). (1998). Compte-rendu de la reunion du Comite de Selection du Programme des Petites Subventions tenue à Saly, Portudal, 16-20 novembre 1998. Mimeo.
Diouf, M., & Mamdani, M. (1994). (Eds.), Academic freedom in Africa. Dakar, Senegal: Council for the Development of Social Sciences in Africa.
Fine, J. C. (1997, July 14–18). Networks for research and learning: A strategic approach to capacity building in sub-Saharan Africa. Paper for the Meeting on Human Capital: African Higher Education, Bellagio, Italy.
Ford Foundation. (2001). Narrative report of the retreat on Higher Education in Africa, 29 May–1 June 2001. Prepared by Amina Mama. Unpublished report. Gibbons, M. (2000). Universities and the new production of knowledge: Some policy implications for government. In A. Kraak (Ed.), Changing modes: New knowledge production and its implication for higher education in South Africa (pp. 38- 55). Pretoria, South Africa: Human Sciences Research Council.
Gibbons, M., Camille, L., Helga, N., Simon, S., Peter, S., & Martin, T. (1994). The new production of knowledge: The dynamics of science and research in contemporary societies. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Hagan, G. P. (1994). Academic freedom and national responsibility in an African state: Ghana. In M. Diouf & M. Mamdani (Eds.), Academic freedom in Africa (pp. 39- 58). Dakar, Senegal: CODESRIA.
Jonathan, R. (2001). Higher education and the public good. Kagisano, no. 1 (Summer 2001): 35-91.
Kraak, A. (2000a). Changing modes: A brief overview of the “mode 2” knowledge debate and its impact on South African policy formulation. In A. Kraak (Ed.), Changing modes: New knowledge production and its implications for higher education in South Africa (pp. 1-37). Pretoria, South Africa: Human Sciences Research Council.
Kraak, A. (Ed.). (2000b). Changing modes: New knowledge production and its implications for higher education in South Africa. Pretoria, South Africa: Human Sciences Research Council.
Kwesiga, J., et al. (2001). Makerere University 2000: The future of social science in Africa. Report for the Swedish International Development Agency/Department for Research Cooperation (SIDA/SAREC). Stockholm, Sweden: SIDA/SAREC.
Lebeau, Y. (1997). Etudiants et campus du Nigeria. Paris: Khartala.
Mamdani, M. (1998, September 14–18). Preliminary notes on political science in equatorial Africa. Paper delivered at the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) International Symposium on Globalization and Social Sciences in Africa sponsored by the Council for the Development of Social Sciences in Africa (CODESRIA) and the Graduate School of Humanities, (HSRC). Johannesburg, South Africa.
Mamdani, M. (2001, October 25-27). Keynote address to faculty of social sciences,
Makerere University, International Conference on Challenges to the Social Sciences in the Twenty-First Century, Kampala, Uganda. Published in R. Mukuma (Ed.), Challenges to the social sciences in the 21st century (pp. 9-15). Kampala, Uganda: Faculty of Social Sciences, Makerere University.
Martin, W. G., & West, M. O. (Eds.). (1999.) Out of one, many Africas: Reconstructing the study and meaning of Africa. Urbana: University of Illinois Press.
Mkandawire, T. (1995). Three generations of African scholars. CODESRIA Bulletin, No. 2.
Mkandawire, T. (1997, September). The social sciences in Africa: Breaking local barriers and negotiating international presence. M.K.O. Abiola Distinguished Lecture delivered at the African Studies Association 50th Anniversary Celebrations. African Studies Review, 40(2). Mkandawire, T. (1999). The social sciences and democracy: Debates in Africa. The Claude Ake Lecture, delivered at the Ninth General Assembly of Council for the Development of Social Sciences in Africa, Dakar, Senegal, December 14-18, 1998.
African Sociological Review, 3(1): 20-34.
Mukuma, R. (2001). Challenges to the social sciences in the twenty-first century: Proceedings of an International Conference, October 25-27, 2000, Kampala, Uganda.
Kampala, Uganda: Faculty of Social Sciences, Makerere University.
Mushi, S. S., Rwabukwali, C. B., Manuel, C. (2001). The social sciences at the University of Dar Es Salaam: An evaluation study for the Swedish International Devel
opment Agency/Department of Research Cooperation (SIDA/SAREC). Stockholm, Sweden: SIDA/SAREC.
Nhema, A. G. (2000). The state of social sciences in Zimbabwe: Country Report for the
Swedish International Development Agency/Department of Research Cooperation (SIDA/SAREC). Stockholm, Sweden: SIDA/SAREC.
