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Association of African Universities
Association des Universités Africaines
Annual Report
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Association of African Universities
Association des Universités Africaines
AAU
ANNUAL REPORT
2007-2008
07
08
Annual Report
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Contents
C o n t e n t s
AAU
ANNUAL REPORT
2007-2008
From the Secretary-General
Profile of the AAU
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AAU
ANNUAL REPORT
2007-2008
Summary of 2007/08Activities
a. Institutional Collaboration in Higher Education Leadership
i. The Leadership Development Workshops
ii. Management Training Programme
iii.Leadership and Management Research Programme
iv. Quality Assurance Support Programme
v. Academic Mobility (Staff Exchange/Small Grants
Grants for Dissertation & Theses)
vi.Senior Executive Attachment
vii. Higher Education and HIV & AIDS
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OUR VISION
To maintain the AAU as the representative voice of the African higher education
community
b. Special Issues
i. The Ford Foundation International Fellowships
Programme
ii. Working Group on Higher Education
OUR MISSION
Information Communication and Technologies
a. Supporting ICT Development/Research and Education
Network Unit (RENU)
b. Database of African Theses and Dissertation (DATAD)
c. Communication and Services
Staff Travels and Meetings/Conference Participation
AAU Major Events
a. The Conference of Rectors, Vice-Chancellors and Presidents
b. African University Day
c. AAU Receives Visitors
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To raise the quality of higher education in African and strengthen its contribution to
African development by:
• Fostering cooperation and collaboration among member institutions.
• Providing support to the core functions of teaching, learning, research and
community engagement.
• Facilitating critical reflection on, and consensus-building around issues
affecting higher education and the development of Africa.
AAU Staff Matters
Financial Information
Management Information System
Partners
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AAU EXECUTIVE BOARD MEMBERS (2005-2009)
FROM THE SECRETARY GENERAL
AAU
ANNUAL REPORT
2007-2008
This annual report highlights the Association of African Universities' (AAU)
achievements, as well as activities undertaken during the period May 2007 to
June 2008.
When I assumed office as Secretary-General in August, 2008, one of my first general
observations was that programmes were being implemented within the context of the
AAU Strategic Plan (2003 2010). My first task was, therefore, to engage all programme
officers on a one-on-one interaction to familiarise myself with the current programmes
and plans for their sustainability. My other general observation, and prime concern, was
the low subscription inflows from AAU member institutions, a situation that has raised
several concerns at the AAU Board meetings and at the General Conference level.
Available records show that less than 45% of the current 212 members are in
subscription arrears of three years and over. This situation has placed a heavy burden on
the Secretariat's administrative cost, as subscriptions remain the second highest income
inflow to the Association.
AAU
ANNUAL REPORT
2007-2008
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1. Prof. Njabulo S. NDEBELE (President), South Africa
2. Prof. Shamsudeen O.O. AMALI (Vice President), Nigeria
3. Prof. Abdolkabir ALFAHARY (Vice President), Libya
4. Prof. Matthew Atem ADUOL (Vice President), Sudan
5. Prof. George Albert MAGOHA, Kenya
6. Prof. Anselm B. LOWGA, Tanzania
7. Rev. Prof. Adow OBENG, Ghana
8. Prof. Ndiawar SARR, Senegal
9. Prof. Ehouan Etienne EHILE, Cote D'voire
10. Prof. Saleh HESHEN, Egypt
11. Prof. Beban Sammy CHUMBOW, Cameroon
12. Prof. Chrysologue KARANGWA, Rwanda
13. Prof. Lazarus HANGULA, Namibia
14. Prof. Cisco MAGAGULA, Swaziland
15. Prof. Sam Abel TSWANA, Zimbabwe
16. Prof. Akilagpa Sawyerr, Secretary General
The year under review (May 2007 to June 2008) witnessed an increase in the number of
programmes undertaken by the AAU. A relatively new four-year programme,
Mobilizing Regional Capacity Initiative (MRCI) funded by a £3.5 million grant from the
Department for International Development (DFID) of the United Kingdom began with
the release of the first tranche of funds for implementation. Components of other
programmes, such as the AAU - Capacity Development Project the Revitalisation of
African Higher Education (CADRE), which is funded by the African Capacity Building
Foundation (ACBF) were also effectively implemented, and continuous funding from
development partners ensured effective programme delivery, though there were some
challenges and constraints peculiar to individual programmes.
The coming year appears not only to be busy, but challenging for the Association. First
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the AAU's 12 General Conference will be held in Abuja, Nigeria, in May, 2009, under the
theme Sustainable Development in Africa: The Role of Higher Education and would be
co-hosted by the Universities of Abuja and Ilorin. The challenge is not only for the AAU to
build upon the successes of past General Conferences, but more specifically to guide
African universities to be more pro-active in solving the continent's developmental
challenges.
Other challenges include increasing the momentum of programme delivery at the AAU
Secretariat and initiating new ones as approved by the General Conference under the
new Core Programme of Activities (2009 -2012).
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AAU
ANNUAL REPORT
2007-2008
To effectively serve Africa better, universities and other higher education institutions on
the continent need to network among themselves to develop collaborative
programmes and share best practices. The AAU's niche is in coordinating these efforts,
and in reaching out to members spread out across the five sub-regions in Africa and in
the major linguistic divides. It is hoped that in the coming years, AAU member
institutions, especially those in good standing with the Association, would benefit
greatly from its programmes. To those yet to join the Association, the AAU welcomes
you to visit its web site (www.aau.org) for updates on higher education programmes
and activities in Africa. To our numerous development partners and potential ones, we
trust that we would merit your support for our programmes and activities to ensure an
effective African higher education system responding to developmental needs.
Goolam Mohamedbhai (Prof)
Secretary-General
PROFILE OF THE AAU
The Association of African Universities (AAU), founded with an initial membership
of 34 public universities on November 12, 1967 in Rabat, Morocco, serves as the
continental organisation and principal forum for consultation, exchange of
information and cooperation among Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in Africa. The
AAU, which has its headquarters in Accra, Ghana, has grown in membership to 199 as of
April 2007.
AAU
ANNUAL REPORT
2007-2008
Over the years the AAU has gained credibility among its member institutions, African
governments, donor partners and the higher education community globally. It enjoys a
unique capacity for convening the vast majority of the African higher education
community to reflect and consult on key issues affecting education in Africa, and for
promoting cooperation and collaboration among its member institutions.
Membership of the Association is diverse and truly continental, drawn from all parts of
the continent, and from all the major language and educational traditions. This gives the
Association a unique capacity to coordinate activities and network institutions at the
continental level, as well as to help fashion a common vision for African higher
education. In addition, it has demonstrated the institutional capacity for developing and
managing programs and providing services to its members.
The Association's Vision is to become the representative voice of the African higher
education community both within and outside Africa. Its Mission is to raise the quality
of higher education in Africa and strengthen its contribution to African development by
fostering collaboration among its member institutions; by providing support to their
core functions of teaching, learning, research and community engagement; and by
facilitating critical reflection on, and consensus-building around, issues affecting higher
education and the development of Africa.
The AAU is governed by a General Conference comprising representatives of the
member institutions and is convened once in every four years, while a Conference of
Rectors, Vice-Chancellors and Presidents (COREVIP) meets every two years to review
issues of common concern to the universities. A Secretariat is responsible for the day-today
running of the Association under the general supervision of an Executive Board.
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AAU
ANNUAL REPORT
2007-2008
SUMMARY OF 2007/08 ACTIVITIES
During the period May 2007 to June 2008, new programmes were
introduced, however, Institutional Collaboration in Higher Education,
Leadership and Management, ICT and Special Issues were the broad areas
that the Association developed and implemented programmes and activities. This was
in accordance with the work plan based on the Strategic Plan 2003 2010 and the Core
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Programme 2005 2009, which was approved by the Executive Board at its 64 Meeting
in June 2007.
This Report summarises programme implementation over the period May 2007 to June
2008.
NEW PROGRAMMES
The Mobilising Regional Capacity Initiative
The Mobilizing Regional Capacity Initiative (MRCI) is a new four-year programme
funded by the Department for International Development (DFID) of United Kingdom
within the broad frame of the African Union's Plan of Action for the Second Decade of
Education for Africa. The overall objective of the MRCI is to help higher education in
Africa to act as a catalyst for poverty reduction and the achievement of the Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs) within the framework of African Union's Plan of Action for
the Second Decade of Education for Africa.
At the centre of the MRCI is a Challenge Fund for the strengthening of partnerships
between the AAU and regional and national bodies representing higher education
institutions in Africa, as part of the drive for poverty eradication.
During the reporting year, the following took place for the start off of the Programme:
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• A six-member Programme Steering Committee (PSC) was established in October
2007.
• A two-member team was selected to review proposals in the pilot phase of
Programme.
• The first meeting of the PSC took place on December 12, 2007 and was attended
by representatives of DFID and African regional higher education institutions.
