Africa’s Destiny and Higher Education Transformation. In The Promise of Higher Education

Title:Africa’s Destiny and Higher Education Transformation. In The Promise of Higher Education
Authors:Barnabas Nawangwe
Keywords:
Published:2021
Abstract:Background: Africa, the cradle of mankind and civilization, presents the best example of a people
falling from the most culturally and technologically advanced society to the most
backward and marginalized. While other ancient civilizations like China, Babylon,
and India either transformed and survived or persisted in the case of China, the Egyp-
tian civilization was destroyed and was never to recover. The University of Sankore
at Timbuktu, established in the 13th century and recognized by many scholars as one
of the oldest universities on earth, is testimony to the advancement in scholarship
that Africa had attained before any other civilization. But that is all history. Instead,
Africa remains the most marginalized continent, viewed by many as a hopeless sleep-
ing giant without any hope for awakening and moving forward as part of a modern
global society
Different parts of Africa were conquered by different civilizations, and their influ-
ence implanted to varying degrees. Little is known about scholarship between the
time of the fall of the Egyptian Empire and the era of colonialism. However, Africa
still boasts of some of the oldest existing universities, including the University of
Karueein, founded in 859 AD in Fez, Morocco. Outside the Maghreb, all universities
are modern-day creations of the colonial powers which subdued Africa as early as
the 15th century
Published in:Publication Link