There have been institutions of higher learning for centuries in Africa but the phenomenal growth has taken place in the last fifty years, first in the later days of colonialism and then in the heady days of independence and commodity boom. Without them there would have been no development. The three highly distinguished authors have written the first comprehensive assessment of universities and higher education in Africa south of the Sahara. As can be seen from their biographies they draw on experience from both francophone and anglophone Africa and from teaching both in the sciences and the arts.

This book examines the role that Africa has played on the world stage, the African Union, the African leaders' efforts to take care of their own problems and lessen their dependence on the United States and European countries.

In The State and the University Experience in East Africa, Professor Kithinji explores the critical yet unacknowledged role that universities have played in the politics of statehood and nation building. He demonstrate how successive colonial and postcolonial governments have sought to use university education as a means to advance political and economic interests. He seeks to unravel the connection between universities and the state in East Africa, particularly in Kenya. Thorough narrative and analytical history of the policies and politics of university education in the past half-century and more explore the forces that have influenced the development of universities. This study identifies three major policy trends that have shaped university education. Beginning from 1949, when the British colonial government founded Makerere University College in Uganda as the first degree granting institution for East Africa, until 2002, when the second President of Kenya, Daniel arap Moi, retired from office and his Kenya African National Union (KANU) that had ruled since independence in 1963 lost power. By investigating the dynamics that have influenced higher-education policies in Kenya and the wider East African region, this study links the higher education discourse with the state-building narrative and conceives university policies as a product of the forces informing the historical trajectory of Kenya in particular and the wider East African region in general. The State and the University Experience in East Africa will be of great interest to scholars of the African continent, some of whom may be inspired to rewrite the story of tertiary education and state formation in other parts of Africa by an equally meticulous examination of primary sources as demonstrated in this work

The dominant global discourse in higher education now focuses on world-class universities inevitably located predominantly in North America, Europe and, increasingly, East Asia. The rest of the world, including Africa, is left to play catch-up. But that discourse should focus rather on the tensions, even contradictions, between excellence and engagement with which all universities must grapple. Here the African experience has much to offer the high-participation and generously resourced systems of the so-called developed world. This book offers a critical review of that experience, and so makes a major contribution to our understanding of higher education.

This book discusses the status and importance of decolonisation and indigenous knowledge in academic research, teaching, and learning programmes and beyond. Taking practical lessons from a range of institutions in Africa, the book argues that that local and global sciences are culturally equal and capable of synergistic complementarity and then integrates the concept of hybrid science into discourses on decolonisation. The chapters argue for a cross-cultural dialogue between different epistemic traditions and the accommodation 'Indigenous' knowledge systems in higher education. Bringing together critical scholars, teaching and administrating academics from different disciplines, the chapters provide alternative conceptual outlooks and practical case-based perspectives towards decolonised study environments. This book will be of interest to researchers of decolonisation, postcolonial studies, higher education studies, political studies, African studies, and philosophy.

Drawing on the South African case, this book looks at shifts in higher education around the world in the last two decades. In South Africa, calls for transformation have been heard in the university since the last days of apartheid. Similar claims for quality higher education to be made available to all have been made across the African continent. In spite of this, inequalities remain and many would argue that these have been exacerbated during the Covid pandemic. Understanding Higher Education responds to these calls by arguing for a social account of teaching and learning by contesting dominant understandings of students as decontextualised learners premised on the idea that the university is a meritocracy. This book tackles the issue of teaching and learning by looking both within and beyond the classroom. It looks at how higher education policies emerged from the notion of the knowledge economy in the newly democratic South Africa, and how national qualification frameworks and other processes brought the country more closely into conversation with the global order. The effects of this on staffing and curriculum structures are considered alongside a proposition for alternative ways of understanding the role of higher education in society.

The role of higher education, especially the international dimension, is given little importance in the discourse on achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in Africa. This book aims to change that. The potential of higher education’s contribution to Africa’s development remains unrealized and often misunderstood. In today’s globalised world, which prioritises economic growth through liberalised trade and competitive market strategies, much emphasis has been placed on higher education’s ability to produce graduates to serve the labour market and produce new knowledge for the knowledge economy. While these are important contributions, the book argues that international higher education and new knowledge must go beyond economic purposes and serve the human and social development needs of the continent. It is against this background that the African Network for the Internationalisation of Education (ANIE) undertook research on the international dimension of higher education in Africa and its role in the achievement of the MDGs. Through empirical research, seven case studies address how international and regional higher education programmes and policies in African universities can address MDG priorities of promoting gender equality and women’s empowerment, combating HIV/AIDS and establishing global partnerships for development through academic mobility, joint research initiatives, curriculum innovation and policy development.