Blog

Colonial mentality: Decolonising thoughts on African indigenous languages and scientific education Sundry neo-colonial narratives continue to manifest the old imperialist/colonial process of appropriating of positive values for things Western and ascribing negative values to things non-Western. A key example of the latter is the notion that indigenous African languages may

A partir des années 80, face à la croissance démographique et aux mutations et crises économiques, l’employabilité s’est imposée en tant qu’enjeu majeur du système d’enseignement supérieur. Ainsi l’université a été mise à l’index, en effet, la responsabilité a été essentiellement imputée aux facultés considérées comme des usines à chômeurs.

After completion of a 3-year program on private sector development and experience sharing with public and private sectors institutions in Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso, the Netherlands-African Business Council (NABC) decided to organize a meeting asking for feedback on the collaboration. “As the local partner of NABC, we felt that

Le principe de l’évaluation du système d’enseignement supérieur a été institué au Maroc par la loi n° 01.00 et l’Université Mohammed V de Rabat (UM5) a été la première université marocaine à s’être engagée dans un processus d’évaluation institutionnelle, inspirée du référentiel international (Processus de Bologne). En effet, elle a

Nigerian academia has undergone tremendous transformations since the country’s independence in 1960. Universities have mushroomed, education and research have privatised, student numbers have soared… All in the wake of the wreckage – or creative destruction – left behind by Structural Adjustment. What does ‘decolonisation of the academy’ mean in the

We have not yet seen the revolution The colonial cognitive empire which invaded the mental universe of Africa cannot be reformed. It needs an epistemic revolution. The problem has been that throughout modern human history ‘reform’ initiatives have often been deliberately celebrated as ‘revolutions.’ The decolonization of the twentieth century,

Trading under African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) rules officially commenced on 1 January 2021. The AfCFTA agreement establishes the largest free trade area in the world and offers a glimmer of hope during this pandemic, opening up new prospects for long-term social and economic development on the African continent.

Please throw ‘Western’ and ‘the West’ into the colonial dustbin Texts aiming at decolonising academia and development thinking regularly use notions like ‘Western’ and ‘the West’, such as in speaking about ‘western education’, ‘western democracy’, or ‘western ideas of the state’. However, there can be a contradiction here between the

Low student learning outcomes has attracted the attention of education stakeholders across the globe. This has increased efforts to invest in education delivery to redress this problem, especially for students in low- and middle-income countries. Even though many factors contribute to poor learning outcomes, poor quality teaching is identified as

In his thought-provoking blog post, Prof Jonathan Jansen questioned the practical usefulness of the concept of ‘decolonizing education’, basically asking ‘where is the meat?’ He asks for a theory of change for bringing radical ideas into the curriculum and sees the movement as lacking in such a theory. But –

This blog was written before the outbreak of the armed conflict in Tigray in Northern Ethiopia, of which the impact on higher education in the country is not known yet.  The Ethiopian higher education system rests on a policy framework that combines rapid expansion with a mission of equity. A major challenge in itself,

Maimouna Leye Diakhate taught at ELC and now works at the Senegalese Ministry of Vocational Training. Mary Mariama Fall is a PhD candidate at the University of Ottawa and CEO/Founder of Etablissements Le Calame (ELC). COVID19’s toll worldwide will probably last decades and affect generations. Different countries and continents have

I always felt slightly uncomfortable when decolonization made its unexpected appearance on South African university campuses in early 2015. Not the concept itself; who could argue with the observation of the lingering effects of colonial knowledge, ideas, and practices within higher education institutions today? No, my unease was not with

The Ethiopian higher education system rests on a policy framework that combines rapid expansion with a mission of equity. A major challenge in and of itself, as is evident in the many discrepancies between equity principles and harsh realities, and now disrupted by the (near) complete shutdown of institutes of

Featured as the continent of religion par excellence, Africa is often situated in contrast to Europe, where religion – especially Christianity – is in decline. There certainly is some truth to such a view. Over and over again, when I touched ground again in Ghana in the course of my

Ethiopia’s higher education system has seen its number of universities grow from 2 to 51 in just 22 years. What are the outcomes of the current COVID pandemic, and how does it affect inclusivity? We reflected on these questions in an interview with two experts on Ethiopian higher education: Dr

Decolonisation has become a buzzword in higher education. One of its common calls is to put a more human face to education. With this in mind, I reflect in this piece on decolonisation in relation to North-South partnerships, with consideration of my own life and work. In South Africa, decolonisation