主题：一位加纳朋友关于非洲教育的文章（橡树村请进） -- 镭射

Higher Education in Sub-Saharan Africa: An Engine of Development and Gender Equality

A friend once stated that “half education is dangerous.” Indeed this statement is true because current trends in sub-Saharan Africa provide evidence to this. There has been an explosion of primary and secondary school enrollments, but a majority of primary and secondary school graduates end up on the streets. In the streets of Accra, many young boys and girls with secondary education sell items like toilet paper, dog chains, and apples due to limited access to higher education or lack of employment opportunities. No wonder sub-Saharan Africa continues to wallow in poverty and gender inequality, because the engine of development and social transformation higher education — has been relegated to the background while efforts are spent on primary and secondary education.

Although the ratio of higher education enrollments to other levels of education is not the same across regions, the situation in sub-Saharan Africa is far worse than any another area. According to UNESCO, “only 6% of the tertiary education age cohort was enrolled in tertiary institutions in 2007, compared to the global average of 26%” (“Trends in Tertiary Education”). This is serious because the correlation between university enrollment rates and national income is strong. “No high-income country (other than Switzerland) has university enrollment less than 50%. Korea’s growth in wealth occurred simultaneously with a 10-fold increase in university population” (“Importance of University Education”). Higher education should be given maximum attention to promote development and equal opportunities for males and females.

There are a lot of problems that have contributed to the stagnation of tertiary education in sub-Saharan Africa, which have resulted in underdevelopment and gender disparities. A major factor of this problem is lack of funding. Governments have gradually reduced funding in higher education in fulfillment of IMF and World Bank structural adjustment policies. This puts a majority of young men and women out of the reach of tertiary education. Funding has not corresponded with increase in enrollment. In Ghana, for example, “within a period of 13 years from 1983-96, total enrollment in universities and polytechnics increased by 162%.” (“Ghana: Education”) “In 1996 the government [of Ghana], ….provided only 73.7 % of the total amount needed to fund tertiary education. In 1997, the amount provided was 61.5% of the total amount required resulting in a deficit of 38.5%. The deficit however, rose to 40% in 1999” (Kubi).

Most of development partners have also not helped to fund higher education. Most projects by the IMF and World Bank target primary education, increasing primary school enrollment. Not-for-profit organizations also follow the same path. Care International, for example, supports most programs for girls at the basic school level (“Day Four”). The impact of lack of funding affects all aspects of universities in sub-Saharan Africa, particularly research which is a key to the improvement of science and technology.

Available data on expenditures on research and development in Ghana show a declining trend from around 0.7% of GDP in the mid-1970s to 0.1-0.2% of GDP in 1983-87. There is little or no evidence to suggest that this trend has changed. Estimates from the 2000 tertiary sector budget show that an amount equivalent to $1,392,499 (22% of its approved budget) was allocated to the University of Ghana's 10 research institutes for their operations. The corresponding figures for the 8 research institutes of KNUST was $291,375 (5.5%), compared with $102,104 (3.4%) for the 3 research institutes at UCC [University of Cape Coast] (Effah).

This phenomenon is similar to most sub-Saharan countries. Monies are inadequate to fund research which could facilitate development process. These universities are compelled to abandon research and focus more on teaching.

The lack of funding has other implications on higher education in sub-Saharan Africa. It limits access for women. Enrollment ratios in sub-Saharan countries are among the lowest in the world. For instance, the female enrollment ratio in Ghana in 2007 was 34% (“Trends in Tertiary Education”). In other African countries, female enrollment ratios are nothing to write home about. The inadequate funding for higher education affects females the most because they are underrepresented in tertiary education.

Information and communication technology is also another problem facing higher education in sub-Saharan Africa which ultimately affects development. Patience, a graduate student at Colorado State University School of Business and a former student of the University of Cape Coast mentioned that computer facilities were inadequate at her former school. This did not help her studies. Students had to wait for hours to use school computers and they had time limits. It was when she started her graduate degree at CSU that she learned how to create a PowerPoint presentation. Sam Adiku, a visiting scientist at Colorado State University from the University of Ghana had to buy for his at the University of Ghana. This shows how lack of funding affects education.

Another challenge of higher education in sub-Saharan Africa is emigration of students and graduates of tertiary institutions to industrialized countries. This places a burden on emigrating countries because the few resources spent to train students are lost. Most of these students and graduates emigrate to seek better opportunities, particularly in Europe and America. More than 10 % of graduates from African countries emigrate. In the medical and technical fields, it is much higher. It is estimated that about “$1 billion is lost a year in educational spending by governments in sub-Saharan Africa” (“Importance of University Education”). Joyce, a former student of the University of Cape Coast, was in her sophomore year when she applied for a student visa to visit her family in the US. She was granted a visa and she came to the US in 2003, abandoning her school. Since coming to the US, she has not gone back. She now is a home care aid for the elderly. Another example is Lisa, a 31-year-old Colorado resident. She was a trained teacher in a small village in Ghana. In 2001, she won the Diversity Visa Lottery, a US program which grants permanent visas to winners from selected countries. Although the Diversity Visa Lottery increases remittances to developing countries, only the educated and skilled are granted visas, which ultimately affects developments in sub-Saharan Africa.

