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Periodical article Periodical article Leiden University catalogue Leiden University catalogue WorldCat catalogue WorldCat
Title:Reflections on Two African Universities
Author:Mathieu, James T.
Year:1996
Periodical:Issue
Volume:24
Issue:1
Period:Winter/Spring
Pages:24-28
Language:English
Geographic terms:Lesotho
Zambia
Subjects:universities
Education and Oral Traditions
External link:https://www.jstor.org/stable/1166610
Abstract:A centre connotes stability, solidity, balance, equilibrium at the core. At the university level this centre should be found in the dynamic interdependence of the five constituencies of a university - students, faculty, administration and staff, the support base, and the public. In this article, the author discusses how and if the African university centre holds and if it can be identified as exemplifying something near excellence. His commentary reflects a year's teaching experience at the University of Zambia in Lusaka and the National University of Lesotho. His remarks concern, amongst others, the reorganization of both institutions at the time of independence, student-teacher interaction and classroom dynamics, students' sense of community, student perceptions of university and society at large, the need for faculty to undertake time-consuming outside activities in order to supplement their salaries, the persistent brain drain, the strained relationships within the faculty and administration, the isolation of the administration and the difficulty it has in balancing accountability to students and staff on the one hand, and to the support base (government and the military) on the other, and the public perception of the university as closed, elitist and aloof. Ref.
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