主题：一位加纳朋友关于非洲教育的文章（橡树村请进） -- 镭射
家园 一位加纳朋友关于非洲教育的文章（橡树村请进） 先介绍一下我是怎么认识这位作者的，然后再谈这篇文章。
这个月12日，本人作为访问学者抵达了科罗拉多州立大学（CSU）。老板给我的指示是：刚来的几个星期里，主要任务是参加各种社会活动，目的是提高英语水平。于是我便见社区（University Villige）有活动便参加。前天晚上我去参加了University Villige Center组织的Thanks Given Celebragion，在那里碰到了一个加纳来的留学生Reuben Addo，他是社会学系的研究生。我们谈了半天非洲与中国的关系，最后我想向他要一篇他写的这方面的东西，但他很遗憾的告诉我，他的研究领域不在中非关系，而是非洲的教育，于是给了我这篇文章，我征得他的同意后将其全文发在这里：
Higher Education in Sub-Saharan Africa: An Engine of Development and Gender Equality
A friend once stated that “half education is dangerous.” Indeed this statement is true because current trends in sub-Saharan Africa provide evidence to this. There has been an explosion of primary and secondary school enrollments, but a majority of primary and secondary school graduates end up on the streets. In the streets of Accra, many young boys and girls with secondary education sell items like toilet paper, dog chains, and apples due to limited access to higher education or lack of employment opportunities. No wonder sub-Saharan Africa continues to wallow in poverty and gender inequality, because the engine of development and social transformation higher education — has been relegated to the background while efforts are spent on primary and secondary education.
Although the ratio of higher education enrollments to other levels of education is not the same across regions, the situation in sub-Saharan Africa is far worse than any another area. According to UNESCO, “only 6% of the tertiary education age cohort was enrolled in tertiary institutions in 2007, compared to the global average of 26%” (“Trends in Tertiary Education”). This is serious because the correlation between university enrollment rates and national income is strong. “No high-income country (other than Switzerland) has university enrollment less than 50%. Korea’s growth in wealth occurred simultaneously with a 10-fold increase in university population” (“Importance of University Education”). Higher education should be given maximum attention to promote development and equal opportunities for males and females.
There are a lot of problems that have contributed to the stagnation of tertiary education in sub-Saharan Africa, which have resulted in underdevelopment and gender disparities. A major factor of this problem is lack of funding. Governments have gradually reduced funding in higher education in fulfillment of IMF and World Bank structural adjustment policies. This puts a majority of young men and women out of the reach of tertiary education. Funding has not corresponded with increase in enrollment. In Ghana, for example, “within a period of 13 years from 1983-96, total enrollment in universities and polytechnics increased by 162%.” (“Ghana: Education”) “In 1996 the government [of Ghana], ….provided only 73.7 % of the total amount needed to fund tertiary education. In 1997, the amount provided was 61.5% of the total amount required resulting in a deficit of 38.5%. The deficit however, rose to 40% in 1999” (Kubi).
Most of development partners have also not helped to fund higher education. Most projects by the IMF and World Bank target primary education, increasing primary school enrollment. Not-for-profit organizations also follow the same path. Care International, for example, supports most programs for girls at the basic school level (“Day Four”). The impact of lack of funding affects all aspects of universities in sub-Saharan Africa, particularly research which is a key to the improvement of science and technology.
Available data on expenditures on research and development in Ghana show a declining trend from around 0.7% of GDP in the mid-1970s to 0.1-0.2% of GDP in 1983-87. There is little or no evidence to suggest that this trend has changed. Estimates from the 2000 tertiary sector budget show that an amount equivalent to $1,392,499 (22% of its approved budget) was allocated to the University of Ghana's 10 research institutes for their operations. The corresponding figures for the 8 research institutes of KNUST was $291,375 (5.5%), compared with $102,104 (3.4%) for the 3 research institutes at UCC [University of Cape Coast] (Effah).
This phenomenon is similar to most sub-Saharan countries. Monies are inadequate to fund research which could facilitate development process. These universities are compelled to abandon research and focus more on teaching.
The lack of funding has other implications on higher education in sub-Saharan Africa. It limits access for women. Enrollment ratios in sub-Saharan countries are among the lowest in the world. For instance, the female enrollment ratio in Ghana in 2007 was 34% (“Trends in Tertiary Education”). In other African countries, female enrollment ratios are nothing to write home about. The inadequate funding for higher education affects females the most because they are underrepresented in tertiary education.
