Transcript Understanding the Problem in Africa: The Global Context”

UNIVERSITY LEADERS’ FORUM
DEVELOPING AND RETAINING THE NEXT
GENERATION OF ACADEMICS
“Understanding the
Problem: The Global Context”
Prof. Takyiwaa Manuh
Institute of African Studies
University of Ghana
Presentation Overview
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Introduction- Global Context
HEIs in Africa
Challenges in African Higher Education
African Developmental Challenges
Contemporary African Migrations
The Global Hunt for ‘Talent’
Brain-Drain/Brain-Gain/Brain
Circulation
Why is a vital African Academy
important ?
Possible Sustainable Solutions
Takyiwaa Manuh Nov 23, 2008
Global Context- Knowledge Societies
Cf. World Bank (2002)- Convergent impacts of globalization and
increasing importance of knowledge as main driver of growth.
 Knowledge as a primary factor of production throughout world
economy- cause and result of transformations in technologies,
innovations, services, communications
 Combination of the skill-bias of much recent technological
advancement with governments’ desire to have a competitive
advantage in emerging knowledge-based industries.
 Modern growth is about innovation and it is here, rather than
in labor market effects, that the long-term gains of human capital
inflows are probably most manifest
Takyiwaa Manuh Nov 23, 2008
Global context-knowledge societies and
emigration





Second, the aging of rich-country populations- likely to
increase demand for service providers for an older population
But huge fiscal costs of population aging also likely to drive
targeted attempts to attract higher-earning foreign workers to
help pay for pension and health care benefits for the domestic
population. With the alternatives being greater tax increases
on the working population or more substantial benefit cuts for
the retired population, there will be strong pressures to
“import” taxpayers at the margin.
WTO, GATS and the commodification of education
New providers, in-country and offshore
Finally, the broader globalization
of2008production and trade.
Takyiwaa Manuh Nov 23,
HEIs in Africa




HEIs in Africa and Caribbean established in lead up to
independence with clear role in post-colonial nation building
and in the Africanization process of institutions. Financed,
often wholly, from public purse.
Systems of universities, polytechnics, research institutesanglo/franco/luso/phone variants. Changes over years.
Regulatory mechanisms
Over the years, economic turmoil, disruptions of democratic
governments, shift towards a global knowledge economy
putting enormous pressures on the African universities.
Economic hardship reinforced by a policy environment that
pitted basic education against secondary and tertiary
education, based on faulty rate of return studies that ignored
Takyiwaa Manuh Nov 23, 2008
developments in the knowledge
economy
Challenges in African HE




Burgeoning enrolments, but still not enough
State of Human Resources and Infrastructure- staffing,
pay and working conditions, teaching and research
infrastructure – libraries, laboratories, teaching aids
Knowledge Production and output- declining output? 1%
in 1987 to 0.7% in 1996 in ISI. Africa has lost 11% of its
share in global science since its peak in 1987; SSA
science has lost almost a third (31%). Part of this decline
of SSA science can be attributed to discarding African
journals from the Citation Indexes.
On Reproducing the Next Generation of Academicsgraduate training
Takyiwaa Manuh Nov 23, 2008
African HEs Dilemmas- I: Enrolments
-Over the years, high and increasing demand vs. low
human, physical and financial resources
-cf. University of Ghana, 2001: 18,252 students applied, <a
third or 5,986 students were finally enrolled. -Cf. UG
enrolments- 10,000 in yr 2000, to over 28,000 in 2006, due
largely to the Education Sector Reforms initiated in 1986 under
pressure from the World Bank
– Total continental enrolments: 181,000 students in 1975
vs. 1,750,000 by 1995 across Africa. Cf. ECA (2006)Aggregate enrollment rate in TEIs for all of Africa =1
percent in 1965, and 5 percent by 2003/04
-Emergence of new private universities- Increased
enrolments to some extent, but as yet not substantially
Manuh Nov
23, 2008
-Limited range of courses Takyiwaa
offered,
but
appear to provide
marketable skills
African HEs Dilemmas- Staffing
-Graduate enrolments- cf. UCC, Ghana, 2005/06:
5,000 new students enrolled. Out of these, only 17 were
in doctorate and 172 in masters progs.
-Cf. the UK in 2003/4, there were 13,000 African postgraduate students (Teng Zeng 2005). Cf. recent financial crises
and decreasing value of pound- potential for attracting more
- Staffing – Numbers, ageing, terminal qualifications
-Funding- ability of African states to support the institutions has
reduced, partly due to self-imposed policy on substantially
extending admission.
-Economies not sufficiently diversified to support the
institutions
Takyiwaa Manuh Nov 23, 2008
African HE Dilemmas-Knowledge
Production and Scientific Systems