The following recommendations were made during the meeting:
o Guidelines for submission of proposals needed to be developed.
o A mapping exercise of all five regions of Africa to identify potential
regional partners for collaboration in the implementation of MRCI
Programme needed to be undertaken.
o A Programme Coordinator for the MRCI Programme had to be
appointed.
o A capacity building workshop for regional higher education
organisations had to be organised.
A pilot phase of Programme was launched on December 13, 2007 to kick start
implementation before the end of DFID's budget year in March 2008. To this effect, a call
for proposals yielded four responses from the Southern African Regional Universities
Associations (SARUA), the Inter-University Council of Eastern Africa (IUCEA), Higher
Polytechnic Institute of GAZA (Mozambique), and Catholique University of Mozambique,
Faculty of Economics and Administration (Mozambique).
The SARUA proposal on Mainstreaming Higher Education for National and Regional
Development was recommended by the selection panel and approved by the PSC for a
grant award.
The mapping exercise commissioned on the recommendation of the PSC, was to identify
specific regional structures to serve as nodal points for the development, processing and
oversight of research projects. The exercise was limited to Central, Northern and
Western Africa, which did not have identifiable regional higher education organisations
(RHEOs). Two studies were envisioned for West Africa - one each for Anglophone and
Francophone West Africa, because of differences in the organization of higher education
bodies in the two linguistic regions.
A call for proposals for first cycle of Challenge Fund faced some challenges, because of
absence of regional higher education organisations in some regions. It was, therefore,
decided that the AAU Secretariat receive and process applications from those areas,
while applications from Eastern and Southern Africa be channelled through IUCEA and
Southern African Regional UA.
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Akilagpa SAWYERR, Secretary-General, Association of African Universities
Sammy B. CHUMBOW, Former Rector, Université de Yaoundé I
Faisal ELHAG, Association of Arab Universities
Beatrice NJENGA, African Union
8 Everett STANDA, Commission for Higher Education
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Jean TCHOUGBE, Agence Universitaire Francophonie
AAU
ANNUAL REPORT
2007-2008

Professor Olusola Oyewole, former Project Officer for AAU Quality Assurance
Programme was appointed coordinator for the MRCI Programme in March 2008.
INSTITUTIONAL COLLABORATION IN
HIGHER EDUCATION
AAU
ANNUAL REPORT
2007-2008
Leadership and Management
Leadership Development Workshop
The Leadership Development Workshop (LEDEV) series under the Leadership in Higher
Education component of the AAU Capacity Development Project for the Revitalisation of
African Higher Education Institutions (AAU-CADRE) is a follow-up to AAU's Senior
University Management Workshop (SUMA) series, which was running between 1991
2002. The objective of the SUMA series was to equip African university leadership with
managerial skills. The SUMA workshops dealt broadly with issues of policy, funding,
leadership and management. Later, the SUMA series was split into two separate
components - Leadership Development (Ledev) and Management Development
(MADEV) to reflect the unique training needs of the two aspects.
AAU
ANNUAL REPORT
2007-2008
The MRCI Launch in Accra, Ghana, December 2007
The Association of African Universities - Capacity Development Project for
the Revitalisation of African Higher Education Institutions
The Association of African Universities (AAU) and the Capacity Building Foundation
(ACBF) launched a Capacity Development Project for the Revitalisation of African Higher
Education Institutions (AAU-CADRE). This took place during the Conference of Rectors,
Presidents and Vice-chancellors (COREVIP) organised in collaboration of the Khadafi
Foundation in Tripoli, Libya in October 2007.
LEDEV Workshop, which is targeted at newly appointed Rectors, Vice-Rectors, Vice-
Chancellors, Deputy Vice-Chancellors of public and private institutions, as well as Council
members, heads of national and regional accreditation agencies, among others has the
objective of equipping African university leadership with managerial skills. During the
year under review, the first LEDEV Workshop - LEDEV I was held in Windhoek, Namibia,
from August 13 to 25, 2007. In all, there were 39 participants (one Pro-Vice Chancellor,
eight Vice-Chancellors and Rectors, seven Pro and Deputy Vice-Chancellors, and 23 other
leaders of higher education institutions and agencies) from 11 countries in Africa,
namely; Botswana; Ghana; Kenya; Lesotho; Mozambique; Namibia; Nigeria; South Africa;
Swaziland; Zambia; and Zimbabwe.
The AAU-CADRE is being funded by the ACBF with an amount of US $2.8 million over a
four-year period. The AAU-CADRE Project is geared towards assisting the AAU to fulfil
its mission of assisting its members to build capacity to perform their core functions of
teaching, research and community engagement. The Project is, therefore, a unique
collaboration for both the ACBF and the AAU to make a significant contribution to higher
education in Africa.
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AAU
ANNUAL REPORT
2007-2008
Additionally, there were seven women and seven participants from non-university
tertiary institutions. The Workshop was funded by the African Capacity Building
Foundation (ACBF), and the Swedish International Development Agency (Sida), as well
as the revenue accrued from the registration fees of participants. During the
Workshop, the Senior Executive Attachment Programme, which offers grants for
executive attachments at high-performing higher education institutions, was launched.
Three out of eleven LEDEV applicants were selected for the programme.
The second Leadership Workshop, LEDEV II was held from April 23 to May 02, 2008 and
co-hosted by the Kigali Institute of Science and Technology in Kigali, Rwanda. A Training
of Trainers' Workshop for Francophone resource persons was held parallel to the
Workshop to prepare for the LEDEV III Workshop, which would be organized for
Francophone institutions and scheduled for early 2009. Both LEDEV I and II deepened
awareness of topics presented and possible approaches to addressing identified
challenges. It also facilitated interaction between participants, which laid the basis for
future networking.
Management Development Workshop
The Management Development (MADEV) Workshop is a component of the AAU's new
Leadership and Management Programme, which replaced the AAU SUMA series in
(1991 2003) to cater for management training developing managerial skills and
improving systems, processes and procedures to enhance quality of service delivery by
managers in African higher education institutions. The objectives of this Workshop are
to develop and enhance the competence of senior middle level university managers,
namely; Provosts, Deans of Colleges, Schools and Faculties, heads of Departments and
their deputies.
The MADEV training is contracted out to competent management training providers
in Africa. During the year under review, the Ghana Institute of Management and Public
Administration (GIMPA), was the first institution to be contracted under this
arrangement. The first Management Development Workshop - MADEV I was held at
GIMPA, Greenhill Campus from February 25 to March 7, 2008 and was facilitated by
GIMPA staff and Professor Matthew Luhanga, the immediate past Vice Chancellor of the
University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. The Workshop focused on eleven generic and
job-specific management topics.
Education in Africa (PHEA) Foundations' grantee universities (University of Nairobi,
Kenya (Ford Foundation); and University of Cape Cast, Ghana (Hewlett Foundation))
were subsidised with the grant from Carnegie.
Leadership and Management Research Programme
The Leadership and Management Research Programme is a component under Building
Capacity in Leadership and Management of African Higher Education Institutions
under the AAU-CADRE Project. It comprises a research grants scheme, where academic
staff of the AAU member institutions (in good standing on the payment of subscriptions)
is invited to submit proposals on a selected number of broad higher education leadership
and management themes.
The objective of the Project is to build up a cadre of African higher education researchers,
policy analysts and managers to strengthen the institutional bases of higher education
research in Africa, and generate and disseminate new knowledge about African higher
education.
During the year under review, the first call for proposals in April 2007 yielded few
proposals, while the second call on five main themes (Innovative Higher Education
Leadership and Management Practices; Change Management; University Management
for Quality and Equitable Access; Research Management; and Human Resource
Management attracted 35 proposals; 30 from AAU member institutions (19 from
members in good standing and 11 from members not in good standing) and five from
non-AAU member institutions.
The proposals focused on the following areas: Resource Allocation; Research Funding
and Management; Staff Recruitment and Retention; Managing Merged Universities;
Mentoring and Career Development; the Demand for Higher Education versus Market
Signals; Challenges and Policy Responses to Cross-Border Provision of Higher Education;
Women in Leadership; Institutional Culture; Mainstreaming Environment; and Building
Entrepreneurship among Undergraduates. They were sorted out with particular
attention to the membership and subscription payment status of applicants' institutions,
and compatibility with select research themes. In all, 18 viable proposals were reviewed
in-house and externally to select the best four for sponsorship.
AAU
ANNUAL REPORT
2007-2008
The 10-day Workshop was attended by 44 participants from Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, and
Tanzania. Twenty participants (45%) from AAU member universities in good standing
received travel, accommodation and other subsidies from ACBF-CADRE and Sida-
NORAD (HIV & AIDS) grants.
