Look to rest of Africa for solutions – Harvard professor

South Africa needs to look at models and methods deployed by other African states to decolonise and fund higher education, according to a Harvard professor of African history, writes Michelle Gumede for Business Live.

Emmanuel Akyeampong was speaking at the recent launch of Harvard University’s first Center for African Studies. Located in Rosebank, Johannesburg, the centre aims to explore perspectives and experiences from across the continent, including fostering collaboration and lowering barriers to research for African and international scholars.

The clamour for decolonising education was thrust into the public domain by the Fees Must Fall student protests when students across the country’s universities called for reform and the radical inclusion of African experiences and research to curricula. Akyeampong said across the continent universities were facing similar issues and the centre would serve as a platform for collaboration on these issues in order to deepen partnerships between local and African institutions. "Often South Africans always look to the developed world … they don’t look to the rest of Africa as providing parallels or lessons and insights," Akyeampong said.
Full report on the Business Live site