UNESCO report on National Research Systems-17countries:
‘tendency to imitate’ rather uncritically – S& T and innovation
policy approaches and paradigms from elsewhere’.
By the 1990s much of African science stood at a “very delicate
position of crumbling both professionally and from the
perspective of institutionalization of science’ as conventionally
understood
4 factors:




The continuing legacy of colonial science in many countries;
destabilizing influence of political events and civil wars- effectively put science
back many decades;
devastating influence of World Bank policies on higher education in Africa;
role of international agencies in shaping African sciences- positives and
negatives.
Takyiwaa Manuh Nov 23, 2008
African HE- Knowledge prodn and
Science



Science practised in African countries described as
“assemblages” of science. Three-fold typology- Academic
science in the universities;• Consultancy science; missionoriented science mostly in international agencies
“Academic” science, or science done by individuals or groups
of scientists within universities. Usually under-funded, driven
by priorities and interests of the individual scientist with
ultimate aim of advancing career of the individual academic.
Rarely converts into building institutional capacity- often not
linked to a group of doctoral or even post-doctoral students;
not accumulative over time, or culminate in the building of a
programme or centre of excellence that can act as a node for
future research and post-graduate training. But cf. Ethiopian
Takyiwaa Manuh Nov 23, 2008
Flora project that has been supported by Sida/Sarec since 1975
African HE-Mandates and Directions
-Increasing loss of mandates- HEIs trying to be all things to allcf. Prof. Kwami at Ho Polytechnic graduation
-Direction of the institutions- what do we really want? Where are
the future plans? What kind of institutions do we want? How
many? When?
Cf- Sawyerr (2004):
“While universities can ill afford to ignore stakeholder interest
and demands, the cumulative burden of such demands in the last
two decades or so has put into very serious jeopardy the
autonomy of the university in designing and executing its
intellectual agenda”
Takyiwaa Manuh Nov 23, 2008
Africa’s Developmental Challenges-I






Africa- rich in known resources, but most underdeveloped
Poor economic performance- low econ growth rates
Balance of payments problems; Unequal exchange and terms
of trade between Africa and the rest, particularly the North.
Share of world exports only 1% in 2000, cf. to 4 % in 1960
FDI/ODA on decline, despite some increases bet. 2000-2003.
cf. current financial crisis and implications for Africa
Neo-liberal reforms in an era of globalization- mixed results.
Social and income inequalities- widespread migration as a
response
Democratization waves from early 1990s
Takyiwaa Manuh Nov 23, 2008
Africa’s Developmental Challenges-II





Poverty in Africa- affects 40-60 % of 800m pop. Mostly rural
dwellers, women, the aged, disabled. Increasing urban poverty
High rates of unemployment- up to 40% in some countries.
Low wages for majority of employed
Disease burdens in Africa- malaria, TB. Cf. HIV/AIDS- 10 %
of world pop, 63% of global AIDS cases
Conflict, wars and environmental degradation- DRC, Somaliaattendant refugeeism and displacement
Africa and the MDGs- few chances of most countries meeting
targets on recuing poverty, infant and maternal mortality etc.
Takyiwaa Manuh Nov 23, 2008
Contemporary African Migrations-I





