Legal Frameworks for Tertiary Education in Sub-Saharan Africa

The Quest for Institutional Responsiveness

William Saint, Christine Lao

• Publisher: World Bank Publications
• Year: 2009
• eBook ISBN:
  9780821381250
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Education Administration

The performance of tertiary educational institutions is heavily influenced by their governance arrangements, management structures, accountability mechanisms, and regulatory environments. 'Legal Frameworks for Tertiary Education in Sub-Saharan Africa' analyzes 70 examples of tertiary education legislation and individual statutes of selected public institutions in 24 Sub-Saharan African countries. It identifies the range of formal governance and management practices for university educational systems set forth in these legal documents. These factors are fundamental for determining the responsiveness, adaptability, and flexibility of tertiary education systems, and ultimately the capacity of these systems to manage change and maintain relevance under continually shifting circumstances. Overall, the analysis finds general tendencies to increase institutional autonomy, to strengthen accountability mechanisms, to shift from appointment to elective representation in the filling of higher governance and management positions, and to expand university links with civil society, the private sector, and regional and international institutions.

Table of contents

• Contents
• Foreword
• Acknowledgments
• Executive Summary
• 1. Context
• 2. Comment on Methodology
• 3. Governance and Diversification as Policy Variables
• 4. Overview of Recent Trends in Governance and Diversification
• 5. Diversification as a Path to Responsiveness
• 6. Concluding Observations
• Appendix. Legal Documents on Tertiary Education Reviewed for this Study
• References
• Table 4.1. Government Authority with Primary Responsibility for Tertiary Education in 2007
• Table 4.2. Composition of Buffer Body Governing Boards
• Table 4.3. Composition of University Governing Boards (percentages)
• Table 4.4. Appointing Authority for Chair and Members of Institutional Governing Board
• Table 4.5. Appointing Authority for Institutional Officers
• Figure 1.1. Age Distribution of Higher Education Legislation in Africa by Decade
• Figure 4.3. Term of Service for Governing Board Members (years)
• Figure 4.4. Mandated Frequency of Board Meetings Per Year.
• Box 4.1. Botswana Tertiary Education Council
• Box 4.2. Uganda National Council for Higher Education
• Box 4.3. Composition of the Governing Board, Zambia
• Box 5.1. Common Regulatory Barriers to Private Tertiary Education