2.1 Keynote Address by Dr. Lalla Ben-Barka, Deputy Executive Secretary, UNECA, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 
 

Dr. Ben-Barka started with an optimistic note on how over the centuries, higher education has proved its viability and capacity to change and to induce change in society. The speaker then charged that at the dawn of the new millennium it is appropriate and timely for Africans to consider the challenges and future of their Universities. 
 

After the introduction, the speaker went on to show how enrolment at tertiary levels of education in Africa has been extremely low due to, among other reasons, the steeply declining resources. The speaker then addressed the important issues of the deteriorating quality of teaching and research saying that there is a need to develop appropriate strategies, including stock-taking and evaluations, to resolve the crisis as African universities enter the 21st century. 
 

The keynote speaker highlighted the problem of rapid decline of the quality of university education tying it up with the limited number of teaching staff, outdated curricula, emphasis on rote learning rather than proper understanding and application of the imparted knowledge, and outmoded teaching materials and equipment. 
 

The Keynote Address underscored the important issues of capacity building especially as regards the weak internal management capacity within African universities. The speaker said that it was important to have a holistic approach to the problem of the revitalisation of the African universities. 
 

She insisted on the need to examine where African universities are, the internal resources that the universities have, what such universities are supposed to do, and financial problems which force African university students into demonstrations on the streets. 
 

The speaker touched on the problem of those who finish secondary schools and want to continue with higher education but can not do so since the fees are too high. 
 

The speaker then suggested some solutions to the problems of access, quality and academic standards in African Universities. These focussed on: 
 

- The role of the private sector and participatory approach to the issue of revitalizing higher education in Africa; 
- The need for partnership (bilateral or otherwise) and the assistance from outside; 
- Capacity for monitoring evaluation processes so as to ensure the successes of the programmes; 
- Human resource development. 

After suggesting these solutions, the speaker addressed the important question of maintaining national sovereignties in any collaborations, be they sub-regional, regional or international. She then went on to underline the importance of creating a critical mass of qualified human power, and maintaining a strong holistic approach to the problems that African Universities face. She insisted that the private sector and the civil society must work hand in hand to develop the African universities, and to develop regional bodies of higher education. 
 

The last part of the Keynote Address touched on the importance of diversification in the educational delivery system and the important role of major stakeholders in the revitalisation process. The speaker listed some of the stakeholders and explained their roles. Among these are the African Governments, NGOs, Donors, different regional and institutional bodies such as the AAU. Included also are the university community, civic society, and the private sector.(For the full version of the Keynote Address see Appendix V)