Heads of African Universities
Meet in Arusha, Tanzania,
under the auspices of the Association of African Universities
The Conference of Rectors, Vice Chancellors and Presidents of African
Universities (COREVIP'99) was held in Arusha, Tanzania from 1st to 4th
February 1999. The conference was co-organized by the AAU and the University
of Dar-es-Salaam and benefited from generous support from the host country
and its university authorities, as well as international agencies and
local enterprises.
The conference was formally opened by His Excellency, the President
of the United Republic of Tanzania, who urged African governments and
African universities to forge a new partnership to meet the challenges
of higher education in the coming century. These include addressing
global competition, mobilizing resources, enhancing relevance, and redefining
the role of higher education in bringing about change and development
in the region.
The keynote address was delivered by Dr. Lalla Ben-Barka, Deputy Executive
Secretary of the United Nations Economic Community of Africa. She stressed
the low level of enrolment at tertiary levels of education in Africa
as a result of declining resources and the deterioration in the quality
of teaching and research. She also emphasized the need to develop appropriate
strategies such as stock-taking and evaluations to resolve the crisis
as African universities enter the 21st century.
The theme of the Conference was Revitalising Universities in Africa:
Strategy for the 21st Century. Sub-themes addressed included: Regional
Cooperation in Graduate Training and Research; Information and
Communication Technologies; and, Access, Quality and Resource
Management. Additional presentations were made on the following
topics: women issues in African universities given by FAWE (Forum for
African Women Educationalists); a project on the development of databases
on African thesis and dissertations (DATAD); the outcome of the World
Conference on Higher Education held last November in Paris and its implications
for African universities. Close to 200 delegates from African universities
took part in the Conference as well as representatives of international
and regional organizations from 39 countries.
In addressing the issues confronting higher education in the region,
the conference participants noted that revitalization of African universities
in the 21st century will require a multi-faceted strategy. The conference
agreed on the following:
- Cost-sharing: The involvement of students in cost-sharing
should be considered as part of the solution in meeting the financial
needs of universities. But this should be balanced with loan and grant
programs for students in need of assistance. The conference also called
on the strong participation of governments, the private sector and
international participants.
- University Strategic Planning: This should be encouraged
as a way of addressing institutional difficulties and future goals.
The plan should incorporate the issue of gender equity.
- Endowment Fund for the AAU: The conference urged the Secretariat
to develop an Endowment Plan, including a business plan that will
provide the AAU with a stable financial base to carry out priority
programs.
Furthermore, conference participants were informed of other ongoing
AAU major initiatives: (i) the establishment of seven university networks
to develop proposals for regional cooperation graduate training and
research in specific disciplinary areas; (ii) the development of tracer
studies aimed at monitoring life after graduation with particular reference
to employment patterns of young graduates. Finally, it should be noted
that a workshop on human resource development in science and technology
in Africa was held in conjunction with the conference in partnership
with ANSTI (African Network of Scientific and Technological Institutions).
Association of
African Universities (AAU)(1)
1. Article excerpted from AAU Press Release.
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