Thursday, January 1, 2009

Intellectual Merceneries

Here is a quote from a "higher Ed Magazine"
"It’s been hard for most African countries to commit significant public money to higher education�"thanks to more immediate pressures such as low economic growth, high unemployment and poverty rates and rampant disease.",

This writing at the outset is so sad. It is the middleman's argument. Some idiot relief agencies are still raising billions using pictures they took in 1984. The same type of idiots are in teh business of shaping higher education in Africa. They write for the demented. What are they talking about, don't we know that?, aren't these the same types of argument for the last 100 years ?. Sometime ago Europeans gathered to chart their civilizing mission, and those who are still benefiting from the spoils of this mission are shedding crocodile tears as the quote about. Why is that they don't talk about the military expenditure in Africa? Close to three quarters of Africa's GNPs are spent on military. A few months ago Sudan bought a mig 23 for 120 million dollars, to kill who? Every African country does the same, buy the most ferrocious weapons to kill their own people.

I am sorry to say such articles leave a lot to be desired.

Usually articles like this are very long and they are usaually full of to do lists. they have zero intellectuall value in that you don't learn much from them. If I always knew that I am poor. what value will it have to tell me I am poor ?. If I can give a piece of advise, to thoes who are advocating for higher education in Africa, you need to focus and to be more specific. Not just promote the beggar mentality. Africa has everything it needs, it just needs to be managed. Some of it has to do with orgnization. Where do you see graduates of African universities advocating support for their universities ?. This makes the big chunk of people that Africa spent billions to train. I think one focus for High Ed advocates would be to find the best way to engage the alumni.

There were high stake perkis meetings in Rwanda, Ethiopia, Uganda, Namibia, and in lots of lots of places within Africa and Europe. Lots are planned for the next 10 year or more. The conference organizers take these disfunctional higher ed "experts", and they talk about their to do lists. Everything is about what the international community can do for Africa. It is not about what the governments can do for their people. Actually nothing expected of them as long as they buy guns to keep the piece. The junk that comes out of these meetings shows up every where. I have tons of reports and quite a few proceedings, which mostly are BS, don't mind my french. Sometimes I feel like use them to clean the bathroom. If they come on email the trash line is watching. USA is coming into the game through so called "Centers for Higher Education", many universities have such organizations or similar to them . Because such centers are useful in expanding the sphere of influences for the universities.. For example many universities are opening big universities in the middle east. If you want to go to Yale, you don;t need to come to the states, you can just go to Dubai. They are not doing it in Africa, because Africans can not afford the tuition. The civilizing mission has not stopped with the liberation of the sisties and seventies. It continued with new partners. Two types of partners (I like to call them mercineries) are playing the poverty game. One carries gun to clean populations to prepare space for new mineral exploitation or farm land for the middle east royals, the other is is armed books and university education, I call them intellectual mercinaries who fan the idea is Africa is poor and hungry. The main message: what Africa needs is not a functioning higher education, it only needs adult and basic education. Little do they know the advocates of higher education, by agreeing the benchmark characterization of Africa, that Africa is sick and hungry, goes agaist their wishes of getting their share of spoils of the civilizing wars, for their feeble
work

This follows the discussion on Addis Ababa University Alumni Forum

Abebe

Sunday, December 10, 2006

Universities in War Zones

There are hundreds of universities, thousands of university prefessor and students affected by the wars, almost everywhere in Africa, middle east, part of Asia. I always wonder how are they coping with the conflicts and the dangers surrounding them. I open this blog to those of you who live in harmsway. How are you coping with life, education, exams ? Do you have a library and the teaching materials you need ? Please tell your stories