Different types-intra- and inter-state migration; permanent and
temporary; forced and voluntary; intra-and extra- African
migration
Mix of factors fuelling- economic, environmental,
demographic, political, conflict
Continuities, diversifications of routes and destinations- pushpull factors, growth of networks, information, ease and cost of
transportation
Several countries simultaneously generating and attracting
migrants, refugees
Remittances- Mozambican miners in S. Africa- 1/3 of foreign
exchange; BF in la Cote D’Ivoire; Ghana- $2bn in 2004,
exceeding earnings from
cocoa by 100%; Somalia- $ 500m/yr.
Takyiwaa Manuh Nov 23, 2008
Contemporary African Migrations-II
Debate on remittances and development- unsettled
 Positives, but overstated, incomplete?
 Remittances as private transfers that do not directly augment
government budget.
 Control over use and destination- who receives? Cf. Ghananot necessarily the poorest
 Risky and unreliable? –cf. current crisis. Central Bank’s
controls on outflows
 Effect on l-t development- mask poverty, lead gvt to relax
Takyiwaa Manuh Nov 23, 2008
Contemporary African Migrations-III



Remittances as the cost of the brain-drain? Cf. health and
education sectors- 60% of Gh. Doctors; 21,000 Nigerian
doctors in US; more Beninois doctors in France than in Benincf. reliance on expatriate doctors- Cuban, Egyptian, Bulgarian
Cf. Africa has ¼ of world’s disease burden, but less that 2% of
world’s health care professionals
Remittances growing, but in the words of the late professor
Kwesi Andam, “nations are built with brains, not with
absentee dollar remittance” (quoted by Adomako, Appiah Kusi
2006 Ghanaweb Feature, 29 August 2006).
Takyiwaa Manuh Nov 23, 2008
Emigration of Highly Educated Africans:
Brain-Drain/Gain/Circulation?
-Cf. UN report on International Migration to 61st UN GA 2006:
"Bet. 33 and 55 per cent of the highly-educated people of
Angola, Burundi, Kenya, Mauritius, Mozambique, Sierra Leone,
Uganda and the United Republic of Tanzania live in the OECD
countries. c. 50% per cent of the 'highly-educated' Ghanaians
have migrated mainly to more developed countries such as the
United States, Britain and others within the OECD
 ECA/IOM: c. 27,000 skilled Africans left the continent for
industrialised countries between 1960 and 1975. Bet. 975-1984,
the figures increased to 40,000. Since 1990, at least 20,000
qualified people have left Africa every year (Education Today,
2006:4). Cf. 100,000 foreign experts in Africa offering “technical
Takyiwaa
Manuh Nov
2008
assistance” amounting to >a
third
of23,ODA,
or about USD 4bn
Talent Programmes




Globalization and evolution of ‘Talent’ programs- Talent
defined as ‘individuals of high impact. That impact can be in
science and technology, business, culture and politics’
(Kuznetsov 2006)
US’ “Professional, Technical and Kindred programme; the
UK’s “Highly Skilled Professional Recruitment”;France’s
“Talent Work Permit” and Germany’s “Green Card” scheme
specifically targetting highly skilled individuals from the
developing countries.
Increasing nos. of African under/graduate students in overseas
universities- diversification- (Australia)
-cf. Colombo Plan, etc- 2 yr home stay for foreign Asian
students in Australia- now scrapped
Takyiwaa Manuh Nov 23, 2008
Causes of Brain-Drain




“The Educational System” or a system focused more on global
than local knowledge,
“Institutional Factors” or highly bureaucratic and hierarchical
educational institutions,
“Human Resources Management” with incentive schemes not
managed well
“Political Factors” including for example lack of academic
freedom and the so called “Trafficking of African Intellectuals”
African professionals/academics migrate abroad in search of
better opportunities leaving the hospitals, infrastructure
projects, private sector as well as tertiary institutions
understaffed.
Takyiwaa Manuh Nov 23, 2008
The Debate-I





Cf. Patterson (2007) claim that the brain-drain/gain debate will
likely become increasingly irrelevant because of what he calls
‘Internet-Age emigration, leading to creation of transnational
societies (transmigrants living in multiple locations, relations,
activities and identifications); and
Global competition for talent leading to increased labour
mobility- (global mobile working force)
Together, supposed to provide a context for sustained brain
circulation (outward-return flows), which recognizes
‘universal inevitability of fleeing talent for greener pastures ‘.
Contingent nature of process- emigrant talent from the South
can be either an overall brain drain or gain- mix of domestic
and external enabling environments
, 2008
The Debate-II



But brain circulation not yet much in place among African
transnationals, cf. East and South Asians. Systematic
collaborations required between states, institutions, and
diasporic communties
Patterson-p.13- problem is not that talent leaves, but that the
complex of capital that they generate abroad does not get
systematically invested into their respective homelands.Makes comparison with South Korea, China, Taiwan, and
India to show that they have moved themselves out of poverty
despite high emigration. Uses S. Korean example to advance
theory that reverse migration is an important factor in dev’t.
Takyiwaa Manuh Nov 23, 2008
New Diasporas and Contributions to
National Development





Claim that they are a resource for their countries of origin
Level of influence that can accrue- attempts to affect domestic
and foreign policy of host societies in favour of homelands
Can stimulate flows of ideas, transfer of technologies, and
inclusion in networks, with possible greater developmental
impacts than remittances
Can mitigate the peripheral role of African academies; foster
better understanding of African issues, develop joint projects,
in research, publishing, and participation in networks
Long way before Africa can reverse its brain drain into
positive brain gain
Takyiwaa Manuh Nov 23, 2008
Why is a vital African Academy
important






For the delivery and quality of essential services like health
care, and education
To provide staff and new technologies for industries,
knowledgeable entrepreneurs to the job market.
For job creation, diversification of the economy.
Support good governance.
Highly skilled people have been singled out as institution
builders, but ‘dilemma is that those most likely to be
institution-builders are those most likely to emigrate’
Creation of critical mass necessary to solve problems and
crises independently and contribute to Africa’s share of
global knowledge production and dissemination
Takyiwaa Manuh Nov 23, 2008
Sustainable Solutions-I
Dealing with/remedying causes –cf. Slide 15
2.
Setting clear directions and mandates for the HEIs
3.
Reforms from within
•
Provide high quality education at home by:
•
-Improving the existing infrastructure
•
-Constantly review and update curricula, teaching materials,
pedagogies and governance structures
4. Need for some specialization to reach international standards
in research.
5. Collaborations within countries and within the African
continent and outside should be strengthened and extended.
1.
Takyiwaa Manuh Nov 23, 2008
Sustainable Solutions
Harness the Diaspora by identifying and maintaining a roster of
foreign-based academics for temporary assignments
 Encouraging joint research, Joint consultancies to governments
or international organizations in Africa
 Information about highly-skilled migrants should be organized
and tapped for staffing the African universities or for offering
PhD-positions
 Sustained collaboration within Africa and with other world
regions, especially through sandwich-programs.
 Policy Responses- 4 Cs- Control, Creation, Compensation,
Connection-(Kapur and McHale, 2005)-’The Global Migration
of Talent: What Does it Mean for Developing Countries?’
Takyiwaa Manuh Nov 23, 2008
Developing and retaining the
next generation



Recreating Intellectual Communities
Identifying and targetting promising undergraduate students:
recognition- Dean’s List; living-learning centres, mentorship
programmes
Increasing graduate training and making local training
attractive- housing, realistic stipends, accessibility of
supervisors, joint supervision, fellowships, attendance at
conferences, provision of books and journals
Takyiwaa Manuh Nov 23, 2008
Thank You!
Contact:
[email protected]
[email protected]
Takyiwaa Manuh Nov 23, 2008