An additional funds was secured from Carnegie Corporation to cover travel, lodging and
subsistence allowance for the remaining 24 participants from the Corporation's grantee
universities, namely the University of Ghana, Ghana; University of Education,
Winneba, Ghana; University of Development Studies, Ghana; Obafemi Awolowo
University, Nigeria; University of Jos, Nigeria; Ahmadu Bello University, Nigeria; and
University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
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Road transport and incidental expenses for participants from the Partnership for Higher
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The AAU web site was updated with an up-to-date database of QA practitioners and AAU
in collaboration with the African Union hosted web discussion on harmonization and
ratings of higher education in Africa from July to November, 2007.
In collaboration with the African Union, a stakeholders meeting was held in Accra from
March 27 - 28, 2008 on the Arusha Convention and existing practices in cross-border
recognition of qualifications among African countries. A seven-member advisory
committee comprising regional and international QA experts was set up and organised
two meetings to advise on developing the project work plan. The project work plan was
developed and approved by AAU Executive Board, with two-member team comprising a
Project Officer and an Assistant Project Officer now operational at AAU Secretariat.
AAU
ANNUAL REPORT
2007-2008
Quality Assurance Support Programme for African Higher Education
The Quality Assurance (QA) Support Programme for African Higher Education is a
World Bank Funded activity for promoting quality assurance activities in h i g h e r
education in Africa. This is in line with the Arusha Convention, a regional convention on
the recognition of studies, certificates, diplomas, degrees and other academic
qualifications in higher education in Africancountries. The objective of the QA
Programme is to lay a foundation for institutionalized quality assurance mechanisms
within tertiary institutions, national quality assurance and accreditation agencies, and
an eventual regional network for coordination of cross-border protocols and
specialized capacity building in QA. The Programme, which targets AAU member
universities and African Higher Education QA, also received funding from the Global
Initiative for Quality Assurance Capacity (GIQAC).
Academic Mobility (Staff Exchange/Small Grants for Theses and Dissertations)
Academic Mobility, which targets staff and post-graduate students of AAU member
institutions, is one of the most popular of the AAU Programmes, and comprises two
separate components, namely:
• Small Grants for Theses and Dissertations (grants to facilitate early completion of
post-graduate theses and to ensure quality of the research work undertaken).
• Academic Staff Exchange (supports academics from AAU member institutions
undertaking short-term research work, teaching assignments, external examining
and supervision of both post and undergraduate theses).
The objective of this programme is to promote academic mobility, networking and
institutional collaboration as a vehicle for achieving the strategic goal of, supporting
African higher education institutions in their core functions of teaching, learning,
research and service to their community.
AAU
ANNUAL REPORT
2007-2008
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During the year under review, a lot of activities took place. Quality Assurance Needs
Assessment studies were carried out in Anglophone West Africa, the 17 Francophone
countries in Africa, North Africa and Arabophone countries, Portuguese-speaking
countries and East African countries. In addition, curriculum for Training of Trainers in
institutional self-assessment were developed and reviewed and training workshops on
institutional self-assessment were conducted for Southern and East African countries.
Furthermore, the AAU entered into collaboration with Council for Higher Education
(CHE), Pretoria, South Africa, National Universities Commission (NUC), Abuja, Nigeria;
and Conseil Africain et Malgache pour l'Enseignement Supérieur (CAMES), Burkina
Faso.
Other events that took place during the year under review to support existing and
emerging QA agencies include, discussions on UNESCO and ADEA/WGHE training for
national QA agencies; discussions with NUC and UNESCO on developing and delivering
tripartite QA Distance Education Course; an Agreement was entered into with UNESCO
for a Distance Learning Course on Quality Assurance for the French-speaking countries
in Africa; African QA Network (AfriQAN) launched an initiative to facilitate cross-country
knowledge sharing in QA on September 17, 2007 with NUC, the South African Council
for Higher Education (CHE) and CAMES (Francophone Africa) as founding members.
Small Grants
During the year under review, one out of seven 2006/2007 theses were submitted and
deposited with AAU Database of African Theses and Dissertations (DATAD), When the
2008/2009 grants were advertised in September 2007, 31 applications (18 PhD and 13
Masters) were received by the deadline of November 2007, and 20 grants (12 PhD and 8
Masters) to tune of US$61,500 were awarded to applicants, who had fulfilled all the
requirements expected of them. Disbursements were accordingly made in respect of
students, who provided their bank account details.
Staff Exchange
Two out of three candidates who qualified for the Staff Exchange Programme completed
their missions in 2006/2007, and presented reports endorsed by the VCs of their host
universities. The candidates were Dr (Mrs) A. Kharkar from the University of Mauritius,
who went to the University of Swaziland and Professor M.Saber El Sayed, of Ain Shams
University, Cairo, who went to National University of Science and Technology, Zimbabwe.
In addition, a call for nominations for the 2007/2008 Staff Exchange Programme was put
out at the Conference of Rectors, Vice-Chancellors and Presidents (COREVIP), which was
held in Triploi, Libya in October 2007, with a deadline of November 2007. The call
attracted 16 applications and five fellowships were awarded.
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Senior Executive Attachment
The Senior Executive Attachment Programme is a component of the AAU-CADRE
Project funded by the African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF). Senior academics
(Vice-Chancellors, Rectors, President, Principals, Deans of Faculty and Directors of
institutions, and their deputies) in African higher education institutions are selected to
undertake attachments in high-performing higher education institutions in Africa for
the purpose of enhancing their leadership and management skills through experiential
learning.
AAU
ANNUAL REPORT
2007-2008
The objective of the Programme is to help improve the performance of African tertiary
education institutions in their core functions of teaching learning, research and
community service. The Senior Executive Attachment Programme was originally a
separate component of AAU-CADRE Project, but later linked LEDEV and MADEV
Workshops, subject to the approval of the ACBF.
Participants at Regional Workshop on HIV/AIDS at the University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria
AAU
ANNUAL REPORT
2007-2008
The first round of fellowships was announced together with first LEDEV Workshop.
Interested participants were asked to submit brief proposals with their bios and profiles
of their institutions, which were reviewed by LEDEV Resource Persons. Three
applicants, namely; the Ag. Vice-Chancellor of Copper-Belt University, Zambia; the
Head of School of Nursing at University of Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa and Dean of
School of Pure and Applied Sciences of Kenyatta University, Kenya were selected out of
11 applicants for the programme.
The Attachment Programme was advertised again during the first MADEV Workshop
from February 25 to March 7, 2008, which was held in Accra, Ghana, with; one more
fellowship awarded, bringing the total fellowship awards to four.
The third AAU sub-regional workshop on HIV & AIDS Toolkit was held from March 17 21,
2008 and hosted by University of Port Harcourt. The Workshop was attended by 35
participants from 17 institutions from four countries in the sub-region. During the
Workshop, 10 modules of the HIV & AIDS Toolkit, together with institutional experiences
in managing HIV on various campuses were presented and discussed. The University of
Port Harcourt, which was appointed to house the West African HIV & AIDS Network, took
the opportunity during the Workshop to launch its HIV& AIDS Policy. An amount of
US$35,000 was contributed towards development of HIV & AIDS training modules for
both the LEDEV and MADEV Workshops, which were on August 13 25, 2007 and
February 24 to March 08, 2008, respectively.
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Higher Education and HIV & AIDS
The Higher Education and HIV & AIDS Programme, which targets staff and students of
AAU member
institutions is a multi-disciplinary Programme that systematically addresses major
aspects of the HIV & AIDS pandemic in African higher education institutions. The
Programme aims at ensuring that the African higher education community uses all
available means within the institutions and through partnerships with the international
community, to prevent the spread, mitigate the impact and manage the HIV& AIDS
epidemic through proactive sustainable programmes of action.
During the reporting period a parallel session on HIV & AIDS was held at COREVIP 2007
and involved experience-sharing on management of the pandemic using findings of the
AAU study on best practices; demonstration on the use of the HIV & AIDS Toolkit;
distribution of the Toolkit CD ROM; and discussions on the future of the AAU HIV
Programme.
Five out of 15 AAU member institutions, namely Daystar University, Nairobi, Kenya;
University of Botswana, Gaborone, Botswana; University of Dschang, Cameroon; and
University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria were given grants of US$5,000 each to develop
institutional HIV & AIDS policies; University of Port Harcourt submitted their approved
policy, while Daystar University and University of Dschang draft policies. The
Universities of Botswana and Nairobi are yet to submit their policies.
During the year under review, eight AAU member institutions were awarded $3,300 each
to organise skills training for academics on integrating HIV & AIDS into University
curricula; six institutions submitted reports and two others are waiting for transfer of
funds to initiate activity, as at the time this report was compiled. In addition, best
practices of universities' responses to HIV & AIDS in Africa identified through surveys and
findings were presented at COREVIP 2007 and now available on CD ROM.
Small grants were awarded to research related to HIV & AIDS during the reporting year.