Nyamnjoh, F. (2002, Spring). Introduction: The political economy of violence in African educational systems. African Studies Review. Special issue on African universities.
Pires, M., Kassimir, R., & Brhane, M. (1999). Investing in return: Rates of return of African Ph.D.’s trained in North America. New York: Social Science Research Council.
Prewitt, K. (1998). Networks in international capacity building: Cases from sub-Saharan Africa. New York: Social Science Research Council.
Prewitt, K. (2001). Higher education, society and government: Changing dynamics.
Paper delivered at the Conference on International Higher Education and African Development, sponsored by the Yale Center for International and Area Studies, African Studies, and Economic Growth Center, October 18-20, 2001, New Haven, CT. Published in this volume.
Ramphele, M. (2001). The university as an actor in development. Paper delivered at the Conference on International Higher Education and African Development, sponsored by the Yale Center for International and Area Studies, African Studies, and Economic Growth Center, October 18-20, 2001, New Haven, CT.
Rockefeller Foundation. (1998). Report of the meeting of Conveners of the North American African Development Dissertations Workshops, New York. Unpublished paper.
Sall, E. (Ed.). (2000). Women in academia: Gender and academic freedom in Africa.
Dakar, Senegal: Council for the Development of Social Sciences in Africa.
Sall, E. (2003). The social sciences in Africa: Trends, issues, capacities and constraints. Paper prepared for the Human Capital Committee of the Social Science
Research Council, conference on Mapping Human Capital Globally. New York:
Social Science Research Council. Mimeo.
Sall, E., Lebeau, Y., & Kassimir, R. (2002). The public roles of universities in Africa.
Overview paper for SSRC-AAU project on the Public Role of Universities in Africa presented at SSRC-AAU-University of Western Cape Education Policy Unit Workshop, July 19-20, Cape Town, South Africa.
Sall, E., Yap, K. P., & Fellersson, M. (2002). The social sciences in Mozambique, Tanzania, Uganda and Zimbabwe: Synthesis of four country reports. Prepared for Swedish International Development Agency/Department of Research Cooperation (SIDA/SAREC).
Samoff, J., & Carrol, B. (2002). The promise of partnership and continuities of dependence: External support to higher education in Africa. Paper delivered at the 45th Annual Meeting of the African Studies Association, December 5-7, Washington, DC.
Sawyerr, A. (2001). African universities and the challenge of research capacity development. Paper delivered at the Conference on International Higher Education and African Development, sponsored by the Yale Center for International and Area Studies, African Studies, and Economic Growth Center, October 18-20, 2001, New Haven, CT.
Sawyerr, A. (2002). Challenges facing African universities: Selected issues. Paper delivered at the 45th Annual Meeting of the African Studies Association, December 5-7, Washington, DC.
Singh, M. (2001, Summer). Re-inserting the ”Public Good” into Higher Education Transformation. Kagisano, No. 1, 7-22.
Subotzky, G. (1999). Alternatives to the entrepreneurial university: New modes of knowledge production in community service programs. Higher Education, 38, 401-440.
Szanton, D., & Manyika, S. (2002, January). Ph.D. programs in African universities:
Current status and future prospects. Draft. University of California, Berkeley.
Tadesse, Z. (1999). From euphoria to gloom? Navigating the murky waters of African academic institutions. In W. G. Martin & M. O. West (Eds.), Out of one, many Africas: Reconstructing the study and meaning of Africa. Urbana: University of Illinois Press.
Task Force on Higher Education and Society (TFHES). (2001). Higher education in developing countries: Peril and promise. Washington, DC: World Bank and UNESCO.
University of Groningen. (1997). The flow of information: Social and economic sciences in sub-Saharan Africa. Unpublished paper.
University of Pretoria. (2002). Paper-based distance education at the University of Pretoria. Submission to the Department of Education. Mimeo.
Uthuli, R., Ngunga, A., Osoro, N., Angura, T. O. (2001). The status of social science teaching and research in Mozambique. Stockholm, Sweden: SIDA/SAREC. Mimeo.
Wohlgemuth, L. (2002). Universities in sub-Saharan Africa. Austrian Journal of Development Studies, 18(1), 69-79. This number is a special issue on African Empowerment: Knowledge and Development, edited by H. Melber.
World Bank. (2001). Constructing knowledge societies: New challenges for tertiary education. A World Bank strategy. Washington, DC: The World Bank, Education Group, Human Development Network.
World Bank. (2002). Constructing knowledge societies: New challenges for tertiary education. Washington, DC: World Bank.
Zeleza, P. T. (1996). Manufacturing African studies and crises. Dakar, Senegal: Council for the Development of Social Sciences in Africa.