Workshop on the Implications of WTO/GATS for Higher Education in Africa |
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Background |
The Association of African Universities (AAU), in collaboration with the Council on Higher Education (CHE)/South Africa, and UNESCO (African Region Scientific Committee of the Forum on Higher Education, Research and Knowledge; and Global Forum on International Quality Assurance, Accreditation and the Recognition of Qualifications), has developed an initiative for raising awareness among African higher education leaders and policy makers about the important issues raised by the inclusion of education in the negotiations under the World Trade Organisation’s General Agreement on Trade in Services (WTO/GATS). The initiative consists of a workshop, a set of studies and a dissemination programme, and falls within the AAU Strategic Plan 2003 – 2010.
Specific aims of the Workshop :
* To bring together leaders of African higher education and other stakeholders – policy-makers, institutional heads, academics, NGOs, etc. – for raising awareness and sharing information about the key issues relating to WTO/GATS and African higher education, within the broader context of the globalisation of higher education;
* To identify the key issues for consideration and explore major areas of policy intervention;
* To identify major actors and their potential roles in generating and/or countering threats and opportunities; and
* To plan follow-up action, including the empowerment of key stakeholders to intervene on the basis of informed judgement in national, regional and global policy on these questions.
The Workshop brought together selected leaders of African higher education and some of those involved and/or likely to be involved in the negotiations under the WTO/GATS to promote discussion of the implications of opening up African higher education to foreign providers under the specific terms of the GATS. In addition to a number of executive heads of African universities from the various regions of the continent, participants included representatives of international and regional organizations and donor partners. Participants deliberated on presentations of key papers and country reports aimed at deepening understanding of the issues and support informed decision-making. The outcome of the Workshop will be widely disseminated to relevant constituencies within Africa and beyond.
The Workshop is part of a broad range of activities that will culminate in the General Conference of the Association of African Universities, planned for February 2005 in Cape Town, on the theme of: Transnational Provision and the Future of Higher Education in Africa. This will constitute a major occasion for leaders of African higher education, policy makers and donors to explore in some detail, issues of such great significance and currency, and contribute to informed decision making at the national and regional levels. |
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Workshop on the Implications of WTO/GATS for Higher Education in Africa
