Coach: I find Mr. Sall's commentary very useful. Thank you for forwarding it. >From: Ebrima Ceesay <[log in to unmask]> >Reply-To: The Gambia and related-issues mailing list ><[log in to unmask]> >To: [log in to unmask] >Subject: Re: Fwd: Ebrima Sall's commentary >Date: Tue, 15 May 2001 00:49:47 -0000 > >Gambia-L: > >The commentary/paper below was forwarded to me by a Ghanaian friend and I >hope one or two on the L might find it useful. It is written by Gambian >scholar Dr Ebrima Sall, formerly of CODESRIA in Senegal, and now a >researcher at The Nordic Africa Institute, Uppsala University, Sweden. > >Kabirr: I still haven't recovered from the FA cup shock. Yes, it was a good >final! Manager Arsene Wenger announced today that he WILL buy new >world-class players for next season. Thierry Henry also told Sky Sports >that >Arsenal MUST buy a "natural goal scorer" next season, because he was tired >of being accused of squandering golden chances/opportunities. We also need >an imposing defender next season - someone in the calibre of France's >Lilian >Thuram. But Parma F.C. reportedly want £24 Million pounds for Thuram which >I >am sure, Arsene Wenger, an economist-turned-soccer manager, will never pay. > >Regards, >Ebrima > >____________________________________________________________________ > > >Academic Freedom and the African Community of Scholars: The Challenges > >By Ebrima Sall (Co-ordinator of the new research programme "Conflict in >Africa - Post Conflict Transition in Africa States: The State and the Civil >Society") > >Introduction > >Ours are times when knowledge is said to be as important a factor of >production as physical capital. In its report, the very prestigious Special >Task Force on Higher Education in Developing Countries convened by UNESCO >and the World Bank states that "the world economy is changing as knowledge >supplants physical capital as the source of present (and future) wealth". 1 > >The "knowledge revolution" has led to a complete change in attitudes at the >level of some of the erstwhile archenemies of higher education in Africa >such as the World Bank. One of the casualties of structural adjustment in >Africa was higher education, for it was said to be an expensive luxury. >These days, every country is said to need at least one research university, >ideally fitting in, or rather, constituting the core of a "knowledge >system" >conceived of as a coherent whole. > >This change in attitudes vis-à-vis higher education in developing countries >is a welcome development that comes as a source of relief for African >scholars who have had to endure the severe restrictions on funding for >higher education occasioned by the implementation of SAP. The leaders of >the >African independence movement, for whom independence was a necessary step >towards the elimination of poverty, were very clear about the need for >universities. The latter were not only seen as central to the process of >Africanisation of administrations through producing the human resources >required to run the newly independent states, but also as key players in >the >struggle for nation-building and development. The basic assumption was >simple. Poverty, diseases and ignorance were seen to be conquerable. >Knowledge could help in that struggle. > >Hence the serious efforts to build education systems that catered for the >whole range of needs. Schools and universities therefore mushroomed all >over >the continent. From six universities in the early sixties, sub-Saharan >Africa (excluding South Africa) had some 120 universities in 1996, with >1,926,000 students. Studying, teaching, doing research or simply working in >a university, or in any other academic institution for that matter, >require, >however, certain minimal conditions, one of which is academic freedom. > >Academic freedom is "the freedom of members of the academic community, >individually or collectively, in the pursuit, development and transmission >of knowledge, through research, study, discussion, documentation, >production, creation, teaching, lecturing and writing". 2 > >It has also been defined as "the right of scholars to pursue their research >and teaching and to publish without control or restraint from the >institutions that employ them". 3 > >Such a freedom is a prerequisite for serious research: "without it >universities are unable to fulfil one of their primary functions: to be a >catalyst and sanctuary for new ideas, including those that may be >unpopular". 4 > >The level of intellectual freedom enjoyed by its intelligentsia can >therefore, to a certain extent, be a yardstick for measuring the level of >freedom that a given society enjoys. The independence of the mind is a >condition for the independence of a nation. > >Serving the nation – expectations and dilemmas > >The leaders of the newly independent states of Africa had a slightly >different understanding of the role of universities. Universities were to >serve the nation and participate in the development of the country. The >concept of a "development university" actually gained currency in some >countries. Few people would disagree with the view that some form of social >relevance is expected of universities and of research. > >Among African academics themselves, there is a widely held view that >academic freedom also implies some form of obligation on the part of the >academics to give something back to their communities in return for the >freedom that they are calling for. This is best expressed by the notion of >"social responsibility". Some scholars actually initially shared the view >that academic freedom is a petty bourgeois claim, a sort of luxury that >poverty and crisis ridden societies cannot afford. > >The problem, however, was that the participation of the universities in the >realization of the nation-building and development projects had to be done >on the terms defined not so much by the researchers or the academic >institutions, but by the politicians in power. Open resistance to such >"embrigadement" of academia to the state was for a long time strongly >repressed. Critical views were most unwelcome. The arrest and detention of >scholars and students