Pro-Chancellor and Chairman Governing Council, Lead City University, Ibadan, Oyo State, Prof. Jide Owoeye, has called for proactive strategic collaboration between private and public universities, industry, donors, and international academic institutions for the development of the continent.
He wants governments, private sectors, and regional bodies to continue to implement and refine frameworks (such as those under the Addis Convention and HAQAA) that ensure comparability, accountability, and transparency in higher education.
Owoeye, in a convocation lecture titled: “Quality of Education in Developing Countries: Collaboration in Africa and the Role of Private Universities” delivered at the 13th Convocation of Protestant University, Rwanda, said Africa’s journey towards transformation, through quality education is not just a goal, but one that is dependent on the mechanism by which development becomes sustainable, inclusive and dynamic.
On policies and frameworks, he said: “Today universities have come to play a pivotal role in the development of nations.
“Africa already possesses robust policy frameworks that underscore quality education as central to development.
“Under Agenda 2063, the African Union defines one of its key goals as ‘Well-Educated Citizens and Skills Revolution underpinned by Science, Technology and Innovation’.
“This goal envisions universal access to quality early childhood, basic, secondary, and tertiary education, alongside a substantial increase in qualified teachers and technical, vocational, and entrepreneurship skills. The Continental Education Strategy for Africa (CESA 2016-2025), aligned with the Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG4), has likewise made clear that equity, inclusion, and quality must go hand in hand.”
He also encouraged private universities to invest beyond enrollment growth, because growth in numbers matched by investments in faculty development, infrastructure, learning technologies, research capacity, and curricular relevance is very critical.
Owoeye identified the strengthening of regulatory oversight in the education sector, quality assurance and collaboration between private and public universities as parameters for the transformation of Africa.
He wants an alignment of funding with quality imperatives because both private and public higher education will require more funding—”not just for access, but to deliver quality: for research, for infrastructure, for teacher training, for quality assurance systems. Innovative financing (grants, endowments, industry-sponsored programmes) should be explored.”
In the area of monitoring of outcomes and ensuring accountability, he said robust metrics of graduate employability, research output, student satisfaction, learning gains should be tracked and published, while feedback loops must exist so institutions can adjust policies and practices in light of what works and what does not.
Stressing the powers of collaboration, he said private universities have demonstrated their potentials to supplement public institutions, to innovate, and to meet growing demand, but their full promise will be realised only when they do not act alone.
Underscoring the importance of inclusion and equity, he advised private universities to be mindful of access for less privileged or rural students; scholarships or financial assistance programmes can counterbalance high tuition fees and reduce inequality.
As a way of kicking off the suggested partnerships, Lead City University is offering full tuition scholarships to graduates of Protestant University of Rwanda who might wish to undertake their Post Graduate programmes in Nigeria.
In his response, the Chancellor of the University and President of the Presbyterian Church of Rwanda Revd (Dr) Pascal Bataringaya, appreciated Prof Owoeye for the convocation lecture and the promised scholarship.
