Why are states slow to ratify the Addis Ababa Convention?

Nearly five years after its adoption and despite the many benefits it offers, only seven out of 55 African countries have ratified the Addis Ababa Convention which puts in place a framework for the recognition of academic qualifications throughout the continent.

Dr Saba Bokhari, education specialist at UNESCO’s Regional Office for Eastern Africa, urged delegates at last month’s HEFAALA symposium, fittingly also held in Addis Ababa, to encourage their governments to ratify the convention. “Academics appear to be more interested in the convention than the political forces but even then, some say they do not even know about it,” she said.

This is despite frequent reminders by UNESCO and continental higher education bodies pushing for its ratification.

For example, at the close of the Conference of Rectors, Vice-Chancellors and Presidents of African Universities (COREVIP) hosted by the Association of African Universities in Cairo in July, the final communiqué called on host governments to ratify the Addis Ababa Convention, “in the spirit of the recent ratification of the African [Continental] Free Trade Area, as well as leverage international mobility mechanisms such as the European Union initiatives and inter-institutional joint degree programmes, in a manner that strategically benefits Africa”.

The Addis Convention, the full name of which is the Revised Convention on the Recognition of Studies, Certificates, Diplomas, Degrees and Other Academic Qualifications in Higher Education in African States, was adopted in the Ethiopian capital in December 2014.

Building upon the foundations of the Arusha Convention of 1981, it creates a binding agreement around the norms and standards for formal procedures recognising foreign higher education qualifications and those giving access to higher education institutions in Africa. It puts paid to the need for bilateral agreements between countries over the recognition of the qualifications of refugees and other migrants.

It is widely seen to complement the African Union’s developmental goals contained in Agenda 2063 and as having the power to build multilateralism and international cooperation, as well as ensure credible and reliable recognition of qualifications. Other benefits include improving employability of graduates, internationalisation of higher education programmes, and boosting student and faculty mobility.

The seven countries that have ratified the agreement so far are Togo, the Gambia, Congo, Djibouti, Mauritius, Senegal and Mauritania. The convention comes into force only once 10 member states ratify it.

Bokhari said contrary to popular belief, there were no costs attached to the implementation of the convention by a ratifying country.

As a follow-up to Bokhari’s presentation, University World News interviewed Saidou Sireh Jallow, officer in charge and UNESCO representative at the Juba office in South Sudan, asking him to explain why ratification was taking so long.

UWN: The revisions to the Addis Convention were made in 2014. Since then only seven countries out of 55 have signed the convention. Why has progress been so slow?

SSJ: It appears that the reasons could be quite varied but include insufficient understanding of the provisions of the Addis Convention, the ratification process of the convention and fear of being swamped by foreign students and academics looking for employment.

UWN: What can UNESCO effectively do to speed it up?

SSJ: In response to the low ratification rate, UNESCO has been holding, from the middle of last year (2018), information sessions with ministers of higher education, senior officials of ministries of education, university vice-chancellors, deputy vice-chancellors, deans (including deans of students) and senior academics and researchers, college principals and senior college officials.

These information sessions focus on providing more information on the various provisions of the convention by going through them one by one; benefits of ratifying the convention including building the capacity of personnel at the ministry of higher education as well as at the universities and colleges on foreign student management; on equivalence and comparability, etc.

UWN: Have all states started the ratification process and does UNESCO have an idea of how far individual states have gone in terms of going through the consultative and parliamentary processes geared towards ratification?

SSJ: As you know, at this point in time there are seven countries that have ratified. Others are at different stages of the process with different ratification protocols. In some cases, the endorsement of cabinet and approval of the president is enough to commit the country.

UWN: In their presentation to the higher education portfolio committee last year, the South African Department of Higher Education and Training said that because the South African qualifications framework was already operational it had “well developed processes for the implementation of the Addis Convention”. This level of preparedness might not be true for all countries. Do you think personnel and resource considerations are hindering countries’ signing of the convention?

SSJ: Yes, it’s a combination of issues. I would rather say that it is more a lack of sufficient understanding of the provisions of the convention and capacity to implement the convention. Another difficulty would be fear which could be generated by the latter two challenges. South Africa is one of the more advanced countries in this area [recognition of foreign qualifications] on the continent. It can however, still ratify the convention. In fact, that should make it easier for South Africa to have the convention ratified and be recognised as part of the continent and move with it.

UWN: What is the role of UNESCO in capacity building in HE quality assurance and what is its role once the convention is ratified and comes into force?

SSJ: UNESCO will arrange to build the capacity of relevant personnel at the ministry of education and at the universities and colleges in a variety of areas including quality assurance.

UWN: What in your view are the major benefits for member states and their higher education sectors to signing the convention? What are the major benefits for those states’ universities and HE sectors?

SSJ: First and foremost is the fact that member states will be part of a continent (global region) which also has a higher education convention governing the equivalence, etc of degrees and qualifications like other global regions. At the moment, Africa is the only region that has not yet ratified the convention.

Second, the convention will contribute to the integration of the continent – a key desire of the African Union. It would make mobility of students, faculty and researchers easier.

Third, more and more universities and colleges in Africa can then be more international in outlook with all the benefits of student interactions and exchange adding value to university and college campuses.

UWN: Can you provide some examples of how the convention will help universities to deal with refugees? How will it be any different from the processes undertaken at present?

SSJ: For refugees, it would be easier to integrate them in the education systems of the host countries. For instance, some refugees are trained teachers but it can be difficult to utilise their expertise for fair remuneration and return when there is generally a deficit of teachers on the continent.

For example, Uganda, like most Eastern African countries, harbours refugees from neighbouring countries such as South Sudan, Democratic Republic of Congo, and so on. Uganda discovered that some of the South Sudanese refugees are trained teachers but were not being utilised in the education system. So they are engaged with the support of UNESCO and other partners to determine the equivalence of their certificates and professional training to gauge what is required to enable them to be employed as teachers in the system.

Such teachers could be used in both the refugee settlements and host communities as well as in schools in Uganda.