Fifteen out of 64 small grant applicants were awarded US $1,000 for research related to
HIV & AIDS. Eight studies have been completed and submitted and progress reports from
remaining seven and final reports are expected by end June 2008.
The HIV & AIDS Project ended officially in December 2007, but granted budget neutral
extension to end March 2008. Efforts to secure funding for the second phase are
underway and draft proposals have been submitted to Sida and CIDA to be discussed at
round table donors' meeting to which the African Development Bank (AfDB) would be
invited.
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successfully. Ten requests were made for Professional Enhancement Fund; Eight
requests for Family Funds; and one request for a research fund. Academic reports reveal
all Fellows were performing well, while nine Fellows had their contracts renewed.
SPECIAL ISSUES
Ford Foundation's International Fellowships Programme
The Ford Foundation's International Fellowships Programme (IFP) was launched
in 2000 to provide support for up to three years of formal post-graduate study
for exceptional students from deprived regions of the world. The Programme
operates in 22 countries worldwide and has to date sponsored 2,421 IFP Fellows to
undertake masters, doctoral and other advanced degree programmes at first class
universities in Europe, North America and in Africa. By the end of the programme in
2014, the programme would have supported total of 4,440 Fellows. The AAU coordinates
the Programme in West Africa (Ghana, Nigeria and Senegal).
In the case of Nigeria, a total of 24 Fellows were still in school during the reporting
period. Eighteen continued studies under other forms of support, while five Fellows
completed studies and seven returned home. Two Fellows from Senegal requested
disbursement of Professional Enhancement funds; five grants were renewed; two
requests for Family Funds approved. In addition, three Fellows who submitted final
reports had their repatriation plans approved and were expected home when this
Report was being compiled.
AAU
ANNUAL REPORT
2007-2008
During the year under review, the Project Officer attended the following events and
meetings:
• The funeral of the late Mrs. Mary Taidi Abu (IFP Project Assistant, Pathfinder
Nigeria) in July 2007 in Lagos, Nigeria
• A meeting with the West African Research Centre (WARC), the new IFP
Implementing Partner for Senegal in October 2007
The Regional Annual Review Meeting, held in Nairobi, Kenya in November
2007
AAU
ANNUAL REPORT
2007-2008
During the reporting period, 58 candidates qualified for the fellowships. The break down
was as follows: 24 from Ghana; 22 from Nigeria and 12 from Senegal. Eventually, 34
candidates were awarded the Fellowship. Five were Ghanaians, 17 Nigerians and 12
Senegalese. Ghana had six unused slots, which were added to next round of selections.
During the year under review, an Orientation and Needs Assessment meetings were held
in Ghana from September 16 - 22, 2007 and in Nigeria and Senegal, from September 10 -
16, 2007, to plan for the one year Fellowelect phase. Activities included orientation to
IFP objectives, roles and responsibilities of Fellows-Elect and management of
fellowships, information on opportunities, requirements and realities of studying in the
various IFP regions (UK, USA and South Africa) as well as the determination of preacademic
training requirements.
Fellowships for 2009/2010 were advertised in both print and electronic media (AAU and
Pathfinder, Nigeria web sites), with a deadline of February 29, 2008 for submission of
applications. During the reporting year, Senegal was, however, excluded from this round
given a change in management of the Programme in the country.
A Cohort Building Meeting was held in Akosombo, Ghana, from February 3 to 8 2008 on
theme 'Leadership in a Globalised World.' All the 34 Fellows-Elect from Ghana, Nigeria
and Senegal were in attendance. Topics that were discussed during the meeting
included; Leadership for Social Justice, Emerging Issues in Africa (Good
Governance/NEPAD/Political Leadership and HIV & AIDS) and, Networking and Cross
Cultural Communication.
IFP Fellows-elect at a needs-assessment Meeting
18
During the reporting year, 22 fellows from Ghana were still pursuing programmes and
grants were extended for two candidates to enable them complete programmes
19

AAU
ANNUAL REPORT
2007-2008
20
Working Group on Higher Education
The period under review, May 2007- June 2008, was an extremely productive year the
WGHE, as the Secretariat sought to balance implementation of the Group's approved
Annual Work Programme with responding to AAU and ADEA-led activities, while
selectively honouring invitations by partners and at the same time, seeking to fulfil the
Secretariat's intelligence role. The WGHE annual work programmes are developed
within the framework of an approved Strategic Plan with specific agreed objectives.
For 2007-9 specific objectives agreed by the Groups' Steering Committee were to:
• Encourage system-wide and institutional reforms.
• Support the revitalization of a diverse tertiary education system.
• Take WGHE initiatives from pilot to sustainability.
• Promote increased recognition for the contribution of tertiary education to
Africa's development.
• Support efforts aimed at maximizing the use of highly skilled personnel for the
development of tertiary education in Africa.
ACHIEVEMENTS
Publication and Dissemination of the Differentiation and Articulation Study
Knowledge of the two key concepts of differentiation and articulation in tertiary systems
is very scanty and a great deal of more research needs to be done with a view to
anchoring differentiation and articulation within national tertiary education systems in
Africa. This was the conclusion of a study, the WGHE published jointly in 2007/8 with the
World Bank and the Association of African Universities (AAU) that explored the extent
and nature of differentiation and articulation in African tertiary education systems in
Africa. The study, conducted by Njuguna Ng'ethe (Kenya), George Subotzky (South
Africa) George Afeti (Ghana) observed that differentiation in African higher education is
mostly horizontal as opposed to vertical differentiation.
Mainstreaming Gender in Higher Education in Africa
Three activities were carried out in 2007-8 under the Gender pilot initiatives to translate
the English version of a Toolkit for Mainstreaming Gender in Higher Education in Africa
into French and Portuguese and to disseminate it widely through cost-effective modes
on CD-ROMS. The gender content on the AAU website was also reorganized with links
provided to ADEA and partners' web sites www.aau.org and www.adeanet.org. The
WGHE also began efforts to mobilise resources in support of scaling up its gender pilot to
become an AAU Core Programme. The WGHE has plans to partner with the UNESCO
Bamako Cluster Office and the National Universities Commission of Nigeria (NUC) in
September 2008 to deliver an online training course for teachers and academics using
the Gender Mainstreaming Toolkit (www.viheaf.org).
Supporting the Licence Masters-Doctorate Reforms
In 2007, the WGHE commissioned le Réseau d´Excellence pour l´Enseignement
Supérieur en Afrique de l´Ouest (REESAO) to develop a Training Manual for Stakeholders
of the Licence-Master-Doctorate (LMD) Reform, and to plan a capacity building
Workshop jointly with the UNESCO Bamako Cluster Office for 50 participants drawn
largely from the West African Monetary and Economic Union (UEAMOA) for September
2008. The LMD reform will align the Francophone higher education degree structure to
that of Anglophone system's Bachelor-Master-PhD and is expected to facilitate
comparability of academic programmes and mutual recognition of degrees.
Document and Share knowledge on Higher Education and Research Contribution to
Education for All Goals
Since 2006, the WGHE has been collaborating with the International Association of
Universities (IAU) the Strengthening Linkages for Improved Education: Higher Education
and Research Working for EFA and education-related MDGs project. In January 2007,
the IAU and partners organised a seminar in Maputo, Mozambique to share its findings.
Other forums where the findings were presented in 2007 were the UNESCO Forum on
Higher Education Research and Knowledge, which was organised from March 22-25 in
Accra, Ghana and the Second International Conference on Quality Assurance in Africa in
Dar es Salaam, Tanzania in September. The IAU in 2007 completed a related paper,
which the Global Monitoring Report (GMR) commissioned to review the role of
research in generating knowledge for EFA. The paper by N.V. Varghese, Head Higher
th
Education Programmes, UNESCO-IIEP, will be presented at the 8 Meeting of the EFA
High Level Group, from 16-18 December 2008. It will also be made available online in
the middle of September on the GMR web site and published in the 2009 EFA GMR on
Governance and Financing of Education.
Knowledge Sharing Annual Forums on TE Reforms across Linguistic and Cultural
Divides
In October 2007, the WGHE participated in the AAU Conference of Rectors, Vice
Chancellors and Presidents (COREVIP) on the theme: 'The African Brain Drain -
Managing the Drain: Working with the Diaspora' and contributed the preliminary
findings of the Staff Retention and Diaspora Study. The WGHE sponsored African
members of its Steering Committee to attend the COREVIP and also organized a parallel
event on gender. Participants commended the WGHE for initiating the gender pilot and
recommended to AAU to scale it up by disseminating the Toolkit widely and to raise the
funding needed to support its members to scale up the project.
Contribution to ADEA 2008 Biennale
In 2007, The WGHE collaborated with the AAU, the World Bank and the ADEA
Secretariat to contribute the results of seven studies to the ADEA 2008 Biennale held
from May 5-9 in Maputo, Mozambique on the theme, Beyond Primary Education:
Challenges and Approaches to Expanding Learning Opportunities in Africa:
1. Study of the Differentiation and Articulation within Tertiary Education Systems:
A Study of Twelve African Countries by Njuguna Ng'ethe (Kenya), George
Subotzky (South Africa) George Afeti (Ghana).
