CASE STUDIES FROM AFRICA

Uganda’ web portal to market Uganda’s higher education offerings on the Internet, setting up
international student offices in all of Uganda’s universities, simplifying the visa application
process for foreign students, and revamping the Vice Chancellors’ Forum as a decision-making
organ for Uganda’s higher education providers.
The case study interviews reveal that although the policy framework and objectives for the
higher education sector are in place, government support to achieve these objectives has not
materialised. The regulatory body for the education sector, the NCHE, has been unable to
garner high-level focus on these issues.
Constraints on Future Growth
Despite the traditionally strong tertiary education sector in Uganda, with its diverse range of
academic programmes and low tuition cost structure, continued exports of higher education
face serious constraints. Only a modest proportion of the government budget (2 to 3% of GDP)
is spent on the education sector. This lack of funding means that expansion of higher education
services in Uganda is severely constrained by the existing educational infrastructure.
Facilities—including libraries, classrooms, and student housing—are all in need of investment
and improvements, especially at public universities.
The high cost and limited availability of the Internet on university campuses is another major
limiting factor of Ugandan higher education exports. Universities cannot reliably transmit and
carry content for online distance learning programmes and research. The telecommunications
sector thus also constrains the future growth prospects of education services.
Main Conclusions and Policy Lessons from the Case Studies
The five case studies set out conclusions and recommendations for how governments can
develop a more effective services trade policy framework. Best practices in these export success
stories, and also less successful outcomes, are highlighted in the studies. This section
consolidates the main conclusions and policy lessons under six headings. For details on
individual sectors, the reader is encouraged to refer to the full studies included in this volume.
1. Most services exports from these five sectors are directed at the regional market, but
some exports have already been diversified beyond the continent.
The five countries have had notable success in exporting services in the respective sectors
studied. In the case of education services and cultural services, most of these exports have been
directed to the regional market within Africa. However, banking services, BPO/ICT services,
and air transport services have travelled not only within, but also beyond African borders.
BPO/ICT exports from Senegal are going to France and other Francophone locations in Europe.
Ethiopian air transport services are directed all over the world, with destinations in Europe, the
Americas, and Asia. Banking services from Nigeria are present in international operations in six
countries outside of Africa. Exporting services typically begins at the regional level and moves
further afield if successful.
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