The University Of Ndam (Darou Alim) Project
Friedman and his wife Rose originally suggested that there
was no evidence that “higher education yields ‘social benefits’
over and above the benefits that accrue to the students themselves”.
On the contrary, they hypothesized that higher education may promote “social
unrest and political instability”. In contrast to this early view,
recent evidence suggests higher education is both a result and a determinant
of income, and can produce public and private benefits.5 Higher education
may create greater tax revenue, increase savings and investment, and lead
to a more entrepreneurial and civic society. It can also improve a nation’s
health, contribute to reduced population growth, improve technology, and
strengthen governance. With regard to the benefits of higher education
for a country's economy, many observers attribute India's leap onto the
world economic stage as stemming from its decades-long successful efforts
to provide high-quality, technically oriented tertiary education to a
significant number of its citizens.
Attitudes in Africa toward higher education may
be changing. In 2003, the Africa Regional Training
Conference on Tertiary Education highlighted the
problems Africa faces in higher education and documented
some innovative solutions.6 In a recent speech,
UN Secretary General Kofi Annan argued:
The university must become a primary tool for Africa’s
development in the new century. Universities can
help develop African expertise; they can enhance
the analysis of African problems; strengthen domestic
institutions; serve as a model environment for the
practice of good governance, conflict resolution
and respect for human rights, and enable African
academics to play an active part in the global community
of scholars.
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