suspected of being critical of official views or >policies, or simply for daring to struggle for better salaries, stipends or >working conditions became a frequent occurrence. > >In some cases, this led to the closure of certain faculties or the banning >of disciplines such as political science, sociology (as in Rwanda, and >Senegal after the 1968 student riots), law (in Mozambique…). Censorship was >strict and the suppression of academic freedom in general was severe in >countries ruled by authoritarian single party or military regimes. Among >the >most dramatic episodes were the invasion of the campus of Lumumbashi (in >former Zaire) by security forces in 1990; the police brutalities in the >campus of Yopougon in Côte d’Ivoire in 1991, the Rwandan genocide, the >Algerian civil war and the Abacha dictatorship in Nigeria. > >Academic freedom, or the lack of it, is in this sense a simple human rights >issue. Intellectuals discovered that from being the privileged and highly >respected few of a certain epoch, they now had to struggle to assert their >basic human and citizenship rights. Four principal actors more or less >determine the level of expansion or restriction of academic freedom in >Africa: the state, civil society, donors and academics themselves. > >In the heyday of authoritarianism when single-party states and military >regimes were fairly widespread, the risks faced by scholars in Africa were >mainly in the form of state harassment. Arrests and detention, censorship, >and in extreme cases assassinations were quite common. 5 > >The Rwandan genocide was an exceptionally tragic moment for all, but Tutsi >and critical Hutu intellectuals were among those who were specifically >targeted for early, systematic elimination. Academic freedom may also be >limited by restrictions inherent in donor funding, and in certain so-called >solutions to the African economic crises. Finally, various kinds of >discriminatory practices based on gender 6, age, religious or ideological >differences existing among academics themselves also amount to violations >of >academic freedom. 7 > >Fortunately, apart from Algeria and Burundi, and a few other cases, the >risk >of physical elimination has lessened somewhat for academics in Africa. The >political liberalisations of the late eighties and early nineties have >brought about some improvement in that regard. The space for free inquiry >has become broader. Censorship of the kind that was instituted by president >Moi in Kenya before the adoption of a new constitution in 1992, Life >President Kamuzu Banda of Malawi, and apartheid South Africa has been >abolished. > >However, with the conflicts and violence in countries such as Sierra Leone, >the university system itself has in some instances collapsed. In 1996, >about >one third of the countries in sub-Saharan Africa were stricken by some form >of violent conflict. The strain on the entire educational system in such >countries is extreme. >Economic constraints and increasing plurality > >Scholars are however faced with numerous resource constraints in a number >of >countries. The more common situation in Africa today is actually one in >which the main forms of restriction to the freedom of scholars are of an >economic nature: teachers are poorly paid or not paid at all; universities >are overcrowded but under-resourced; student stipends are low and often not >paid; teachers become consultants, taxi drivers, etc. The economic problems >often lead to prolonged strikes, which are generally brutally suppressed. >The paradox is that the more liberal political systems and the much >stronger >civil society that we have today make it possible for scholars to organise >and protest more easily. > >However, the capacity of the state to respond to the needs of the scholars >is very weak, which partly explains its nervousness and repressive >attitude. >There is also a problem of scale: the magnitude of the economic problems is >such that nothing less than a complete overhauling of the system will do. > >The universities have gone a long way in the process of an all round >indigenisation in terms of course contents, the composition of faculty and >in their general outlook, and in their autonomisation. Many have succeeded >in not only "rooting themselves firmly in African soil" (Mamdani), but also >in freeing themselves from the "chains" that they were born in. 8 > >Although the public university is still the dominant model, private >universities, vocational universities, universities with a religious >orientation, distance learning institutions such as the open universities, >virtual universities and so forth have also been set up and their numbers >are gradually increasing. > >This pluralization of academic and, more generally, knowledge producing >institutions is even more visible when we look at it from the angle of >knowledge production per se. A lot of good research is now being carried >out >by councils and organisations such as CODESRIA, AAWORD, OSSREA, SARIPS, the >AERC, the AAS, and the Association of African Universities, and autonomous >research institutes and centres such as CBR in Kampala, CASS in Port >Harcourt, CRD in Kano, FESS in Addis Ababa, the Arab Research Centre in >Cairo, research NGOs such as GERDDES based in Cotonou, and professional >associations such as AAPS and AAA. (See list of acronyms.) Generations of >institutions and scholars co-exist. Hardly had the process of >indigenisation >been completed when globalisation and what has been referred to as >"knowledge acceleration" brought new challenges to the universities. > >However, out of this broad range of institutions and the complex links and >flows between them it seems that national and regional knowledge systems >are >emerging. These systems are generally structured around the leading public >universities. > >Market solutions inadequate > >With SAP and the rise of neo-liberal ideologies, a major form of risk to >serious scholarship is the drive for "marketability". The quality and >relevance of the outputs of academic institutions and scholarship are >defined more and more in terms of their so-called market value, or in terms >of the