2. Study of the Effects of Massification on Higher Education in Africa by Professor
Goolam Mohamedbhai.
3. Staff Retention and Links with Diaspora Study by Professor Paschal Mihyo,
which WGHE also contributed to the AAU Conference of Rectors Vice
Chancellors and Presidents (COREVIP) held in Tripoli Libya in October 2007.
4. Results of a pilot project on Higher Education and Research Role and
Contribution to the Achievement of Education for All (EFA) and Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs) implemented in collaboration with the
AAU
ANNUAL REPORT
2007-2008
21

AAU
ANNUAL REPORT
2007-2008
International Association of Universities (IAU)
5. The Role and Contribution of Higher Education to Improving the Quality of Basic
Education: Case Study of the Centre for Research on Improving Quality of Primary
Education in Ghana (CRIQPEG) by a team from University of Cape Coast.
6. The Implications of the LMD Reforms.
7. State, Markets, Faith and Proliferation of Private Higher Education in Africa by by
N.V. Varghese.
All the studies made specific recommendations for policy makers, higher education
institutions and development partners. Arising from the Staff Retention Study, the
Partnership for Higher Education in Africa (PHEA) has since hosted a one-day workshop at
the Africa Grant makers' Affinity Group Conference and in 2008, is exploring ways of
developing and retaining the next generation of African academics.
Steering Committee Meetings
During the period under review, the WGHE organised three productive meetings of its
Steering Committee in Accra, Ghana in April 2007, in Tunis in October 2007 and in Maputo
in May 2008, where members made significant input into the Group's 2008 and 2009
work programmes and reviewed the 2007 Activities report. The Steering Committee
decided to streamline and reduce the workload of the WGHE Secretariat through shared
responsibility of members for implementation of annual work programmes. An
innovation was introduced to have keynote presentations at each Steering Committee
meeting on topical issues affecting higher education in Africa. Professor Narciso Matos,
the immediate past chair of the Steering Committee delivered the first key note on the
theme, Challenges and Trends in Higher Education in Africa.
Overall, the WGHE achieved a high output during the period under review. In 2007, the
ADEA Steering Committee made important decisions regarding its Working Group as part
of efforts to streamline their mandates and functions. In the case of the WGHE, the
Steering Committee decided to maintain and resource the Group to deliver on its core
mandate while it plans for its graduation. The ADEA Secretariat and Working Groups, in
2008, will jointly develop performance management frameworks (PMFs) by which
Working Groups will be externally evaluated in 2010 and the results guide the Steering
Committee's decisions on the future of each Working Group in terms continuation,
graduation or dissolution.
Achievements attributed to the Group since its inception in 1989 are:
• The ability to keep higher education on the agenda of donor agencies and African
governments.
• Promoting dialogue between the institutions and higher education policy makers.
• Promoting the sharing of good practices among institutions mainly through
partnership with the AAU.
• Enhancing insights and understanding of representatives of donor agencies on
issues in African higher education.
• Broadening of mutual understanding of one another's perspectives between
African higher education leaders and donor agency representatives
• Strengthening the capacity and role of the AAU to support its members.
INFORMATION COMMUNICATION
AND TECHNOLOGIES
Supporting ICT Development/ Research and Education Network Unit (RENU)
The Research and Education Network Unit ICT advocacy/promotion programme
has the objective of enhancing access to, promoting effective utilisation of ICT
in higher education in Africa, and acting as focal point for many ICT initiatives in
education and research networking on the continent. The Programme targets AAU
member institutions and research institutions in Africa.
During the year under review the RENU coordinator participated in several conferences
and meetings on bandwidth and research and education networking. The coordinator
made presentations highlighting the present plight of African higher education
institutions regarding connectivity, and the importance of creating an enabling
environment for access to affordable bandwidth.
During the reporting year a Guide on Research and Education Networking Policy for a
better understanding of philosophy and advantages of NRENs was developed,
published and disseminated.
In addition, the RENU coordinator facilitated a one and a half day ICT session held at the
first LEDEV workshop, which took place on August 2007, in Windhoek, Namibia, as well
as at the LEDEV workshop that took place in April 2008 in Kigali. Other activities that
RENU engaged in during the year under review included the development of a French
version of ICT module, which will be used during the LEDEV workshop for Francophone
African higher education institutions leaders scheduled for January 2009. The RENU
coordinator also facilitated a parallel session on ICT held during the COREVIP 2007 held
in Tripoli, Libya in October 2007.
A five-day training workshop for campus network managers was also organised in
Yaoundé from April 7-11 2008; it was held in cooperation with the African Regional
Registry for Internet Numbers (AfriNIC), the African Network Operators Group (AfNOG),
the French Research and Education Network (RENATER) and Ecole Nationale
Supérieure Polytechnique of Yaoundé (ENSPY), with funding from African Capacity
Building Foundation (ACBF) Partnership for Higher Education in Africa (PHEA),
International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and the French Ministry of Foreign
and European Affairs.
The RENU Coordinator organised the annual meeting of stakeholders of African
Research and Education Networking (AfREN) in Rabat, Morocco, in June 2008. The
meeting was organised in collaboration with AfNOG and AfriNIC , with funding from
IDRC. AfREN 2008 recorded for the first time, participation of Vice-Chancellors and
representatives of regional economic communities, telecommunications regulatory
authorities, donor partners and the civil society.
AAU
ANNUAL REPORT
2007-2008
22 23

Communication and Services
Communication and Services Department is one of four main Departments of AAU
Secretariat responsible for implementing AAU information, publication and
communication strategies.
The objective of the Communication and Services Department is to promote and
market AAU Programmes, as well as to implement the AAU information, publication and
communication strategy. In addition the Department facilitates and ensures access to
higher education information and higher education knowledge management.
AAU
ANNUAL REPORT
2007-2008
DATAD Workshop in Addis Ababa Ethiopia, June 2008
The RENU Coordinator developed a project proposal, “Enabling Affordable Access to
Fibre Infrastructure for West and Central African Higher Education Institutions” that
was submitted to IDRC. Subsequently, a grant of US$500,000 was received in November
2007 from IDRC for the proposed project, which is being implemented. During the year
under review, existing partnerships were strengthened and new ones established with
relevant institutions.
Database of African Theses and Dissertations
The Database of African Theses and Dissertations (DATAD) is an ICT based Programme,
which targets AAU member universities to build their capacity for the electronic
collection, management and dissemination of theses and dissertations. The objective of
the Programme is to provide visibility and improved access to the work of African
scholars, both within and outside the continent. In addition, the Programme facilitates
the development of copyright procedures and regulations for the protection of the
intellectual property rights of African universities graduates and researchers and
contributes to the creation of an environment conducive for research and the
publication of scholarly work in Africa.
During the year under review, the following were published three issues of AAU
Newsletter; six issues of e-Courier, 2004/2005 and 2005/2006 Annual Reports and
fourth edition of Guide to Higher Education in Africa. T he Guide is a joint publication
(International Association of Universities (IAU) and the Association of African
Universities (AAU) and is updated every two years.
Regarding promotional material, the Department produced material for the National
Research and Education Network (NREN) Workshop and African University Day, in
addition season greetings cards, and AAU 2007 calendar, brochures and folders during
the year under review. The AAU listserv entries also saw a vast improvement. From 200
names in February 2004, the listserv has now got over 4500 entries, as at the time this
report was being compiled.
th
On 12 November 2007, the AAU in collaboration with University of Ghana, Legon,
th
commemorated the Annual African Universities Day, which was the 40 Anniversary of
Association. The theme for the day was, 'Forty Years of Championing African
University Leadership: Prospects and Challenges.'
AAU
ANNUAL REPORT
2007-2008
During the year under review several activities took place, including the annual DATAD
workshop, which was held in Nairobi, Kenya in July 2007. The Workshop brought
together 40 participants, comprising both old and new DATAD member institutions. In
May 2008 another Workshop was held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to train library
technicians on the use of EndNote, a new software, which had been identified to serve as
a new technical platform. CDs of new content of theses and dissertations were produced
and disseminated. During the year under review, the database was updated with new
records, totaling 50,000 records and a DATAD online review to disseminate theses
produced by African universities was designed and ready to be implemented after the
May Workshop.
The AAU web site was also re-designed and databases for an online information
resource centre using information from the AAU Research and Programmes
Department were set up, while other AAU databases were improved upon. The AAU
Awards, which will be commemorated every year in collaboration with Africa Union
Commission, was officially launched in October 2007 during COREVIP 2007 in Tripoli.
An ongoing activity at Department was the setting up of a resource centre to
complement the online resource centre with funding of Sida/SAREC.
