ASSOCIATION OF AFRICAN UNIVERSITIES ( AAU )

AFRICAN UNIVERSITY DAY

NOVEMBER 12, 2001.

Mr. Chairman
The Representative of the Minister of Education
Chairman of the Committee of Vice-Chancellors and Principals of Universities in Ghana,
The Vice Chancellor of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science Technology
Other Members of the CVCP
Distinguished Guests,
Students
Ladies and Gentlemen,

First, on behalf of the Secretary-General of the Association of African Universities, I wist to express our deep thanks and appreciation to the Vice-Chancellor of the Kwame Nkruma University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Prof. J. S. K. Ayim, through the Committee of Vice Chancellors and Principal (CVCP), for hosting the African University Day. I need to mention that Prof. Ayim is also a member of the AAU Executive Board. We are impressed with the hospitality and the environment you and your colleagues have provided us to make this important occasion a memorable one. The Secretary-General could not attend this occasion because of major prior commitments. He sends his warm greetings to all of you.

We are also deeply honored by the presence of the Regional Minister, Hon. S. K. Boafo, and the representative of the Minister of Education, on the occasion. This, for us, is strong indication of the commitment of the political leadership to higher education not only in Ghana, but also in the region as a whole. We are grateful.

We wish to also give special recognition to our Keynote Speaker, the untiring Prof. S. K. Adjepong, former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cape Coast, who readily accepted our invitation to give the keynote address at this occasion. We say a big thank you.

Mr. Chairman,

As most of our colleagues are aware, November 12 of every year has been set aside by the Organization of African Unity (now the African Union) and the Association of African Universities as a Special Day for African Universities or as officially known, African University Day. This day provides the opportunity for serious reflection by all African universities on the challenges that African universities face and the strategies and means to address them.

Traditionally, each member University is invited to celebrate this event by organizinc a suitable activity. However, with Ghana serving as the host to the Headquarters for African's principal membership organization of higher education institutions, it is fitting and proper that, the Association celebrate this event in collaboration with the member universities in Ghana.

The "African University Day" was first launched in 1994 and since then it has been celebrated under various themes. Some of the past themes addressed such issues as Gender, the Role of the Universify in the Education , Quality of University Education and the Challenge of Knowledge Creation and Information Age.

For this year we have chosen the theme: "Globalization and Higher Education In Africa." and this has been circulated to all member institutions. This theme is closely linked to the theme of the challenge to knowledge creation and information age.

Mr. Chairman,

The Association decided to focus on Globalization because of the tremendous impact it is having on higher education. The manifestation of the impact varies in the countries in the North and South and within various regions and countries in the South. I do not intend to go into the definition of the term globalization. As appropriately recognized In the literature on the topic, "globalization means different things to different people." And while others are singing its virtues, others are vehemently pointing out its woes particularly on the developing countries. I reserve this issue to our keynote speaker.

Mr. Chairman,

One thing however, is clear. We are witnessing a growing global network of markets, trade partnerships and business and financial interests. This network not only serves economic functions, but also, as described by Dr. George Appenteng, includes a whole range of social, political structures and cultural phenomenon. What is important for our purpose is that underpinning this process is the revolutionary change in information and communication technology or what is described as the information society, which has made the production and the reproduction of knowledge a critical factor. What is also important is access to this modern knowledge and its application to production, management and the provision of goods and services. And there. appears to be a widening gap between the industrialized countries and the developing countries in the knowledge production process.

In reviewing our notes in Economics 101 course on the factors of production, we learned of the importance of land, labor, and tools and machinery. It is now clear that knowledge and skills are increasingly becoming more important than land, tools and machinery. Thus human capital has become a critical asset for development. With our universities in Africa having the largest concentration of talents or the" best brains", so to speak, our universities have become the fundamental tools' of development.

