Promoting sustainable development – How are universities faring?

By Goolam Mohamedbhai. In May and June 2010 the Global University Network for Innovation (GUNi), the International Association of Universities and the Association of African Universities jointly carried out a survey of higher education institutions in Sub-Saharan Africa to determine what contribution they were making towards sustainable development.
The initiative followed a declaration made by leaders of African higher education institutions at the 12th General Conference of the Association of African Universities (AAU) in Nigeria in May 2009, calling on all stakeholders to take necessary steps to enable African institutions to play a meaningful role in promoting sustainable development.
An online questionnaire was sent to nearly 500 institutions in 41 African countries. The areas covered in the questionnaire were: teaching and learning; research; outreach and services; institutional governance; and campus operations.
Seventy-three institutions (response rate 15%) from 23 countries filled in – either fully or partially – and returned the questionnaire. Among the respondents, 69% were publicly funded institutions and 75% were Anglophone.
The full survey report is available on the websites of the AAU and the International Association of Universities. The salient findings in the different areas are summarised below.