The DATAD coordinator also embarked on three site visits, to set up two repository
centres at the University of Zimbabwe and CAMES and link them up to DATAD. Another
site visit was undertaken to South Africa to understudy the South African national
research foundation thesis project, which is similar to DATAD, Additionally, during the
year under review, new entries continued to be received into the online database.
Since February 2008, there have been over 100,000 new records from both new and old
member universities and efforts are been made to raise additional funding for the DATAD
Project. A proposal has been submitted to NUFFIC, Netherlands to this effect.
24
In terms of new developments and planned activities, a platform with the appropriate
software and technology to provide access to both abstract and full text of theses and
dissertations was set up and four centres were chosen as national repositories.
25

May 4 - 5 - ADEA/WGHE Steering Committee Meeting, Maputo, Mozambique
May 5 - 7 - ADEA Biennale, Maputo, Mozambique
STAFF TRAVELS AND MEETING/
CONFERENCE PARTICIPATION
Director of Research & Programmes
June 2 - 5, 2007 - Workshop on Regional Initiative in Science and Education (RISE),
Nairobi, Kenya.
July 2 - 6, 2007 Fourth World Environmental Education Congress, Durban, South Africa
September 17 - 20, 2007 - ACBF Workshop in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso
AAU
ANNUAL REPORT
2007-2008
T
he AAU participated in the following international events in various capacities
as delegates, speakers, resource persons and co-sponsors during the period u n d e r
review.
Secretary General
May 16 - 17, 2007 - International Development Centre (IDC) Conference on
Development and the Next Generation: Towards a Research Agenda, Milton Keynes,
United Kingdom
October 21 - 25, 2007, AAU Conference of Rectors Vice Chancellors and Presidents,
Tripoli, Libya
November 12, 2007 - (USHEPiA), Cape Town, South Africa
November 17-20, 2007, Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, Kampala,
Uganda
Head, Communication & Services
AAU
ANNUAL REPORT
2007-2008
May 31 - June 1, 2007 - IAU/CPU 2nd Global Meeting of Associations of Universities
and other higher education institutions, Paris, France
October 21 - 25, 2007, AAU Conference of Rectors Vice Chancellors and Presidents,
Tripoli, Libya
September 20, 2007 - North South Roundtable (NSRT), New York, USA - A leading
policy dialogue forum on global development issues
December 6 - 7, 2007 - Nairobi, Kenya to attend the Consultative Meeting of Bandwidth
Consortium Members
October 21 - 25, 2007, AAU Conference of Rectors Vice Chancellors and Presidents,
Tripoli, Libya
November 12 - 16, 2007 African University Day Celebrations at the Rhodes
University, Grahamstown, South Africa and Colloquium at the Kwazulu-Natal
University, Durban, South Africa.
December 17 - 18, 2007 - Royal Tropical Institute (KIT) and NUFFIC, Netherlands. The
HCS held discussions with the two organisations concerning an MOU signed regarding
the setting up of an Online Resource Centre and support to the DATAD Project
respectively.
February 2008 - Represented the Secretary General at the AU, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
November 28, 2007 - Conference on the Changing Role of Knowledge for
Development, University of Maastricht, Netherlands
March 5 -7, 2008 Site visit to the University of Zimbabwe to link the National
Repository Centre to DATAD, Harare, Zimbabwe
December 2 - 9, 2007 - 54th Session of the United Nations University (UNU)
Governing Council, Tokyo, Japan.
Project Officer, Research & Programmes
February 9 - 13, 2008 - Goal Setting Meeting of the African Higher Education
Collaborative (AHEC) and the Council for International Exchange of Scholars (CIES)
Cairo, Egypt.
May 2007, - NOMA Programme Board Meeting, Oslo, Norway
rd
August 6 - 10, 2007 - AU 3 Session of COMEDAF III, organised by the AU, Johannesburg,
South Africa
February 28 - 29, 2008 - African Development Bank/Government of Nigeria
Consultative Meeting on Building Science, Technology and Innovation Capacity in
Africa, Paris, France
April 7 - 11, 2008 - Participated in a Workshop of Universities Ireland on the Irish-
African Partnership for Research Capacity Building in Dublin, Ireland.
January 30, 2008 - Meeting of GIQAC beneficiaries in Washington DC., USA
February 21 - 23, 2008 - Workshop on the “Establishment of a Consortium of African
Open Universities and a Continental Quality Assurance and Accreditation Agency for
Distance Education in Africa University of Pretoria, South Africa
26
April 22 May 1, 2008 Leadership Development Workshop, Kigali, Rwanda
May 3 - 7 - World Bank Meeting, Maputo, Mozambique
Coordinator, Working Group on Higher Education
August 6 - 10, 2007 - The Third Ordinary Session of the Conference of Ministers of
27

Education of the African Union (AU COMEDAF III), Johannesburg, South Africa
October 6 - 7, 2007 - High Level Meeting with Regional Economic Communities
(RECs) on Implementation of the AU Second Decade of Education Action Plan,
Tunis, Tunisia
October 18-19, 2007 - ADEA Steering Committee Meeting, Ernemonville, France
October 21 - 25, 2007, AAU Conference of Rectors Vice Chancellors and
Presidents, Tripoli, Libya
March 13 - 14, 2008 - Second Bandwidth Consortium Consultative Meeting, in
Abuja, Nigeria.
April 18, 2008 - UbuntuNet Alliance Council of Members meeting, Lusaka,
Zambia
April 22 May 1 2008 Leadership Development Workshop, Kigali, Rwanda
May 7 - 9, 2008 - IST Africa Conference, Windhoek, Namibia
October 30 - 31, 2007 - WGHE Steering Committee Meeting, Tunis, Tunisia
May 31 - June 5, 2008 AfREN, AfriNIC and AfNOG meetings, Rabat, Morocco
AAU
ANNUAL REPORT
2007-2008
February 28 - 29, 2008 - African Development Bank/Government of Nigeria
Consultative Meeting on Building Science, Technology and Innovation Capacity in
Africa, Paris, France
June 9 - 11, 2008 ABCDE Conference, Cape Town, South Africa
June 17 - 20, 2008 AFNIC meeting and TICER workshop, Paris, France
AAU
ANNUAL REPORT
2007-2008
April 2 - 4, 2008 - Meeting of Working Group Leaders and Coordinators, Paris,
France
May 4 - 5, 2008
Mozambique
ADEA/WGHE Steering Committee Meeting, Maputo,
May 5 - 7, 2008 ADEA Biennale, Maputo, Mozambique.
June 26 - 27, 2008 ECOWAS/WAPP workshop, Cotonou, Benin
Project Officer, HIV/AIDS
June 25 - 29, 2007 - Regional Consultation Workshop on Strengthening
Voluntary Counselling, Testing and Antiretroviral Services in African Universities
in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania,
Coordinator, Research & Education Networking Unit (RENU)
October 21 - 25, 2007, AAU Conference of Rectors Vice Chancellors and
Presidents, Tripoli, Libya
November 22 - 26, 2007 - 'The 2007 Nigerian Network Operators Group
(ngNOG) Workshop & National Conference on ICT & Education,' Bayero
University, Kano, Nigeria.
December 4, 2007 - 'Global Innovation Outlook (GIO) Africa Forum,' New York
City, USA.
July 9 - 11, 2007 - launch of the University of Cocody's HIV & AIDS Project
October 21 - 25, 2007, AAU Conference of Rectors Vice Chancellors and
Presidents, Tripoli, Libya
November, 2007 - Biannual meeting of the UNAIDS Inter Agency Task Team
(IATT) on Education in Nairobi, Kenya
March 17 - 20, 2008 AAU-sponsored West African Sub-Regional Training
Workshop on HIV/AIDS, Port Harcourt, Nigeria
April 22 - May 1, 2008 Leadership Development Workshop, Kigali, Rwanda
December 10 - 12, 2007 - Conference on, 'Internet et Grilles en Afrique,'
Montpellier, Paris, France.
January 31, 2008 - EuroAfrica ICT Group Meeting, Brussels, Belgium
February 15 - 22, 2008 - Meeting at IDRC Regional Office, Sonatel and OSIWA in
Dakar, Senegal
February 24 - 25, 2008 - Participation in the Workshop on Strategies for ICT
Development and Access to more Affordable Bandwidth for Universities,
Research and Higher Educational Institutions in Nigeria organized by the
Association of Vice-Chancellors of Nigerian Universities, Abuja, Nigeria
February 26 - 28, 2008 Participation in meetings at the Secretariat of the West
Africa Telecommunications Regulation Assembly, Nigeria Telecommunications
Ltd and GlobaCom in Abuja, Nigeria.
