ADEA WGCOMED News Journal N°9, February - April 2015

Dear Colleagues and Partners,

We are pleased to share with you the ninth edition of our News Journal. This special edition is being produced under the theme : “The African Higher Education Summit : Revitalizing higher education for Africa’s future”. The three-day continental summit on higher education begins in Dakar, Senegal tomorrow, 10 March, 2014. African governments, education specialists, academics, education and student unions and associations, educational administrators, and employers and business leaders, as well as multi-lateral and bi-lateral agencies, are all expected to participate in this summit, the first of its kind on the continent. This special edition of the ADEA-COMED News Journal is therefore devoted entirely to the subject of Higher Education in Africa and how to revitalize this sub-sector. A number of issues are at stake. This edition is calling for a review of the entire subsector to the extent that higher education in Africa can become more relevant and aligned with the current realities of the continent and also in the context of Africa post-2015.

In this edition, we have a conversation with Ms. Aisha Bah Diallo, former Minister of Education in the Republic of Guinea and current President of Trust Africa, the main body that has stirred this summit. Ms. Bah Diallo provides a thorough insight into the problems of higher education and suggests a number of pertinent solutions. We also have a special feature article written by Dr. Joel Alemibola Elegbe, a human resources consultant who provides us a rare dimension on the benefits of integrating emotional intelligence into higher education in Africa. There are a number of analytical articles by various authors on issues related to higher education on the continent, including one on higher education reform in the Arab world. We also question what should be done to ensure urgent and focused attention for the post 2015 as Africa attempts to lend a strong foundation, legitimacy and credibility to what will be adopted in Korea and New York later this year.

We profile the African Virtual University and publish two announcements, one from this university, and the other from the Pan-African University established by the African Union Commission. We also cover a number of current news from the various countries in our Inside Africa segment.

Enjoy your reading !