COREVIP – Exploring the HE-sustainable development link

The Conference of Rectors, Vice-Chancellors and Presidents of African Universities (COREVIP), hosted this week by the Association of African Universities in Cairo, Egypt, under the theme “The Role of Higher Education Institutions in Promoting the Continental Education Strategy for Africa (CESA 16-25)”, puts sustainability at the heart of many of its discussions.

"The road map for Africa’s sustainable development appears well mapped out in the global and regional agendas that have pointed towards higher education as the currently known panacea," according to the COREVIP concept note.

It further notes: “The obvious and palpable message from CESA 16-25 is the need for the higher education sector in Africa to understand, own and fully immerse itself in the continental search for sustainable development.”

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a collection of 17 global goals and 169 targets set by the UN General Assembly in 2015 for the year 2030. They aim to address poverty, hunger, lack of education, gender inequality and other impediments to human well-being.

The African continent, as a whole, is only half way to realising the SDGs, according to the June 2019 Africa SDG Index and Dashboards Report, which ranked 52 African countries, based on 97 indicators across all 17 goals.

Ahead of the conference, a selection of experts on African higher education shared their views on how to promote the value of universities and their critical role in achieving the SDGs.

Dr Violet Makuku – Quality assurance specialist and the project officer for the Harmonisation of African Higher Education Quality Assurance and Accreditation (HAQAA) Initiative at the Association of African Universities:

It should be emphasised that every programme offered in a university is linked to at least one of the Sustainable Development Goals, like gender, sanitation and waste management and agriculture, to name a few. Universities can, therefore, engage and involve communities in research studies, extension services and projects related to these programmes in order to bring the required education, awareness and positive impact in these communities.

In that regard, African universities should cease to be ivory towers and should practically increase synergies with their local communities through the above-mentioned ways. They also need to strengthen university-industry linkages through internships, scholarships, visiting lecturers and joint research studies, among others.

Juma Shabani – Director of the Doctoral School at the University of Burundi:

It is now widely agreed that the SDGs cannot be achieved in Africa without a major contribution from universities through the creation and application of new knowledge to various processes of national development.

This conviction is reinforced by the recent launch by Times Higher Education of a new global universities’ ranking scheme based on contributions to achieving the SDGs. African countries are, therefore, challenged to invest heavily in universities to support research and quality doctoral training programmes in all relevant areas of the SDGs.

Jamil Salmi – Global tertiary education expert:

Many African countries are at a crossroads. They can allow their tertiary education system to further deteriorate under the pressure of rising enrolment and diminishing public resources, or they can take bold decisions to break away from the past and undertake audacious transformation plans.

This requires courageous policy decisions to introduce transparent governance arrangements, clear accountability mechanisms, and modern management practices. It will also necessitate the mobilisation of sufficient resources to generate substantial improvements in the quality of teaching, learning and research across the board.

The experience of the East Asian and Nordic countries shows that building a strong human capital base and producing relevant research are the only ways of diversifying the economy, raising the productivity of firms, and generating the resources needed for balanced social development and effective achievement of the SDGs.

Fareeda Khodabocus – Director of quality assurance at the University of Mauritius and a member of the Higher Education Research and Advocacy Network in Africa (HERANA):

SDG targets will keep on evolving with the ultimate aim of improving quality of life, equity, more ethical thinking and decision-making, communication through innovative techniques and technologies, and at the same time address the pressing issues of climate change.

African universities must develop well-structured approaches, frameworks and guidelines to lead the implementation of the 17 key SDGs and to transform societies through their teaching programmes, research agenda and community engagement to stimulate growth, development and innovation as well as acting as agents of change.

Mostafa Mohsen Radwan – Higher education reform expert, Egypt:

The world is experiencing a transition from production-based economies to ones based on knowledge and information. This transition, together with globalisation and technological advances, has changed the nature of jobs and the skills needed. By providing modern high-quality education and lifelong learning, African universities can meet their responsibilities in preparing students and citizens for this changing world to participate in their countries’ sustainable development.