[ 2012-07-01 ]

Africa universities asked to reform courses to fit productive sectors
Accra, July 1, GNA - Mr John Ssebuwufu, Director
of Research and Programmes at the Association of
African Universities has advised managements of
tertiary institutions in Africa to reform and
tailor their educational programmes to meet the
projective sector of the economy.

“School authorities need to shift from the
colonial programmes and repackage their courses to
train graduates with critical thinking and
analysis as well as problem solving to help
develop interventions to solve the continents many
developmental challenges”, he said.

Mr Ssebuwufu gave the advice in an interview with
the Ghana News Agency (GNA), over the weekend, at
the sideline of a two day forum in Accra to
deliberate on a synergy between tertiary
institutions and productive industrial.

The event, which brought together tertiary heads
and other representative from the African
continent, was organized by the Association of
African Universities (AAU) and the Association of
University and Collage of Canada (AUCC).

It was under the theme “Strengthening Linkages
between, Industry And the Productive Sector and
Higher Education Institutions in Africa.”

Mr Ssebuwufu said, “Africa is endowed with natural
resources and we need to train graduates to be
entrepreneurs to help optimize these resources
with creative talent and facilitate rapid
development in the continent.”

Synergies between higher education institutions
and industries, he said, could play a critical
role in securing and leveraging additional
resources for higher education, promoting
innovation and technology transfer, and ensuring
that graduates had the skills and knowledge
required to effectively contribute to the
workforce.

He said there was a lack of data to provide a
comprehensive and informed picture of what steps

African higher education institutions have already
taken and what is needed to provide a
strengthened, more comprehensive platform for
building partnerships with the productive sector.

He said a study conducted by the AAU and AUCC
under the project, revealed that about 133
institutions across Africa had taken initial steps
to promote industry linkages through the
establishment of dedicated offices and personnel,
the promotion of industry linkages in strategic
plans, consultancy services, and student
attachments, among other actions.

“However, limited funds to support such linkages,
lack of research infrastructure, including the
absence of science parks and technology
incubators, lack of qualified researchers and
limited expertise in entrepreneurialism, and
marketing, among other factors, represent
significant challenges.”

“There is also the challenge of lack of data to
provide a comprehensive and informed picture of
what steps African higher education institutions
have taken and what is needed to provide a
strengthened, more comprehensive platform for
promoting, building, and managing synergetic
partnerships with the productive sector,” he
added.

He said in terms of promoting entrepreneurialism
and practical skills among staff and students, the
study also showed that institutions only engaged
guest speakers to provide business and
entrepreneurial advice, and offer student
attachments.

Madam Trudy K. Kernighan, Canadian High Commission
to Ghana said in a rapidly evolving world,
educational institutions needed flexibility and
the necessary push to respond to issues affecting
individuals, communities, societies, and the
world.

Source - GNA

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