CASE STUDIES FROM AFRICA

Introduction
Overview and Objectives
Within the Action Plan for Boosting Intra-African Trade framework to fast track the
achievement of a CFTA, the AUC has earmarked the enhancement of trade in services as an
important emerging new opportunity.
The overall purpose of this case study, one of five such studies the African Union Commission
has commissioned as part of this project, is to:
(a) Promote the knowledge and understanding of services trade in general and of higher
education in particular as a basis for sector development and enhanced regional integration
(b) Provide information on higher education in Uganda, with emphasis on the export of higher
education by selected universities and institutions of higher learning in Uganda, with a view to
helping support the establishment of an African Trade Observatory by compiling best practices
and success stories in the sector as part of efforts to establish an African trade in services
database
(c) Examine the performance of Uganda’s higher education sector, with specific attention to
Uganda’s export of higher education services
(d) Evaluate the effectiveness of government policy in Uganda for the purpose of fostering
exports of higher education services.
Scope of Work
Following an overview of the services sector in Uganda, this case study examines the situation
of education services, with a particular emphasis on higher education. The policy context for
higher education in Uganda is also reviewed in the study through an investigation of the role
that government policy has played to support or not the efforts of higher education institutions
to export educational services. The role of the National Council for Higher Education is also
highlighted in the policy discussion, as well as that of the Inter-University Council for East
Africa.
The study further sets out the strengths, weaknesses, challenges, and emerging opportunities in
the export of higher education by Uganda. It identifies the way in which Ugandan universities
and institutions of higher learning can act in order to expand the enrolment of foreign students
in university programmes in Uganda, and discusses the current difficulties and factors that are
holding Uganda back in this effort. The study makes policy recommendations on the basis of
the information provided by the higher education institutions that were interviewed for the
research, and highlights their experiences and lessons learnt. Finally, the study concludes by
suggesting some best practices for those countries that wish to improve their regional and
international position in the area of educational services.
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