As observed in the AAU Declaration on the African University in the third Millennium, which was adopted at the 10^th AAU General Conference in Nairobi in February this year,

Education for change in the developing countries, particularly In Africa, has never as critical as it is today. Besides the perennial issues of relevance, inadequacy of resources, explosion in enrolment and demand for access, African education confronts the challenge of the "knowledge, revolution" and globalization, phenomena fueled by the rapid advances in knowledge, most of which Is produced outside Africa. These are matters in respect of which higher education, as the principal venue for knowledge creation and dissemination, occupies a very special place.

This is the challenge being posed to African universities. Our universities do have to rise to meet this challenge, or else Africa is in serious trouble. They have to become relevant in term!; of their contribution to national economic performance and through that to die reduction of' poverty, and the improvement of the quality of life. The Globalization phenomenon as well as information technology have implications for teaching and research in the universities and the type of human capital we produce. This raises a number of questions: Given the dynamics of the development process in the African region and the interplay in the global world, what type of students do we need in the 21^st century and how are we going to produce them? What is the current state of affairs in terms of the faculty, the quality of students and resources in producing the type of students we want and who are able to have access and participate in the knowledge production process'? What are the major changing trends in the global economy that will influence I e policies and decisions we make in respect of our higher education institutions? In view of the growing importance of the private sector, what should be the relationship on higher education institutions and the private sector? There are other questions on issues of supply, and demand of graduates in the labor market and employment, and decisions that students make on what to study and for how long. I am sure our keynote speaker will touch on some of these issues.

These challenges should also force us to bring to bear the views of the region on is globalization phenomenon and what has been the response of the higher education institutions and national governments. We hope the focus on this topic for the African University Day provides an opportunity across the region to do so.

At the AAU, as our members are aware, in order to meet the challenge of the 21st century, the Association has embarked on the process of developing its vision and strategic plan that would guide it for the next ten years. The process is expected to have the input of our member institutions. Already, questionnaires have been distributed to members to solicit their views. It is also planned to hold workshops in selected sub-regions to obtain additional input from our members. The outcome of this exercise should point to a new vision for the Association, taking into account the changing realities. It would also have implications for the organization structure and governance of the Association, its programs and mode of funding.

Currently, the Association which was founded in 1967 in Rabat, Morocco, by African Universities, has a membership of 171 universities in 43 countries, covering the various language groups: Anglophone, Francophone, Arabophone, and Lusophorke. And the Association is proud to note that the five major public universities in Ghana are our newest member is the Ghana Institute of Public Administration and Management which was admitted last year.

We are also proud to note that all the member institutions of Ghana are current in termi, of their subscription payments in spite of financial difficulties. For us this is im is a strong demonstration of the commitment of the higher education institutions in Ghana to continue to support a body that will collectively bring to bear their views and corners on issues and policies that affect higher education in the region.

The Association was established to promote regional cooperation among its members, particularly in the area of teaching and research and between our members of the international academic community. Specifically, the Association organizes conferences and seminars, identify, produce and disseminate to our members information on development in higher education, particularly on Africa, promote staff and student mobility which provides opportunities for faculty exchange and grunts to students to facilitate their work on their thesis and dissertations. Most of the students here, I believe, have heard of the Ford Foundation's International Fellowship Program which is being coordinated by the AAU Secretariat for the West African region, which provides opportunities to recipients tcl in any part of the world. We wish we could obtain more support in this area.

Another project, which would be of interest particularly to students and researdw, establishment of a Database on African Theses and Dissertations ( DATAD ) which are produced in African universities. The objective is to provide a central place for electronic access to the titles of the thesis and dissertations and where they can be obtained. University of Ghana, Legon is one of the institutions involved in the pilot project. T'here are other interesting programs which are being implemented by the AAU, in the Senior University Management Workshop (SUMA), designed to enhance building of African Universities in leadership and management. For those who want to know more about the AAU and its programs, we ask you to visit our web site at www.aau.org.

Before taking my seat, I wish to again thank our host institution, the CVCP and the regional political leadership for making it possible to mark this occasion in Kumasi.

I THANK YOU.