28 29

AAU MAJOR ACTIVITIES
AAU
ANNUAL REPORT
2007-2008
Conference of Rectors, Vice-Chancellors and Presidents Of African Universities, Tripoli, Libya,
21-25 October 2007
The Conference of Rectors, Vice-Chancellors and Presidents of African universities, (COREVIP)
2007, was organiszed in collaboration with the 7th April University, Zawia, under the main theme,
'The African Brain Drain: Managing the Drain, Working with the Diaspora,' was held in Tripoli,
Libya, from 21 - 25 October 2007.
Members of staff of the University of Ghana and the AAU
AAU
ANNUAL REPORT
2007-2008
COREVIP 2007 brought together about 161 registered participants comprising AAU member
institutions, higher education institutional leaders, senior academics, researchers,
representatives of AAU funding partners and development agencies as well as international
media.
In his opening address, Professor Abdelhafeed Zalitine,the deputy Prime Minister of Libya
thanked the AAU for choosing Libya as the venue for the Conference. He said that Africa needed its
professionals particularly, in education, science and technology and health. “Every effort should,
therefore, be made to retain them, and higher education institutions have the responsibility to
find innovative ways to do this,” he said.
On his part, the President of The 7th April University Professor Shabaan Taher underscored the
relevance of the theme for the Conference and the importance of higher education in the
economies of Africa for the production of highly skilled human capital. He said that the impact of
globalisation required that Africa looks for innovative solutions to the increasing trend of the
migration of its highly skilled personnel.
The President of the AAU, Professor Njabulo Ndebele, expressed his deep appreciation to His
Execllency Moamar Khadafi, President of the Peoples' Libyan Arab Jamahriya for his warm
hospitality, as well as the President and staff of the 7th April University for hosting the Conference.
Participants at COREVIP
Professor Ndebele also thanked AAU's development partners for providing funds to organise the
Conference. He welcomed 29 new member institutions admitted to the Association since the
11th Conference held in Cape Town South Africa in 2005. Professor Ndebele announced that the
AAU would be commemorating 40 years of service to African higher education since its inception
in November 12th 1967 when it was founded in Rabat, Morocco. Referring to the theme of the
Conference, Professor Ndebele reflected that while there was a need to understand the 'push
and pull' factors affecting brain drain, it was more important to appreciate that Africans, no
matter where they are located have the potential to make contributions to the continents
development.
Key partners of the Association also presented delivered goodwill messages.
African University Day 2007
African University Day 2007 was held on November 12 2007 at several universities in Africa
under the theme, '40 Years of Championing African University Leadership: Prospects and
th
Challenges for the Near Future.' This celebration was special as it marked the 40 anniversary of
the AAU.
In Ghana, the Day was jointly organised by jointly the AAU Secretariat and Vice Chancellors,
Ghana and hosted by the University of Ghana, with Prof. C. Tagoe, the Vice Chancellor of the
University of Ghana chairing the event. Prof. E. Addo-Obeng, Vice Chancellor of the University
of Cape Coast who was the guest speaker is also an AAU Executive Board Member.
In his address, Prof Addo-Obeng indicated that the AAU continued to be the voice of higher
education in Africa, with the aim of improving the quality of education of higher education
institutions in Africa. He cited programmes such as SUMA and HIV/AIDS, among others as having
had a great impact on the management of higher education in Africa. Among the recent
initiatives, he cited the Research, Education Networking Unit (RENU) and said that with the
implementation of such programmes, the AAU is poised to lead higher education institutions in
Africa to achieve greater heights.
30
Rhodes University, South Africa
The Secretary General was invited to the first African University Day Celebration at
Rhodes University, South Africa, where he presented a lecture on Challenges Facing
African Higher Education. The following day there was a colloquium on African
Initiatives, at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, which brought together participants
31

from all over the country. The Secretary General's presentation was on The Role of the
AAU in Developing Cooperation in Africa. Altogether it was an extremely productive
event, which helped to bring the AAU home to a community that had not had much
contact with the Association.
AAU
ANNUAL REPORT
2007-2008
Stellenbosch University, South Africa
At the Stellenbosch University in South Africa, the Day the anniversary, hosted every year
by the International Office. Speakers at the event included, Prof Russel Botman, Rector;
Prof Hennie Kotzé, Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences; Ms Monique Theron,
lecturer at UNISA and former SU exchange student at Makerere University in Uganda; Ms
Marike Myburgh from ASNAPP; and Dr Amadi Ahiamadu from Nigeria.
AAU RECEIVES VISITORS
Visits to the Secretariat
June 5, 2007: Visit of officials from the African Council for Distance Education (ACDE), Dr.
Fred Barasa, Executive Director and Prof. Nuhu Yaqub, Vice Chairman, also the Vice
Chancellor of the University of Abuja, Nigeria.
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ANNUAL REPORT
2007-2008
June 21 2007: Courtesy call from Dr. François Artagnan from the UNU HQ, Tokyo, Japan.
June 27 July 2, 2007: Short research visit of Mr. Andrew Othieno of the Africa Unit of
the Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU).
August 2007: Visit of Prof. Pearl Robinson, African Studies Association (ASA). To hasten
efforts to finalize an MOU that will facilitate a working relationship that involves the
ASA, the AAU and CODESRIA.
October 2 2007: Visit of Mr. Terry Allsop, Education Consultant. The main purpose of the
visit was to help with preparations towards the launch of the Mobilisation of Regional
Capacity Initiative (MRCI) Programme.
November 21 2007: Courtesy call from Dr. Karl Harmsen, UNU Resident Representative
with Dr. Fukuya Iino, Academic Programme officer, UNU-HQ/Environment and
Sustainable Development Programme (ESD), who was visiting from the UNU-HQ, Tokyo.
11th December 2007: Visit of Mr. Peter Bonner, Programme Manager of DFID, UK. He
was in Accra for the official launch of the MRCI Project.
th
13 December 2007: Visit of Prof. Barney Pityana, Vice Chancellor, University of South
Africa (UNISA) accompanied by Mr. Kenneth Mubu, Director, African Relations,
International Relations & Partnerships Directorate, UNISA. Prof. Pityana in his capacity
as Chairman of the African Council on Distance Education (ACDE) came to highlight
major activities of the Council.
th
15 February 2008: Visit of Prof Chris Nwagboso, Director of the Innovation &
Development at the University of Wolverhampton, UK. The main objective of this visit
was to develop strategic alliances that will support the development of Ghana's
Universities capacity through exchange between UK Universities & Ghana Universities.
32
33

- Prof. Olusola OYEWOLE, previously Project Officer, Research & Programmes,
was appointed Coordinator of the MRCI, after international advertisement and
st
an interview. He took up his new position on 1 April 2008.
AAU Staff 2007-2008
Secretary-General - Akilagpa Sawyerr (Ghana)
Secretary-General Designate - Prof. Goolam Mohamedbhai (Mauritius)
Director of Research & Programmes - Prof. John Ssebuwufu (Uganda)
Head, Communication & Services - Dr. Pascal Hoba (La Cote D'ivoire)
AAU
ANNUAL REPORT
2007-2008
Project Management/Coordinator
Coordinator Working Group on Higher Education - Mrs Alice Sena Lamptey (Ghana)
Coordinator Education and Research Network - Dr. Barry Boubacar (Senegal)
Project Officer - Quality Assurance - Prof Olushola Oyewole (Nigeria)
Project Officer Int. Fellowships Programme, West Africa - Mrs. Araba Botchway (Ghana)
Project Officer HIV/AIDS Project - Dr. Justin Wane (Rwanda)
Project Officer AAU/CADRE Project - Miss Adwoa Sey
AAU
ANNUAL REPORT
2007-2008
Some members of Staff
AAU STAFF MATTERS
i) Departures
- The contract for the Assistant Project Officer (Publications) of the
Communication and Services Department, Mrs. Victoria Duah came to an end
June 30, 2007, as did that of the Information Technology Assistant,
Mr. Benjamin Eshun, also of the Communication and Services Department in
January 2008.
ii) New Appointments
- Miss Adwoa SEY, assumed duty as Project Officer AAU/CADRE on July 1, 2007.
- Mrs. Joscelyn BARNOR assumed duty on April 1, 2008 as Head of Finance. Mrs.
Barnor had previously filled in as Consultant/Ag. Head of Finance for the period
September to December 2007.
- Mr. Yaovi ATOHOUN assumed office as Senior Information Technology Officer on
February 11, 2008.