Information and communication technology is also another problem facing higher education in sub-Saharan Africa which ultimately affects development. Patience, a graduate student at Colorado State University School of Business and a former student of the University of Cape Coast mentioned that computer facilities were inadequate at her former school. This did not help her studies. Students had to wait for hours to use school computers and they had time limits. It was when she started her graduate degree at CSU that she learned how to create a PowerPoint presentation. Sam Adiku, a visiting scientist at Colorado State University from the University of Ghana had to buy for his at the University of Ghana. This shows how lack of funding affects education.
Another challenge of higher education in sub-Saharan Africa is emigration of students and graduates of tertiary institutions to industrialized countries. This places a burden on emigrating countries because the few resources spent to train students are lost. Most of these students and graduates emigrate to seek better opportunities, particularly in Europe and America. More than 10 % of graduates from African countries emigrate. In the medical and technical fields, it is much higher. It is estimated that about “$1 billion is lost a year in educational spending by governments in sub-Saharan Africa” (“Importance of University Education”). Joyce, a former student of the University of Cape Coast, was in her sophomore year when she applied for a student visa to visit her family in the US. She was granted a visa and she came to the US in 2003, abandoning her school. Since coming to the US, she has not gone back. She now is a home care aid for the elderly. Another example is Lisa, a 31-year-old Colorado resident. She was a trained teacher in a small village in Ghana. In 2001, she won the Diversity Visa Lottery, a US program which grants permanent visas to winners from selected countries. Although the Diversity Visa Lottery increases remittances to developing countries, only the educated and skilled are granted visas, which ultimately affects developments in sub-Saharan Africa.
Other problems facing higher education in sub-Saharan Africa is the continuation of colonial post-secondary educational structures. These institutions comprise of teacher training colleges, nursing training colleges, and technical institutes. Teacher training colleges for example were started by missionaries to train teachers for their schools. In 1848, the first teacher training college was established in Ghana by the Basel Mission at Akropong Akwapim. (Akyeampong) Despite their usefulness in colonial days and early years of independence (when rapid manpower was needed to fill middle level positions), most of these institutions have been obsolete. They need to be reformed. These institutions, particularly teacher and nursing colleges, were certificate-granting institutions until recently when they began awarding diplomas. They perpetuate a cycle of banking education. Students are taught to memorize and pass national certificate examinations, which relegates research to the background. To further development and gender equality, these institutions need to change to reflect current needs.
To address these problems, it is important to point out the significance of higher education in engendering development and gender equality in sub-Saharan Africa. Firstly, higher education promotes female leadership in the governance process. Higher education changes social structures in some societies for women. In January of 2009, the first female Speaker of Ghana’s parliament, Mrs. Bamford-Addo,was sworn into office. Liberia also has the first female president in Africa, Mrs. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. The levels that these women have attained in political leadership would not have been possible without higher education.
Secondly, higher education is a recipe for social, political and cultural changes. Although higher education can have negative impacts on egalitarian societies by creating new class barriers (Curle 104), most often, it gives opportunities to the poor to move up on the social ladder. Without higher education, it will be hard for low-income earners, who perhaps live on rented farmlands, to change their social status. In addition, higher education creates political awareness about rights of citizens and most often advocates for the advancement of democratic institutions. During the military regime in Ghana, many academicians campaigned for human rights and demanded for opposition parties to operate (Peil 55).
Thirdly, considering the vast natural resources in sub-Saharan Africa, to tap these resources for sustainable development and equal opportunities for both males and females requires knowledge. “One student who had visited Chinese-funded infrastructure projects observed a complete absence of African employees: ‘even the guy who cleans the toilets is brought from China’” (“Importance of University Education”). With improved higher education, citizens can develop effective sustainable strategies to meet their local needs. And in doing so, they create wealth within their own countries.
The problem of higher education in sub-Saharan Africa demands multiple solutions. There is not a single panacea to the complexity of problems that confront higher education in sub-Saharan Africa. Thankfully, some developmental partners have started supporting higher education in sub-Saharan Africa. The United States Department for International Development has awarded $50,000 grants to 33 partnership universities. The partnership universities comprise one US university and one African university to develop plans to address development priorities in engineering, health, agriculture, environment and natural resources, science and technology, education and teacher training/preparation, and business, management, and economics (USAID). This program is commendable because that is what Africa needs to develop its own resources and provide opportunities for both males and females. Apart from funding, collaboration, through research and exchanges among faculty members and students will help push development in sub-Saharan Africa.