Other problems facing higher education in sub-Saharan Africa is the continuation of colonial post-secondary educational structures. These institutions comprise of teacher training colleges, nursing training colleges, and technical institutes. Teacher training colleges for example were started by missionaries to train teachers for their schools. In 1848, the first teacher training college was established in Ghana by the Basel Mission at Akropong Akwapim. (Akyeampong) Despite their usefulness in colonial days and early years of independence (when rapid manpower was needed to fill middle level positions), most of these institutions have been obsolete. They need to be reformed. These institutions, particularly teacher and nursing colleges, were certificate-granting institutions until recently when they began awarding diplomas. They perpetuate a cycle of banking education. Students are taught to memorize and pass national certificate examinations, which relegates research to the background. To further development and gender equality, these institutions need to change to reflect current needs.

To address these problems, it is important to point out the significance of higher education in engendering development and gender equality in sub-Saharan Africa. Firstly, higher education promotes female leadership in the governance process. Higher education changes social structures in some societies for women. In January of 2009, the first female Speaker of Ghana’s parliament, Mrs. Bamford-Addo,was sworn into office. Liberia also has the first female president in Africa, Mrs. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. The levels that these women have attained in political leadership would not have been possible without higher education.

Secondly, higher education is a recipe for social, political and cultural changes. Although higher education can have negative impacts on egalitarian societies by creating new class barriers (Curle 104), most often, it gives opportunities to the poor to move up on the social ladder. Without higher education, it will be hard for low-income earners, who perhaps live on rented farmlands, to change their social status. In addition, higher education creates political awareness about rights of citizens and most often advocates for the advancement of democratic institutions. During the military regime in Ghana, many academicians campaigned for human rights and demanded for opposition parties to operate (Peil 55).

Thirdly, considering the vast natural resources in sub-Saharan Africa, to tap these resources for sustainable development and equal opportunities for both males and females requires knowledge. “One student who had visited Chinese-funded infrastructure projects observed a complete absence of African employees: ‘even the guy who cleans the toilets is brought from China’” (“Importance of University Education”). With improved higher education, citizens can develop effective sustainable strategies to meet their local needs. And in doing so, they create wealth within their own countries.

The problem of higher education in sub-Saharan Africa demands multiple solutions. There is not a single panacea to the complexity of problems that confront higher education in sub-Saharan Africa. Thankfully, some developmental partners have started supporting higher education in sub-Saharan Africa. The United States Department for International Development has awarded $50,000 grants to 33 partnership universities. The partnership universities comprise one US university and one African university to develop plans to address development priorities in engineering, health, agriculture, environment and natural resources, science and technology, education and teacher training/preparation, and business, management, and economics (USAID). This program is commendable because that is what Africa needs to develop its own resources and provide opportunities for both males and females. Apart from funding, collaboration, through research and exchanges among faculty members and students will help push development in sub-Saharan Africa.

To further address development challenges multinational corporations working in the mining and oil industry in Africa should contribute to higher education in sub-Saharan Africa. These companies continue to maximize their profit yearly, but have not done much to improve higher education. Some even employ foreign technicians as managers in their companies in sub-Saharan Africa. If one percent of their profits are channeled into higher education it will go a long way in improving social conditions in sub-Saharan Africa. The IMF and World Bank should equally fund higher education as primary and secondary education. Years of neglecting funding for higher education have not improved living conditions and opportunities for both males and female.

Also, companies employing graduates of sub-Saharan countries should help support higher education in sub-Saharan countries. This can be done by taking additional taxes from employees from sub-Saharan countries or companies paying compensation to the respective countries for benefiting from brain drain. At the national level, receiving countries should enact policies that will prevent medical and engineering professionals not to practice in developing countries until they have served some years in the countries they were trained.

Higher education although critical for development has not been given the attention it deserves by African governments and development partners which has resulted in many challenges. These challenges impede developments and gender equality. It should be given priority if development and gender equality need to be realized. It is a vital tool in the development process. Transformation of harmful cultural practices, improvement of Indigenous agricultural and scientific knowledge, and gender equality at the micro and mezzo levels can be accelerated by higher education. If those affected the most by global economic and culturally based gender inequality have less than a quarter people with higher education, then development and gender equality will remain an illusion.

Works Cited

Adiku, Sam. Personal interview. 15 Nov. 2009.

Akyeampong, Kwame. Teacher Training in Ghana - Does it Count? Rep. 2003. Docstoc. 6 Nov. 2009. Web. 15 Nov. 2009. <http://www.docstoc.com/docs/15101239/Teacher-training-in-Ghana---Does-it-count>.

Amadu, Patience. Telephone interview. 15 Nov. 2009.

Curle, Adam . Educational Problems of Developing Socities: With Case Studies of Ghana and Pakistan. New York: Praeger, 1969

"Day Four - Breathing new life into an old school." CARE :: Defending Dignity, Fighting Poverty. Web. 15 Nov. 2009. <http://www.care.org/vft/ghana/day4.asp>.

Dwamena, Joyce. Telephone interview. 14 Nov. 2009.

"Ghana : Education." University of Sussex. Web. 15 Nov. 2009. <http://www.sussex.ac.uk/education/1-4-30-7-5.html>.

"Importance of University Education." Africa Higher Education: Student Survey Project. Harvard University. Web. 15 Nov. 2009. <http://www.arp.harvard.edu/AfricaHigherEducation/Recommendations.html>.

Kubi, Appiah. "Funding Tertiary Education in Ghana." Gye Nayeme Concord 30 Mar. 2005. Ghana Web. Web. 15 Nov. 2009. <http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/features/artikel.php?ID=77639>.

Peil, Margaret. "? Ghana's Universities and Their Government: An Ambiguous Relationship." A Journal of Opinion 24.1 (1996): 52-56. JSTOR. Web. 15 Nov. 2009. <http://www.jstor.org/stable/1166615>.