Operational Management
Senior ICT officer - Mr. Yaovi Atohoun
Assistant Project Officer (Publications) - Ms.Vera Doku
Assistant Project Officer (Research & Programmes) - Mrs Adeline Addy
Assistant Project Officer (WGHE) - Mrs. Annick Agbotame
Assistant Project officer (IFP) - Mrs. Eunice Ahaibor
Technical/Accounting Support
Senior Principal Accounting Officer - Mr. Cozy Clottey
Principal Accounting Assistant - Mr. Paul Soedzede
Assistant Project Officer (IT) - Mr. Awattey Tetteh
Office Management
Executive Assistant (Secretary-General's Office) - Mrs. Alida Baeta
Office Administrator (Communication & Services Department) - Mrs. Gabrielle Hansen
Office Administrator (Research & Programmes) - Ms. Agnes Apedo
Clerical and Service Support
Stenographer/Receptionist - Ms. Elesi Hodasi
Driver - Mr. Benedict Owusu Asare
Driver - Mr. Abraham Anokye
Dispatch Rider/Office Assistant - Mr. Isaac Donkor
Gardener/security - Mr. Emmanuel Tawiah
Security - Mr. Osmanu Jindo
Office Assistant - Mr. Ernest Opare
34
- Mr. Kwasi TETTEY assumed office as Assistant Project Officer (Information
Technology) on February 18, 2008.
- Ms. Vera DOKU assumed office as Assistant Project Officer, (Publications) on
February 25, 2008.
35

Approved Budget 2007/08
The Association's approved Budget for 2007/08 was $5,150,747 for income with total
expenditure equal to anticipated income ($5,150,747).
FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE REPORT
Performance for 2007/2008 Financial Year
The major assumptions relating to the 2007-08 Budget were:
• The Association would receive at least 80% of subscriptions invoiced from
members
• Programmed activities would draw fully on grants awarded for expenditure and
therefore receive all anticipated support contributions
• Excess expenditure would be covered by the provision for contingency
• Project income/expenditure was apportioned to match the AAU year
AAU
ANNUAL REPORT
2007-2008
T
his report presents an overview of the financial performance of the
Association's in implementation of its activities for reporting year.
The year under review saw the appointment of a substantive Head of Finance, the
successful migration from the Peachtree Accounting Software to the Pegasus AccPac
Accounting Package, the additional implementation of financial controls and
procedures and the successful introduction of treasury management procedures at the
AAU.
An important schedule for the Head of Finance in 2008/09 will be to review and update
the AAU's accounting manual to incorporate the new financial controls and the new
treasury management procedures that have been introduced.
The reporting currency is US dollars ($). Accounts held in the local currency, New Ghana
Cedi (GH¢) have been converted at the exchange rate prevailing at the time of
transaction. The exchange rate in July 2007 was $1: GH¢ 0.925 and in December 2007 $1:
GH¢ 0.964. The current exchange rate from Standard Chartered Bank, the Association's
bankers is $1:GH ¢0.98.
Introduction
This interim report reviews the Association's capital and operational spending
performance for the financial period July 2007 June 2008 against the approved budget
for the period.
The reporting currency is US dollars ($). Accounts held in the local currency, New Ghana
Cedi (GH¢) have been converted at the exchange rate prevailing at the time of
transaction. The exchange rate in July 2007 was $1: GH¢ 0.925 and in December 2007 $1:
GH¢ 0.964. The current exchange rate from Standard Chartered Bank, the Association's
bankers is $1:GH ¢0.98.
Between the months of July 2007 and March 2008, actual expenditure figures have been
used. Projections based on expected income and expenditure trends and programmed
activities have been used for the three-month period April-June 2008.
Summary Outturn for Period Ending 30th June 2008
st
The year's financial performance is based on actual income and expenditure to 31
th
March 2008 and projected income/expenditure to 30 June 2008. Income for the period
is $3,499,224 and total programme, operational and capital expenditure is $3,184,558.
This has resulted in a projected surplus income for the year of $314,666 representing
the overall under spends on various budget lines.
The summary outturn for the period under review is shown in Table 1
Table 1: Summary Outturn for Period Ending 30 June 2008 (Unaudited)
Abridged Operating
Statement for Year
Actual for 2007/08 US$
Total Income 3,499,224
Expenditure:
Research & Programmes 2,139,232
Communication & Services 229,310
Administration 776,180
Capital 39,836
Total Exp 2007/08 3,184,558
Balance 2007/08 314,666
Restricted Grants for Programmes
Income from restricted grants is based on programme activities and claims. Income due
for 2007/8 was $3,977,457 and what was actually received for the year was $2,828,531.
Amounts due and received from respective donors are shown in Table 2.
Table 2: Amounts Received from Donors 2007/8
Institution
Amt Received US$
ACBF 547,980
SIDA Lusaka 359,279
Ford Foundation 212,785
ADEA 291,230
Partnership for HE & IDRC 149,729
World Bank 477,500
DFID 415,650
SIDA–Research Cooperation 332,378
Govt of Ghana (In kind) 42,000
TOTAL 2,828,531
AAU
ANNUAL REPORT
2007-2008
36 37

Table 3below shows grants received from 2001/2-2007/8. This schedule is represented in
Fig 4. There has been a 90% rise in the level of grants claimed and received from donors for
project activities over the seven-year period. After falling levels of grant income in the
period 2001/2 - 2003/4 the period 2004/5-2007/8 saw a rising trend in grants claimed and
received.
Table 3: Schedule of Restricted Grants Claimed and Received
2001/2 2007/8
MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEM
AAU
ANNUAL REPORT
2007-2008
Year
Grants Received in Yr US$
2001/02 1,495,934
2002/03 1,138,637
2003/04 861,543
2004/05 1,589,311
2005/06 1,292,722
2006/07 1,426,564
2007/08 2,828,531
Fig.1: Grants Claimed and Received 2001/2-2007/8
Implementation of the New Management Information System
he year under review saw a change in software used by the Association. A move
was made from 'Peachtree Accounting Software' to 'Pegasus AccPac'. Work
Tcommenced in mid September 2007 and started with agreeing the Chart of
Accounts with the Consultants. COREVIP 07 disrupted progress but by January 2008 all
opening balances and information had been coded and captured onto the new system.
From January 2008, work was commenced using the new system. Initial teething
problems are being overcome with assistance from the Consultants. The system is still
being streamlined to meet AAU needs. A date is to be arranged for Professional Staff to
receive an over view of the new system.
AAU
ANNUAL REPORT
2007-2008
3,000,000
Grants Received 2001/2-2007/8
A major challenge, which has been discussed, has been the limited manpower in the
Finance Department and combining the MIS implementation project with regular
activities at the AAU. A proposal to address the manpower issues is yet to be submitted
for the Secretary General's consideration.
Amount(USD)
2,500,000
2,000,000
1,500,000
1,000,000
500,000
0
20 01/02
20 02/03
20 03/04
2004/05
2005/06
20 06/07
20 07/08
The new operational system demands that new financial procedures be written and
financial policies reviewed and updated. This will be part of the work plan for the Head
of Finance in 2008/9.
Financial and Non-financial Controls
Financial controls are standards management establishes within a financial process that
are intended to ensure the accuracy, timeliness, and completeness of financial data as
well as compliance with policies and regulations. In addition, financial controls help to
prevent or detect erroneous or inappropriate transactions.
The goals of having a strong system of financial controls include to:
• Ensure reliable financial data
• Safeguard assets and records
• Encourage adherence to prescribed policies & regulations
In the AAU, the main additional controls, financial and non financial, introduced in the
year under review include the following:
• A scheduled timetable for the department's financial activities. This was to allow
adequate checks on data to be processed and to ensure the accuracy and
completeness of transactions
• Regular spot checks on petty cash
• Confirmation of marriage and birth certificates for the processing of staff benefits
• Expenditure payments to be made only on the receipt of original invoices
• Regular reviews of vehicle log books
• Insistence of VAT receipts and invoices where VAT has been charged
38 39

PARTNERS
AAU
ANNUAL REPORT
2007-2008
40
Advanced Training Opportunities in ACP Countries (DTOCACP)
African Books Collective (ABC)
African American Institute (AAI)
African Network of Scientific and Technological Institutions (ANSTI)
African Network Information Center (AfriNIC)
African Network Operators Group (AfNOG)
African Union Commission (AUC)
African Virtual University (AVU)
American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
Association of Arab Universities (AArU)
Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU)
Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada (AUCC)
Agence Universitaire de la Francophonie (AUF)
Commonwealth Association of Polytechnics in Africa (CAPA)
Commonwealth of Learning (COL)
Federation of African Women Educationalists (FAWE)
Human Sciences Research Development: Centre for Science Development
International Association of Universities (IAU)
International Foundation for Science (IFS)
International Council for Open and Distance Education (ICDE)
International Institute for Educational Planning (IIEP)
International Network for the Availability of Scientific Publications (INASP)
International Network for Higher Education in Africa
National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education
New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD)
Royal Tropical Institute (KIT)
Southern University and A&M College System
The British Council
Development Partners
African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF)
Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA)
Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA)
Carnegie Corporation of New York
Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst (DAAD)
Department for International Development (DFID)
International Development Research Centre (IDRC)
Ford Foundation
Government of the Netherlands
Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD)
Rockefeller Foundation
Swedish International Development Agency of Research Cooperation (Sida/SAREC)
The World Bank
The Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA)
United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO)