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Reimagining universities should be grounded in the realities of their societies, using their knowledge, resources and research capacities to address pressing societal issues.
By PROFESSOR ASLAM FATAAR
African universities stand at a major crossroads. Established as institutions dedicated to the public good and nation-building, they now face the pressure to prioritise market-driven agendas.
This shift raises questions about whether African universities can still meet the needs of their societies or if they are increasingly prioritising global competitiveness at the expense of local relevance.
The challenge is pressing: Can these universities reclaim their mission to serve the public good and, if so, how?
Over recent decades, economic pressures and reduced state funding have driven African universities towards private financing sources. This structural adjustment, beginning in the 1980s, has led institutions to rely on tuition fees, private donations and competitive grants, often reshaping their missions around revenue generation.
In many cases, higher education has become a commodity, with students viewed as consumers and universities aligning their roles with the demands of a globalised, market-oriented world.
Today, many African universities are focused on enhancing their international reputations, emphasising global rankings and metrics tied to research output and income generation.
However, this orientation risks distancing universities from their societies, often prioritising what attracts funding over what serves the immediate public good. By adopting global models, institutions may fail to address the unique realities of their local contexts.
An alternative ‘imaginary’ for African universities
At the core of this issue is the need for a coherent vision, or alternative ‘imaginary’, for universities.
The prevailing imaginary shaping many African institutions emphasises economic gain, research prestige and private benefits over societal responsibility.
This neoliberal approach values financial viability, prioritising goals like securing research funding, attracting high fee-paying students, and improving rankings. However, this model has diluted universities’ social missions, diminishing their commitment to serving the public good and contributing to societal development.
An alternative imaginary is struggling to emerge, one that re-centres African universities on inclusivity, equity and societal engagement and development principles. I develop such an alternative African university imaginary in a chapter titled, ‘Placing knowledge at the centre of the “alternative public good” of African universities’, in the 2023 book, Creating the New African University, edited by Emnet Woldegiorgis, Shireen Motala and Phefumula Nyoni.
According to this perspective, reimagining universities should be grounded in the realities of their societies, using their knowledge, resources and research capacities to address pressing societal issues.
This vision emphasises the integration of African languages, cultures and indigenous knowledge into curricula and research. Embracing these elements can foster a more inclusive environment that reflects and serves the diverse populations of the African continent.
This approach involves dismantling colonial legacies that have long influenced African universities, especially those privileging Western frameworks and English as the dominant language of instruction.
African languages, culture and indigenous knowledge hold a wealth of resources that can enrich academic discourse and make education more relevant. By leveraging these assets, universities can enhance their connections to society, making education more accessible and relevant to a wider segment of the population.
African universities have a unique opportunity to adopt a model that prioritises societal development and public service at its core.
By focusing on critical fields such as public health, sustainable agriculture, engineering, economic sciences, education, law, and the humanities – areas where academic research can yield significant societal benefits – these institutions can transcend a narrow emphasis on global rankings and research prestige.
In doing so, they can reaffirm their commitment to being drivers of social good, positioning societal development partnerships as a central rather than a peripheral aspect of their mission.
For instance, universities can lead community health initiatives in collaboration with local organisations and communities, striving to expand healthcare access and improve health outcomes.
By integrating these partnerships into the core activities of their faculties, departments and research centres, universities can make meaningful, sustainable contributions to societal well-being, reinforcing their identity as public institutions dedicated to the common good.
By embracing this integrated approach, African universities can drive transformative change and serve as essential partners in the development of their communities.
African universities and ‘Knowledge for Life’
This approach also calls for a rethinking of the role of knowledge itself. African universities can promote what Ronald Barnett and Søren Bengtsen in the 2020 book, Knowledge and the University: Re-claiming Life, describe as ‘knowledge for life’, emphasising education and research that serve broader societal well-being.
In this model, students and faculty collaborate with communities to develop solutions to pressing issues, prioritising research that directly impacts people’s lives.
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This approach democratises knowledge production, helping universities to stay accountable to the societies they serve. By grounding themselves in societal or community needs, universities can move beyond the commodification of education and re-establish their purpose as institutions for the public good.
‘Knowledge for life’ also implies a more inclusive approach to education that amplifies the voices of marginalised groups within African societies. This includes engaging with rural populations, low-income families and communities that may traditionally lack access to university spaces.
By focusing on inclusive education and diverse knowledge production, African universities can bring new perspectives to their academic landscapes, fostering a deeper understanding of social issues.
This model also empowers students to become agents of change within their societies, equipping them with skills and perspectives to address challenges they know first-hand.
Despite the powerful pull of privatisation and market-driven priorities, African universities have viable alternatives.
By shifting the focus away from a predominant emphasis on revenue generation – essential for sustainability – and the pursuit of global rankings, these institutions can reaffirm their role as public entities dedicated to social good.
This approach does not disregard the importance of financial stability, international collaboration, or globally recognised research; instead, it advocates for a balanced strategy that maintains these pursuits while committing to local needs and fostering a society-centred educational model.
Reclaiming African universities for the public good will require visionary leadership, supportive policies, and sustained efforts to resist the allure of global prestige and profitability.
However, the rewards would be profound. By returning to their roots as society-centred institutions, African universities have the potential to become powerful agents of social progress by tackling inequality, promoting sustainable development, and cultivating leaders dedicated to fostering equitable change.
In doing so, African universities can shape a productive future for the continent where higher education is accessible, inclusive and directly responsive to societal needs.
This vision promises to make African universities a source of hope, resilience and empowerment for societies across the continent.
This commentary is based on Professors Aslam Fataar’s contribution to the book, Creating the New African University. Fataar is a research professor in higher education transformation in the department of education policy studies, Stellenbosch University, South Africa.
- This opinion piece was first published in the University World News Africa Edition.
