Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Today's Quote

i'm going to repeat an idea i had while finishing up my teaching in dakar. i wanted a university to university link, where digital resources (in this case literature) could be shared across campuses. there was an enormous problem getting the needed panoply of texts for the students to access, so as to be qualified to certify as knowledgeable in a given area. we were having students in dakar focus on maybe 3 books a semester, or a year, with the notion that in-depth study would have the highest value. back in michigan i might teach 10 novels a semester, 20 a year. that difference extended to most levels, or more. the faculty at msu were expected to be up on all the significant, current research on their area. the ones in dakar could never access all the journals or books, or hope to acquire anything on a comparable scale--so some took a year or more abroad to get up to speed.

this is nothing new.

but if the books were available digitally, if the journals were e-journal shared, which many many libraries were working on acquiring, or were getting free from project muse, there would be hope to do something about it.

that was not satisfying as formulated since the assumption was a one-way street of resources and information flowing one way. yet significant research was being carried out in africa, which scholars and students needed in america. there are obvious examples, such as oral literature or historical studies, but much more. there are african presses whose publications remained essentially local, and to which we had little or no access, no real knowledge about. our libraries had limited resources, couldn't acquire all those texts. there was research being carried out in african depts that carried enormous value for reading texts, even if they were not vectored through dominant theories in the west.

say i taught a course in african lit, and say that course was being taught by another prof in dakar. we could have shared time where the combined classes would meet together, with discussions and teaching shared. the value would be incalculable.

all it took would be for the deans and dept heads and others who run the money and business of the universiity, to agree to this value.

but this would go enormously far in bridging the two worlds, and eliminate one ofthe great problems, resource famine. when i taught my grad course in caribbean lit in dakar, i took copies of my books and had them photocopied by the campus where all the studennts could buy copies. that way we had enough to study. that was the first caribbean lit course taught in dakar, in english.

i couldn't make this idea work on my own; but if enough administrators could be convinced of the value i am sure it could work

ken

kenneth harrow

professor emeritus

dept of english

michigan state university

517 803-8839

harrow@msu.edu

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From: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com <usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com> on behalf of OLAYINKA AGBETUYI <yagbetuyi@hotmail.com>
Sent: Tuesday, January 26, 2021 6:26 PM
To: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com <usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com>
Subject: RE: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Today's Quote

 

Chidi.

I empathise with hordes of parents like you, my own siblings and colleagues who are being shortchanged by the system and who are stuck because they could not afford to educate their wards abroad.

Where change should begin is hitting those shortchanging the system where it hurts most: their pockets by NUC reforming the criteria for promotion to reflect the hard work done on the final products: the students.

Right now the emphasis is on how long is spent on the last post plus publications.  It should be reformed to include the number of students graduated and at what level.  Candidates for professorship should be required to have a track record of production of Phds within specified periods.  Candidates for senior lecturership must have a track record of producing Masters graduates within specified period in addition to publications.  As it is candidates can be producing for their own elevation and marking time for the next round of promotion exercise while ignoring the needs of the students and the same time making progress in their own career.

We know there are those who are doing the right thing on Nigerian university campuses among the lecturers and this is not about them.

In fact they should lead the movement for change by periodically holding placard carrying demonstrations on campus, calling for change and standing up to be counted.

OAA

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy smartphone.

-------- Original message --------

From: "Chidi Anthony Opara, FIIM" <chidi.opara@gmail.com>

Date: 26/01/2021 08:53 (GMT+00:00)

To: USA Africa Dialogue Series <usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com>

Subject: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Today's Quote

Oluwatoyin, 

What is there to elaborate?  I had three children in three different universities in Nigeria and I know that what I went through was not what one should wish for even his enemies. 

I still have another child in another university and I know what I am going through at the moment. 

Believe me, the system needs overhauling, all parents with children in the system will agree to this except if they are part of the system. 

It will take a whole lot of spaces to elaborate on half of the rots going on in the public university system in Nigeria. 

This, for me is not an academic exercise,  it is a statement of fact. 

-Chidi Anthony Opara (CAO) 

On Tuesday, 26 January 2021 at 08:58:17 UTC+1 toyin....@gmail.com wrote:

Can you elaborate?

On Tue, Jan 26, 2021, 08:42 Chidi Anthony Opara, FIIM <chidi...@gmail.com> wrote:

The university system in Nigeria needs total  overhauling, I know because I had three children in three different universities in Nigeria. 

-Chidi Anthony Opara(CAO)

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Chidi Anthony Opara is a "Life Time Achievement" Awardee, Registered Freight Forwarder, Professional Fellow Of Institute Of Information Managerment, Africa, Poet and Publisher of PublicInformationProjects

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