On Higher Education Funding in Afrika

While visiting the University of Ghana, I learned that a collective of people, particularly cocoa farmers, funded its establishment. During the tour, my host remarked…today we have oil and other riches but are struggling to fund education. The conversation reminded me of doing research at the University of Botswana (UB) years ago, where I learned that the community donated cows to establish that university. In the 70s UB initiateda campaign known as Motho le Motho Kgomo, which translates to One Man, One Beast or One Cow. A large cow and man statue on the campus in Gabarone marks this philanthropic effort, which provided resources to establish the current version of UB.

The phrase…today we have oil and other riches, but we are struggling to fund education…. speaks to three things. One, it talks about the interconnectedness of a university and the community in which it exists. Where the community sees the benefits and the university knows that it existence serve(d) the community. Second, these two universities’ origin stories speak to a culture of philanthropy and Afrikans helping ourselves in different parts of the continent. As a child in Northern Namibia, I remember instances of gathering money to support various causes. Philanthropy is not a foreign concept. Second, it speaks to a frustration of unmet expectations when it comes to funding education, especially tertiary education. Numerous reports show that Afrikan countries fund education at high levels, but the funds do not always yield the desired returns. At the same time, there is evidence of competing interests that show that the funding has not kept up with the needs, so much so that the universities still depend primarily on the infrastructure from when they were first built.

Perhaps the way forward is to return to the Motho le Motho Kgomo, and cocoa farmers approach to funding our universities. Yes, governments have massive roles to play, but declining funds to public universities have been happening worldwide and will seemingly continue. A solution to funding universities on the continent then needs to include government, private industries, and the everyday people, who all recognise themselves as stakeholder in a thriving university ecosystem.