USA Africa Dialogue Series - Report on the Carnegie/AU Deliberations on Continental Forum on the role of the diaspora in higher education, research and innovation in Africa, No. 2

Day 1

CONTINENTAL AND GLOBAL POLICY CONTEXT

 

Session 1

 

Ministerial Perspectives: The Role of the Academic Diaspora in African Higher Education

 

Mr. Buti Manamala, Deputy Minister of Higher Education, South Africa

 

They have many scholars outside of South Africa working on their campuses because of the history of educational marginalization. South Africa offers resources and opportunities to non-South Africans to come to South Africa. The country is developing postgraduate capacity. They are mobilizing resources to build connections with institutions abroad. They have created networks with institutions in Europe and the US—not necessarily Africans in the Diaspora but those who can work with them to develop postgraduate capacities. One weakness, he notes, is the mobility of young people to go to different parts of the world to study. South Africa has reconfigured the system to include technical education because they believe that they need vocational skills.

 

H.E. Prof Hirut Woldemariam, Minister of Science and Higher Education, Ethiopia

 

H.E. Prof Mary Tewu Niane, Former Minister of Higher Education, Research and Innovation, Senegal

Spoke about various issues around empowerment.

 

 

 

 

Questions:

1. How can non-South Africans contribute to education?

 

2. What incentives do they provide to attract those folks in the diaspora?

 

3. The idea that China benefits from its diaspora, but the Chinese government creates the incentives explains the sporadic growth of China. In Africa, what are the incentive structures to attract Africans abroad. Do we not need a trans-continental arrangement to attract people for longer terms, create a systemic conversation rather than the individual approach of one person spending two weeks and existing at the margins of the university?

 

4. There is a disequilibrium between the diaspora and transformation. What is the place of the historical diaspora? How do we classify the various roles of the diaspora in the sense of the historic and contemporary diaspora when there is so much to harness from the historic?

 

5. You mentioned the GDP issue of Africa that is low, which means there is the economic constraint.

 

Answers from the Ministers:

 Minister from South Africa

The questions are interrelated. It is important to create the platform for academics to innovate—there must be incentives for academics to develop the South African academy. It is crucial to provide support. South Africa is providing support for undergraduate students and they will need different platform to provide education at lesser cost. Those with requisite skills should learn how to expand and think about cost in the process.

 Former Minister of Education, H.E. Dr. Obiageli Ezekwesili, Nigeria

We need to collect more data to be able to maximize usages, to push an agenda for reform. We have not used the agency of the diaspora to change the dynamics of the economy that remains the same from the 1960s. We think lineal but we need exponential to achieve scale and spade. Exponential technology creates greater access and knowledge. WE have an anti-intellectual political culture with leaders who understand STEM and rising technology. She is glad that the President of ASSU is here, predicting that young people will one day rise up and opt out of the educational system. The diaspora can arbitrate the system to discuss innovations and create the trends in the global economy. There is a level of complacency to retain the old system.

 

 

Intervention by H.E. Prof Hirut Woldemariam, Minister of Science and Higher Education, Ethiopia

 

Que. How do we think exponentially. He points attention to emerging academies focused on the promotion of science and technology.

 

Answer from the Minister, South Africa

Calls for reflection on the link between education and economic growth. He refers to the attempt to ask Africa to disinvest from education and health, and Africa suffered severely from this. There is high economic growth in Rwanda and Uganda but warns about mere numbers. Part of the things that South Africa has to look at how to increase spending on education and generate greater growth. Of importance is how the Fourth Industrial Revolution will contribute to growth but wondered whether we benefitted enough from the Third Industrial Revolution.

 

More Questions

1. When we talk about engaging the diaspora, we need to look at what the government is planning to do in terms of development. Unless countries think about development strategies, the current strategy of one diaspora comes today and another tomorrow will not produce results. Govt should identify the concrete areas where they need people from abroad. Countries have to articulate the problems where they need people from abroad.
2. Chairman of ASSU, Nigeria, makes reference to a policy where people from abroad were invited to teach in Nigeria…they brought scholars from abroad paid in dollar and those in Nigeria paid in naira. Those from abroad do not have resources to work with, and the program failed. To ASSU, before we can bring those in diaspora, Nigeria must first provide facilities and infrastructure.
3. On fees, chairman of ASSU said access, quality and reference, funding must come from the government for now.

 

Responses

Minister from Nigeria: there must be emphasis on human capital; she argues that new forms of knowledge should create an institutional framework that recognize the diaspora as a resource. Regarding the funding of education, she wants us to do more work on pricing mechanism to ensure that those who have the capacity to pay are not short changing the system. The rich pay a lot of money for primary and high school but don't want to pay for public universities. She argues that we have an irresponsible middle class. What is the outcome of funding for public universities? We need to take tough decisions, not popular decision. We need to talk about academic and research performance. Universities are corrupt.

The minister from South Africa said that there are external voices discouraging Africa from pursuing a number of policies. For the diaspora to work, upon return they must return to an environment with resources to work.