To further address development challenges multinational corporations working in the mining and oil industry in Africa should contribute to higher education in sub-Saharan Africa. These companies continue to maximize their profit yearly, but have not done much to improve higher education. Some even employ foreign technicians as managers in their companies in sub-Saharan Africa. If one percent of their profits are channeled into higher education it will go a long way in improving social conditions in sub-Saharan Africa. The IMF and World Bank should equally fund higher education as primary and secondary education. Years of neglecting funding for higher education have not improved living conditions and opportunities for both males and female.
Also, companies employing graduates of sub-Saharan countries should help support higher education in sub-Saharan countries. This can be done by taking additional taxes from employees from sub-Saharan countries or companies paying compensation to the respective countries for benefiting from brain drain. At the national level, receiving countries should enact policies that will prevent medical and engineering professionals not to practice in developing countries until they have served some years in the countries they were trained.
Higher education although critical for development has not been given the attention it deserves by African governments and development partners which has resulted in many challenges. These challenges impede developments and gender equality. It should be given priority if development and gender equality need to be realized. It is a vital tool in the development process. Transformation of harmful cultural practices, improvement of Indigenous agricultural and scientific knowledge, and gender equality at the micro and mezzo levels can be accelerated by higher education. If those affected the most by global economic and culturally based gender inequality have less than a quarter people with higher education, then development and gender equality will remain an illusion.
Works Cited
Adiku, Sam. Personal interview. 15 Nov. 2009.
Akyeampong, Kwame. Teacher Training in Ghana - Does it Count? Rep. 2003. Docstoc. 6 Nov. 2009. Web. 15 Nov. 2009. <http://www.docstoc.com/docs/15101239/Teacher-training-in-Ghana---Does-it-count>.
Amadu, Patience. Telephone interview. 15 Nov. 2009.
Curle, Adam . Educational Problems of Developing Socities: With Case Studies of Ghana and Pakistan. New York: Praeger, 1969
"Day Four - Breathing new life into an old school." CARE :: Defending Dignity, Fighting Poverty. Web. 15 Nov. 2009. <http://www.care.org/vft/ghana/day4.asp>.
Dwamena, Joyce. Telephone interview. 14 Nov. 2009.
"Ghana : Education." University of Sussex. Web. 15 Nov. 2009. <http://www.sussex.ac.uk/education/1-4-30-7-5.html>.
"Importance of University Education." Africa Higher Education: Student Survey Project. Harvard University. Web. 15 Nov. 2009. <http://www.arp.harvard.edu/AfricaHigherEducation/Recommendations.html>.
