ACA seminar For Mutual Gain Euro-African Cooperation in Higher Education Brussels, December 13th, 2013
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ACA seminar For Mutual Gain
Euro-African Cooperation in Higher Education
Brussels, December 13th, 2013
Contribution to the seminar on ‘How can
cooperation with African Higher Education
strengthen its identity and position in the
global knowledge economy’
Prof Sifuni Ernest Mchome
Permanent Secretary
Ministry of Education and Vocational Training
United Republic of Tanzania“I have faith in humanity, in that we can
overcome adversity when we have the genuine will to
do so, the inspiration to progress and evolve. I also
believe that there is a point in the course of events
when the universe/nature intervenes and that is why at
the end of the day, truth/honesty/good, whatever you
want to call the positivity, prevails and comes to the
surface.”
Raimondo Dechaud’s comments in a Facebook
discussion on AfricaIn a nutshell, Africa…….
• Fastest urbanizing continent in the world, so say
many reports on global development trends.
– By the year 2030, half of its population will be living and
working in towns and cities.
• Yet, according to the International Development
Research Centre (IDRC), UNESCO and World Bank:
– Although literacy rates have greatly improved in Africa
over the last few decades, about 40% of Africans over the
age of 15, and 50% of women above the age of 25 remain
illiterate.
– Illiteracy among individuals over the age of 15 stands at 41
per cent; gender disparity in education prevails in 75% of
countries.In a nutshell, Africa……. – Almost 50% of countries may not attain the goal of universal primary education by 2015; nearly 40 million children are not going to school. – Enrolment in lower secondary school is raising generally, yet remains below 8% in a number of countries. – Higher education and other levels and forms of education are experiencing problems with respect to access, quality and even relevance. – Africa loses an estimated 20,000 skilled personnel a year to developed countries, brain drain and thus adding to the knowledge and skills gap
The hard facts…
• Many reports on Africa predicts a steady growth of
African economies.
– Yet, while African economies are growing quickly, a
stumbling block for investment policies remains the lack of
qualified personnel to maintain and pursue their
development
• If African countries are to develop, they need highly
skilled local professionals, especially in core
technologies
– Universities must thus rise to the challenge of training
highly qualified engineers from all over the African
continent and tailoring the training to the needs of local
and regional economies.The hard facts…
• The education these universities deliver must
have close connection with the realities on the
ground.
– This mean universities now need to work in close
cooperation with the industry and constantly
adapt their teaching to the industry’s needs in
order to make sure those train train are ready and
bring an added-value to the development agendaThe hard facts…
• As you may all agree with me, higher
education in Africa has not been free from
challenges.
– several impediments are facing the higher
education sub sector in African countries which
are largely similar
• dwindling financial resources as compared to the
demand.The hard facts…
• University enrollment rates in sub-Saharan
Africa are among the lowest in the world,
averaging 5%.
– However, the correlation between university
enrollment rates and national income is strong.
• For instance, no high-income country (other than
Switzerland) has university enrollment less than 50%.
– Therefore, Africa can not desist from investing
heavily in higher education.The hard facts… • where wages are comparatively low, and poverty among our people relatively higher, the dilemma of our Governments and Financing Agencies is how to keep higher education affordable and therefore accessible to most of our young people and other citizens
The hard facts…
• Higher-income countries spend about 30% of per
capita GDP on each university student whereas in most
African governments' per-student subsidy is far below.
– For the most part, the relative higher spending reflects the
hard realities of providing quality university education.
– Higher education students in any country need teaching
and learning facilities including books and e-resources,
good learning environment and above all decently paid
and highly qualified teaching staff.
• These are issues of public investment and Africa cannot afford to
have them ignored without risking the future generations.
