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African universities and the challenge of postcolonial development

Bibliographic Data

ID2103871
AuthorsJeremiah O Arowosegbe (0000-0002-0516-144X, University of Ibadan, corresponding author)
Year2023
Volume93
Issue5
Pages591-614
Publication date2023-12-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueAfrica (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0001-9720 • E-ISSN: 1750-0184
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s0001972023000785
OpenAlexW4392410000
LanguageEN
Citations received6

Extensively ignored by the literature on the subject, recent interest in the fate of academic freedom in Africa is linked with shared concerns about the exploding nature of its societal crises. The collapse of political integration and social cohesion; the decline of the civil society and the implosion of conflicts; the rise of authoritarian, non-developmental populist regimes amid extreme poverty; and the worsening material conditions of the populations are major indications of such crises. Nowhere are these crises worse illustrated than in the universities where constrained funding, infrastructural collapse, massive brain drains and strained relations with the state inhibit the production of knowledge. This article reflects on the trajectory of the universities in postcolonial Africa. It draws on the national public universities in Nigeria and accounts for the changes and continuities underlying their performance against the backdrop of hostile material conditions and uncongenial political control, which not only remain disruptive but continue to undermine institutional autonomy and the integrity of scholarship in the universities across Africa

Economic growth · Economics · Political science · Sociology · African cultural and philosophical studies · Global Educational Policies and Reforms · Higher Education Governance and Development

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    Open Access•Nwachukwu Andrew Egbunike•Third World Quarterly•2026

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    Open Access•Asonzeh Ukah•Human Studies•2026

  • Charting the path after 2030

    Elizabeth Buckner, Tristan Mccowan et al.•Compare A Journal of Comparative…•2025

  • Battling to save the soul of higher education in Africa

    Open Access•Jeremiah O Arowosegbe•Review of African Political Economy•2024

Unique citing works6
Citations per year3
Citation span2024 - 2026 (3)
Citation velocitycurrent
Highly citedNo
Citation typesNeutral: 6
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