"There are Universities in Africa, not African universities. There is a difference.
TF"
How realistic?
Are universities, admittedly on the Western model, the currently globally dominant model, the same everywhere?
Has that been the case historically and at the present time?
Were the foundational universities of the Islamic world, for example, the same as the foundational universities of Christian Europe?
Were German universities the same as those in the US at the time that the US imported and modified the German model in the US?
Which model created the concept of the PhD? Was it not the Germans, as I seem to recall?
Was the PhD a part of the English universities until much later in their development?
Is the current process of obtaining the PhD in the US identical with that in England?
Are the challenges of universities in Africa the same as those outside Africa?
Are universities everywhere facing the same challenges?
The idea of the Western model of the university, the currently dominant model, as universal, bears some truth, but is universality identical with uniformity?
I don't think so.
May we therefore speak of Nigerian or African universities as different from European or US universities?
I would modify the argument of the author of the article to emphasize the idea of pursuing a vision of African universities as inward looking and externally projective.
Developing robust systems of intra and inter-institutional and interpersonal collaboration within countries and across the continent.
Developing similar collaboration beyond the continent.
Learning from intra and inter-institutional and interpersonal knowledge networks within countries, across the continent and beyond.
Developing robust publishing systems directed at national and intra-African markets while also being globally penetrative.
The realistic truth is that wonderful as the Western publishing systems is, it operates in a different cosmos from African contexts, to the degree that the African experience replicates the Nigerian example I am better informed about.
Great books, about Africa and other subjects, are regularly published by Western publishers but can't deeply impact the African market, if at all, because they are beyond the purchasing power of most Africans and the publishers do not often distribute to Africa.
We need publishers who will legally republish these books in ways that are affordable in Africa.
Internet access cant replace print books, in my view.
My take so far.
On Tue, Oct 14, 2025, 9:07 AM Toyin Falola <toyinfalola@austin.utexas.edu> wrote:
--There are Universities in Africa, not African universities. There is a difference.
TF
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