Legal Frameworks for Tertiary Education in Sub-Saharan Africa (eBook)

The Quest for Institutional Responsiveness

Christine Lao, William Saint (Autoren)

eBook Download: EPUB

2009 | 1. Auflage
The World Bank (Verlag)
9780821381250 (ISBN)

Infos

The performance of tertiary institutions is heavily influenced by their governance arrangements, management structures, accountability mechanisms, and the regulatory environments in which they operate. Institutional performance can be enhanced or diminished by the legal frameworks that condition institutional capabilities to respond, adapt and maintain flexibility in the face of change. This study analyzes the prevailing legal frameworks for university system governance, management, and accountability in Sub-Saharan Africa. It is based on a review of 70 legal documents from 24 African countries. For governance, the research looks at the size and composition of university governing boards, member appointment procedures, selection of the board chair, frequency of meetings, and terms of service. For management, it examines financial autonomy, budget approval authority, staff hiring and terms of service, and appointment procedures for senior officers. For accountability, it considers stakeholder representation in governing bodies, financial auditing requirements, academic auditing obligations, performance reporting, and performance-based funding. Overall, the study finds continent-wide 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, to favor merit over political affiliation in the criteria for choosing senior officers, and to expand university linkages with civil society, the private sector, and sister institutions in the region and beyond. The expansion of tertiary system buffer bodies and growing regulatory attention to private higher education are particularly notable phenomena.

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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.

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 19.10.2009
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Geisteswissenschaften
• Themenwelt: Recht / Steuern ► Privatrecht / Bürgerliches Recht ► Zivilverfahrensrecht
• Themenwelt: Sozialwissenschaften ► Pädagogik ► Erwachsenenbildung
• Themenwelt: Technik
• ISBN-13: 9780821381250 / 9780821381250