january-2012

or information and communication technology, and are also
more ‘grounded,’ often with strong religious affiliations.
Feeling the squeeze
After independence, higher education in Africa was almost
exclusively provided by the state. But over the last decade the
number of private providers has mushroomed as some state-run
universities increasingly struggle to maintain standards or keep
up with demand as more students seek out higher education.
The University of Ghana is a case in point. It had
23,000 students apply for places in 2008, but was
able to accept just a third of these applicants. The
public-sector funding squeeze has also eaten into
facilities and the quality of teaching at Kampala’s
flagship university, Makerere. Here staff recently
walked out in protest of pay and pension cuts.
Patrick Awuah, founder and president of Ghana’s
Ashesi University, saw opportunity in the crisis.
Fuelled by what he calls “a burning sense of
mission”, he left a successful software career in the
US to go home and contribute to nation-building efforts.
“My return to Ghana was difficult,” he says. “I was embarking on
an incredibly ambitious task to start a university. But my real
aim was to begin a social movement – to trigger a rethinking of
higher education – to transform a continent.” The liberal arts
college that Awuah founded with just 30 students pledges to
educate attendees to be ethical and entrepreneurial leaders.
Enrolment has now reached 500 and Ashesi has just opened
a new campus with the help of a €1.9m investment from the
My aim was
to begin
a social
movement
to transform
a continent
brussels airlines b.spirit! magazine jan-feb
{ 44 }
International Finance Corporation (the investment arm of the
World Bank). According to Awuah, about half its students receive
financial aid; the rest pay fees starting at €2,000 a semester.
Going the distance
Demand for higher education has also spurred the growth of
distance-learning providers. South Africa’s distance education
provider Unisa now has 300,000 students, of which 20,000 are
from outside South Africa. “Many of our students come from
disadvantaged backgrounds and did not do well enough to obtain
bursaries,” explains spokesperson Doreen Gough. “About two
thirds work full-time to support families, and would like to better
themselves. Our courses are more affordable and we have an
‘open’ policy; while residential universities take only the top
students, we are able to offer studies to those who got average or
even poorer grades.”
The Nairobi-based African Virtual University (AVU) delivers
programmes in 27 African countries through online courses and
partner universities. “More and more students are interested in
distance learning,” says Dr Bakary Diallo, CEO of the AVU. His
hope is that a research programme that’s developing ways to
deliver programmes via mobile phones will attract thousands
more students into higher education in the next five years.
Credit where it’s due
Private higher education institutions face challenges. One of
the biggest is the accreditation process, explains professor
NV Varghese, head of governance and management in education
at the International Institute for Educational Planning in Paris.
“Some institutions have been accredited as universities even
when they are very small in size and offer courses in only one or
two subject areas,” he says. The road to full accreditation
typically entails three stages; it is voluntary and quite onerous,
so many universities operate in a limbo area.
Experts also say that distance-learning programmes need to
offer a broader range of courses. And these students miss out on
the university community, which can be crucial. “Employers are
looking for people who have excelled in the student union or in
other leadership roles – there are other aspects to university
apart from the cognitive dimension,” says Varghese.
Competition is also getting tougher, as state-run universities
compete for private students to address their fiscal
problems. The result has been that public
universities are increasingly funded by private
money but still controlled by the state, which has
the last word on staff pay, tuition fees but also
broader policy. Last year 37% of Makerere’s budget
came from the government, compared with 55%
from private students’ tuition fees. And public
universities are becoming more commercial in
other areas too. Kenya’s Kenyatta University is
working on a project to outsource its student
accommodation to private providers, while Ghana’s education
minister has also announced an increased role for the private
sector in higher education.
While there are challenges to be faced, thriving private
institutions have forever changed the educational landscape.
They offer thousands of students a chance, and are injecting fresh
and vital competition and choice into the sector.
Brussels Airlines flies to 21 African destinations