Isaac N. Obasi
7 August 2007
opinion
Lagos — Last week some aspects of the 2004 Accra Declaration on General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) and the Internationalization of Higher Education in Africa were presented.
Today, some other aspects are presented along with UNESCO's guidelines on cross-border education. The Accra Declaration notes that the regulatory regimes for licensing/registration, quality assurance and accreditation of higher education institutions and programmes are either undeveloped in many African countries or are in an early stages of development. It also notes that there is lack of clarity in GATS provisions as well as lack of transparency in its deliberations, in addition to insufficient knowledge and understanding of the full implications of GATS for higher education, especially in developing countries. Consequently, it cautions 'against the reduction of higher education, under the GATS regime, to a tradable commodity subject primarily to international trade rules and negotiations, and the loss of authority of national governments to regulate higher education according to national needs and priorities'. However, it expressed its 'continued support for multiple forms of internationalism in higher education, which bring identifiable mutual benefits to African countries as much as to their co-operating partners in other countries and regions'.
Finally, it calls on 'African governments and other African role players to exercise caution on further GATS commitments in higher education until a deeper understanding of GATS and the surrounding issues developed and a more informed position is arrived at on how trade related cross-border provision in higher education can best serve national and regional development needs and priorities on the African continent'. And based on these, it resolved to (a) 'promote greater availability of information on GATS and Higher Education in Africa, and more debate and discussion among relevant stakeholders in order to increase understanding of the potential dangers and/or opportunities from having cross-border higher education regulated by GATS; and (b) promote further research on the nature of cross-border provision in Africa and on quality assurance and accreditation systems appropriate for the development of higher education in Africa'. As I indicated in an earlier installment, the Accra Declaration provides an African perspective to emerging issues in cross-border higher education. However, at the global level, there is a UNESCO/OECD Guidelines on cross-border higher education, which is equally relevant to our discussion.
In 2004, UNESCO in cooperation with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) initiated a process of developing what is today known as the 'UNESCO/OECD Guidelines on Quality Provision in Cross-Border Higher Education (2005). The objectives of the Guidelines are (a) to propose tools and a synthesis of best practices that can assist Member States in assessing the quality and relevance of higher education provided across borders; (b) to protect students and other stakeholders in higher education from low-quality provision and disreputable providers; and (c) to encourage the development of quality cross-border higher education that meets human, social, economic and cultural needs. UNESCO defines cross-border higher education as an aspect of higher education that 'takes place in situations where the teacher, student, programme, institution/provider or course materials cross national jurisdictional borders' and this 'may include higher education by public/private and not-for-profit/for-profit providers'. It also 'encompasses a wide range of modalities, in a continuum from face-to-face (taking various forms such as students traveling abroad and campuses abroad) to distance learning (using a range of technologies and including e-learning)'.
Like the Accra Declaration, the UNESCO/OECD Guidelines recognize that in many countries national frameworks for quality assurance are still not geared towards addressing the challenges arising from cross-border higher education provision. Consequently, the Guidelines identify and address six stakeholders in higher education that have a role to play in the provision of cross-border higher education. These stakeholders are the government, higher education institutions/providers, student bodies, quality assurance and accreditation bodies, academic recognition bodies, and professional bodies. But unlike the Accra Declaration, which cautions African countries against taking premature steps in approving/licensing and recognizing cross border higher education, the UNESCO/OECD Guidelines takes the provision of cross-border education as given and as such are only concerned about how to improve its quality as vividly illustrated from the title of the Guidelines itself. It is in this respect that the Guidelines inter alia recommend that governments (and in our case quality assurance and accreditation bodies like the National Universities Commission (NUC) should 'establish, or encourage the establishment of a comprehensive, fair and transparent system of registration or licensing for cross-border higher education providers wishing to operate in territories'. The Guidelines also recommend that cross-border higher education providers should 'ensure that the programmes they deliver across borders and in their home country are of comparable quality'.
Our stand in this piece is that the time is not yet ripe for Nigeria to open its borders for internationalization of higher education in the present way it is being pushed by international providers, as some of whom are only interested in making quick money than on the delivery of high quality education comparable to what they provide in their home countries. Our stand is based on experience in other countries that have opened their borders too early. The last installment next week (by God's special grace) would provide evidence to support our position.
A Solidarity Note on CWO August Meetings
It has now become an annul ritual for Christian women groups (popularly and lovingly called Christian Mothers) in our various Catholic and Anglican dioceses all over the country to hold what is generally referred to as August Meetings. I am sure that some people would want to know why this annual gathering of Christian women takes after the name August meeting? I am also sure that some other people would want to know when, how and why this gathering started and become somehow institutionalized in church Calendar of activities as we have it in today's Nigeria? Good questions I suppose, but I am sorry that I am not competent to provide the right answers to such questions. For sure, Church historians and authorities (like our own distinguished Prof. Ogbu Kalu) for example can be consulted on such matters. However, one thing I have known from past experience across the Eastern heartland and around it, is that women August meetings have been instrumental in the completion of many community-based projects which the men could not execute either due to corruption or some other reasons. This is one of the reasons for this solidarity note here today. And secondly, no reasonable gentleman would want to ignore an invitation card from women groups anywhere not to think of when such invitations originate from our home-based parishes.
So when about two weeks ago, I received an invitation card from the Catholic Women Organization (CWO) of the St. Charles Catholic Parish, Ezuhu na Amadi Nguru in Aboh-Mbaise LGA of Imo State, I immediately knew that there is no running away from the side-activities of this year's August meetings of our dearly beloved mothers ably led by Mrs. Justina U. Inechi. The card is inviting all sons, daughters and well-wishers of this church community to the CWO's N25 million Fund-Raising ceremony to be held on August 12, 2007 after the 9 a.m. Mass under the distinguished chairmanship of Dr. Okechukwu C. Aguwa.
Regardless of what I said earlier above, I can hear someone complaining like me that these Church project launchings never end. Yes, they will never end my dear ones as long as community development needs are not yet met because our state and local governments are failing to provide the needed facilities at the community level. In this particular fund-raising case for example, a multi-purpose hall thoughtfully started by these women some years ago is still in need of completion or else it will risk being an uncompleted and abandoned project like some of those of our governments here and there. And I am sure that our women are not known for abandoning projects. A multi-purpose hall, I suppose is a worthy development project, which can considerably ease the difficulty the community is currently experiencing in organizing many spiritual and social activities such as our never-ending wedding receptions - (yes again my dear ones, wedding receptions have not ceased to take place because you and I have done our own) - for our children would continue to marry). Be that as it may, this column wishes all our Christian women fruitful deliberations in this year's August meeting.
Weekly Food for Thought Series (No. 30)
A lot of church building projects in our communities have remained uncompleted for years even after series of endless launching activities. It has become a fact however that in some communities the projects witnessed significant progress (and some even got completed) only when our Christian Mothers intervened and used funds realized during their August Meetings on such projects. Why was that the case? This is definitely a food for thought for our churchmen who have always been in control of such projects.
- Dr. Obasi teaches Public Administration at the University of Botswana, Gaborone, Southern Africa
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