ability to provide immediate solutions. The importance of >disciplines >and course contents, including in subjects such as law, is judged more or >less in terms of their "market value". > >The so-called new "success stories" are the Makereres and other >universities >which have gone far in the implementation of liberal modes of functioning, >especially in terms of the ability to raise funds by commercialising a >number of services. > >This is a major cause for concern. As Issa Shivji, the renowned Tanzanian >scholar who took an active part in the drafting of the Dar es Salaam and >Kampala Declarations on Intellectual Freedom (adopted in April and November >1990, respectively) put it: "You know what to expect from the state and how >to resist, but you don’t know what to expect from the market. The state >lets >you know that it is out to hang you (the academic/intellectual), so you can >put up a fight. The market gives you a long rope to hang yourself." > >Yet the market has hardly ever been able to provide adequate solutions to >Africa’s problems. Higher education and research are even less likely to be >the areas where adequate market solutions are expected: >"On its own, the market will certainly not devise [quality higher education >systems]. Markets require profit and this can crowd out important >educational duties and opportunities. Basic sciences and the humanities, >for >example, are essential for national development. They are likely to be >underfunded, unless they are actively encouraged by leaders in education >who >have the resources to realise this vision". 9 > >Additional critical issues > >With the rise in hard, identity politics of a religious or ethnic nature, >and the mushrooming of campus cults, many scholars get harassed for their >views. Identity politics are also often very gender-biased. So, female >scholars feel more threatened. > >Other kinds of challenges faced by African academics include the spread of >HIV/AIDS, which has also led to serious loss of life among academics in >some >countries. World Bank figures on this are quite alarming. For instance, >more >than 30 per cent of the teachers of Malawi and Zambia are said to be >infected by AIDS. In 1996 alone, 600 teachers lost their lives in Zambia. >In >1998, the figure had doubled. > >Finally, there is also the rising threat of marginalisation from the rest >of >the global community of scholars through lack of access to IT and other >modern means of research and publishing. >The list of issues that are critical to academic freedom is long. Among the >most critical and difficult to deal with is that of "impatience" on the >part >of civil society; impatience for solutions to the current problems >bedevilling Africa. In Senegal, a few years ago, the press ran a debate on >what was called the breakdown of intellectuals ("la panne des >intellectuels"), who were seen to have failed in providing solutions to the >economic and social crises in the continent. > >It is however important to remember that academic freedom is not a problem >for "developing countries" alone, and least of all still a problem for >African intellectuals only. Elsewhere, particularly in the industrialised >countries, it is with funding and the problems of political correctness >that >the problem is posed. Private funders claim a right to have a say in the >determination of curricula and the content of courses taught and research >carried out in the universities, and to determine their quality or >relevance. This puts into question the very central notion of peer review, >which has always governed academic institutions and activities. > >Academic freedom is therefore a clear issue of human rights and democracy. >It is also about how we conceive of our societies. Independence of thought >is a precondition for the realization of citizenship and the all-round >development of societies. Each society has to generate the capacity to >think >for itself and make its own reading of the world, which means producing its >own organic intellectuals. But the latter have to be recognized as such. A >lot has been achieved, but there is still a long way to go... > >______________________________________________________________________ > >1. The Task Force on Higher Education and Society (TFHES), 2000, Higher >Education in Developing Countries. Peril and Promise. Washington: The World >Bank, p. 9. > >2. Dar es Salaam Declaration on Academic Freedom, 1990; see also Diouf & >Mamdani, 1994, Academic Freedom in Africa. Dakar: CODESRIA. > >3. The Columbia Encyclopaedia; cited in the report of the TFHES, p. 60. > >4. TFHES, p. 60. > >5. See CODESRIA, 1996, The State of Academic Freedom in Africa. > >6. See CODESRIA’s recent publication on: Women in Academia: Gender and >Academic Freedom in Africa, edited by E. Sall. > >7. See Imam, Mama & Sow, 1994, "The Role of Academics in Expanding and >Restricting Academic Freedom", in Diouf & Mamdani, Academic Freedom in >Africa. Dakar: CODESRIA. > >8. Thandika Mkandawire, 1997, "The Social Sciences in Africa: Breaking >Local >Barriers and Negotiating International Presence. The Bashorun M.K.O. Abiola >Lecture Presented to the 1996 ASA Annual Meeting" ; in African Studies >Review, vol. 40 no. 2, p. 17. > >9. TFHES, 2000, Higher Education in Developing Countries, p. 11. > >_________________________________________________________________________ >Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com. > >---------------------------------------------------------------------------- > >To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L >Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html >You may also send subscription requests to >[log in to unmask] >if you have problems accessing the web interface and remember to write your >full name and e-mail address. >---------------------------------------------------------------------------- _________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html You may also send subscription requests to [log in to unmask] if you have problems accessing the web interface and remember to write your full name and e-mail address. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------