• Africa therefore need to think innovatively on how to continue
improving the quality of education at all levels so as to remain
competitive within the continent and globally.Some Facts from Tanzania
Social Economic Facts
Discoveries in the
Agriculture now a
extractive sector – Manufacturing
priority and is
minerals e.g. oil, sector is growing…
growing…
gas, coal…
Political will in
More and more place to tap the
FDIs… country’s potential
for development…ENROLMENT IN UNIVERSITIES IN TANZANIA
2007/08 - 2011/12
180,000
160,000
140,000
120,000
No. of Students
100,000
80,000
60,000
40,000
20,000
0
2007/08 2008/09 2009/10 2010/11 2011/12
Arts Programmes 56,096 68,324 85,350 93,601 122,948
Science Programmes 26,185 32,899 38,084 41,766 43,326
Total 82,281 101,223 123,434 135,367 166,274
Source: Tanzania Commission for UniversitiesTANZANIAN UNIVERSITY TEACHING STAFF BY QUALIFICATIONS
2011/12
4000
3500
3000
2500
Number of Staff
2000
1500
1000
500
0
Ordinary Advanced Higher Bachelor Postgraduat Postgraduat
Certificate Masters Doctorate Total
Diploma Diploma Diploma Degree e Certificate e Diploma
Male 33 25 2 1 772 5 3 1302 492 2635
Female 8 16 5 1 323 0 1 598 151 1103
Total 41 41 7 2 1095 5 4 1900 643 3738
Source: BEST Statistics 2012ENROLMENT IN TECHNICAL INSTITUTIONS
2007/08 - 2011/12
120,000
100,000
80,000
No. of students
60,000
40,000
20,000
0
2007/08 2008/09 2009/10 2010/11 2011/12
Degree Programmes 12,049 18,705 46,195 44,978
Non Degree Programmes 35,030 30,480 38,845 67,469
Total 47,079 49,185 50,173 85,040 112,447
Source: BEST Statistics 2012TANZANIAN TECHNICAL EDUCATION TEACHING
STAFF BY QUALIFICATIONS IN 2011/12
5000
4500
4000
3500
3000
No. of Staff
2500
2000
1500
1000
500
0
Ordinary Advanced Higher Bachelor Postgraduat Postgraduat
Certificate Masters Doctorate Total
Diploma Diploma Diploma Degree e Certificate e Diploma
Male 201 462 373 40 890 27 94 1076 109 3272
Female 64 192 176 20 322 8 13 329 18 1142
Total 265 654 549 60 1212 35 107 1405 127 4414
% 6.0 14.8 12.4 1.4 27.5 0.8 2.4 31.8 2.9 100.0
Source: BEST Statistics 2012EDUCATION LEVEL BY QUINTILE OF WEALTH -
AGE GROUP 15-29
100.0
90.0
80.0
70.0
60.0
Percentage (%)
50.0
40.0
30.0
20.0
10.0
0.0
Incomplete Complete Incomplete O Complete O Level Advance
No Primary University
Primary Primary Level Secondary Secondary Secondary
Education Education
Education Education Education Education Education
Poorest 30.3 22.5 18.0 8.2 5.7 2.5 5.4
Quintile 2 21.0 22.4 20.8 15.5 11.2 4.9 8.1
Quintile 3 19.8 24.1 18.6 19.0 13.7 7.7
Quintile 4 15.5 16.0 21.8 24.7 22.5 19.4
Wealthiest 13.4 15.0 20.8 32.6 46.9 65.5 86.5
Source: World Bank Analysis based on National Bureau of Statistics Data 2013TANZANIA WORKING POPULATION BY SKILLS
LEVEL IN 2010
90%
84%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
13%
10%
3%
0%
High Skilled Medium Skilled Low Skilled
Source: Oxford University, “Attaining Middle Income Country Status – Tanzania”, 2010TANZANIA WORKING POPULATION BY
SKILLS LEVEL COMPARED TO MICs IN 2010
90%
84%
80%
70%
60%
55%
50%
40%
33%
30%
20%
12% 13%
10%
3%
0%
High Skilled Medium Skilled Low Skilled
Tanzania MICs
Source: Oxford University, “Attaining Middle Income Country Status – Tanzania”, 2010• University education must thus target workforce
development for the country
• However, several factors need to be addressed
for this to happen quickly
• Since higher education should now be for
development there is need to strengthen
communication between industry and the higher
education
– Training institutes should be updated on the current
and future skilled manpower requirement of the
various industries fore education to be relevant and
up to date
– Industry should contribute to the design of curriculaThus…
• Focus must be on the sectors of growth, capable of
generating significant employment and income for
African societies.
• And, it is possible to provide international quality
education in Africa
– Quality higher education institutions are thus needed and
indeed become significant actors for change and
development,
• They must offer guarantees in terms of quality and prepare
students for a competitive world of work.
• Mainstreaming these guarantees however requires an active
participation of all stakeholders, ranging from public authorities to
international organisations and the industries.And therefore…
• African Universities should re-invent themselves as
the 21st version of the Development University. To do
this they need partners and work along the following
attributes:
– Cooperate in the development of relevant/needed
scientific knowledge via research cooperation
• relevance being determined by the relation between research
outcomes and knowledge needs in society
– this may range from ‘global development challenges’ to local development
needs such as innovation)
– Strengthening educational collaborative programs by
developing relevant/needed degree programs at Bachelor,
Master and PhD levelsAnd therefore…
– Strengthening internationalization of African higher education
• international mobility
• internationalization at home,
• internationalization and benchmarking of the curriculum,
• participating in international/global networks, etc
– Capacity development, etc
• The above interventions need not be for
every university
– Could be a few/selected provided this adds value to
the course of higher education development
– Centres of Excellency and Relevancy could be the best
option in nurturing and developing sound
collaboration between HE in Africa and EuropeProposition for Mutual Gain
“Most needed are institutions that offer tertiary
education at an acceptable standard to large
numbers of students and with a strong emphasis
on learning outcomes – relevant/needed
knowledge, skills and competencies – so as to
strengthen employability of graduates for
societal transformation”You can also read