Kubi, Appiah. "Funding Tertiary Education in Ghana." Gye Nayeme Concord 30 Mar. 2005. Ghana Web. Web. 15 Nov. 2009. <http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/features/artikel.php?ID=77639>.
Peil, Margaret. "? Ghana's Universities and Their Government: An Ambiguous Relationship." A Journal of Opinion 24.1 (1996): 52-56. JSTOR. Web. 15 Nov. 2009. <http://www.jstor.org/stable/1166615>.
家园 刚去了一趟加纳 跟一帮黑哥们聊了一会儿，感觉还是不错的。加纳政局比较稳定，老百姓的教育水平还是可以的，一个出租车司机都有中等教育的水平。加纳的首都叫做安克拉，挺繁华，还挺堵车的。我还问了问他们对那个在中国访问中被推翻的老哥的意见，发现这老哥还是挺有穷人支持的。
- 复 刚去了一趟加纳
家园 我这里有一个加纳来的硕士 来了没几天，就对所有的事情都不满，这也不对，那也不好，四处嚷嚷，我本来能去伯克利的，来这里，屈才了。
然后和办公室里面所有的人都吵了一架。然后和组里面所有的学生都吵了一架，然后开始和正式职工吵架，最后和我也吵起来了。我怎么说也算他导师呢。
一年了还什么都没干呢，不知道哥们打算怎么毕业。
- 复 刚去了一趟加纳
家园 5年前，和一个从阿克拉黑到北京的家伙吃了一回饭 他说自己的护照和钱都被偷了，很困难，依稀记得俺还给了他一百块帮他过难关，并帮他打听加纳大使馆在哪儿，怎么走
回来后还给加纳打了电话，一位大姐接的，把俺训了一顿，大意是这厮就是故意要偷渡到中国的，你管他的闲事作甚。
家园 文章好长 粗略看了一下，感觉描述的现象和我的印象相符。
南非在撒哈拉以南的国家里面，是唯一一个具有完整的高等教育体系的，当然讲撒哈拉以南的时候，实际上一般把南非排除在外。南非对于非洲国家的留学生是提供机会的，不过也只有能力给南部非洲的学生提供奖学金。非洲其他地方，肯尼亚和尼日利亚的大学略好一些，不过质量比南非的学校相差很远。
无论中学教育还是高等教育，非洲国家工作几乎缺乏都是个很大的问题。接受了教育仍然没有机会得到好工作，甚至没有机会得到工作，那么受教育者的积极性就会大打折扣，直接影响教育质量。
非洲很多地方，大学教育有点想跳龙门的样子。由于人才极缺，大学毕业以后，一般日子还会不错的，机会会多出很多。不过连高等教育都大规模援助的话，成本也太高了，恐怕只能重点扶助一些优秀学生。毕竟高等教育，在全世界大多数国家都不是义务教育的。
感觉非洲目前还是应该增加接受中等教育的人口就能够胜任的工作，增加技能培训的实用性，可能比增加高等教育，对普通人口更现实一些。
- 复 文章好长
家园 看看他们的近邻“阿拉伯世界”， 看看他们的近邻“阿拉伯世界”，不也不生产什么。
文化历史都不完整，能干什么？
文化和历史就是“生产发展史”。
中国人无休无止的老作，换得这样的回报。
- 复 文章好长
家园 addo的回答 我今天把你的回复内容简要的翻译给了addo听，他作出了如下答复：
Inadequate employment opportunities compound the problems of higher education in sub-Saharan Africa. Yes, its true, a majority of graduates in Africa cannot find jobs, which fuels emigration to industrialized countries.关于你提出的不应把援助用在高等教育，而更应用在初级和职业教育上，他的回答是：
说:I dI disagree on that assertion. Years of concentrating on primary and secondary education has not achieved any major impacts in Africa. The problems that existed 50 years ago are still there, high rates of maternal and infant mortality ect. Higher education is what can transform the Africa from a being a recipient of aid to economic independence.
他还告诉我：“Chinese industry is killing African industry.”原因是：中国制造的商品即使加上运费，在非洲市场上也仍然比非洲自己制造的产品便宜。这让非洲工业在MADE IN CHINA面前一败涂地，没有任何办法。
另外，他居然不知道BBS是什么，我只得在英文wiki上找到相应的词条给他看
- 复 addo的回答
家园 后面的确是很普遍的观点 中国的廉价初级产品打击了非洲本土的工业。
不过需要提醒的是，这不是因为中国的产品廉价，而是因为非洲这些工业的劳动效率太低。即使中国产品不占领这个市场，来自印度、东南亚等地的廉价产品同样会占领这个市场。中国生产的廉价初级产品使得非洲人可以用很小的钱消费到以前消费不起的产品，给了很多人做生意的机会，整体来看创造的就业机会可能会比损失掉的多很多。提高普通人的教育水平，增加这些低级产业的人口比例，提高这些人口的职业技能素质，应该是非洲更现实的问题。
而这些新创造的就业机会也好，原来的制造业的就业机会也好，都不需要多少经历过高等教育的人才。即使增加非洲的高等教育机会，在目前的情况下，也只能增加离开非洲到其他国家淘金的人的比例而已。这对于非洲是浪费。我认识的在南非留学的，就没几个回到自己国家去的。教育是要符合当地的就业市场的。超出就业市场需求的教育，就是浪费。
此外一个非洲的普遍想法，就是什么都等待救援。这种等靠要的想法，恐怕是非洲没有希望的最大问题。中国崛起的时候，等谁靠谁了呢？自己不努力，别人再帮也没用。
家园 村长想没想过，如果非洲人都像中国人这样勤劳那么世界将会是 什么样？
家园 千万别 这个世界不需要太多勤劳的人。
家园 等靠要，是不是因为黑人本身的问题？ 没有“勤劳基因”？
家园 自然条件太好吧 非洲在大多数地方，大多数时候，实在是吃喝不愁的地方，饿了有果子吃，晚上睡觉又不冷。没有勤劳的动力呀！
黑人不勤劳么？我家用的佣人，要早晨5点钟从家里出来，8点钟到我家，干一天活，不一定吃饭（午饭给准备的，但是她要带回家分给孩子吃），差不多5点下班，晚上8点到家。一天我现在给130兰特，算是中国人里面给的高的了，扣掉路费40，还剩90，折合人民币不到80。这样的很勤劳了吧？但是她的儿子，最大的一个30了，还不出去赚钱，靠老妈养着。
黑人相对来讲，比较容易知足。很多人只要有口吃的，有个地方睡觉，下雨淋不到身上，就没有进一步努力的动力了。人家的日子很幸福呢。