This paper seeks to situate the problem of internationalization and globalization within the contextual configuration of symbiotic relationships. But first and foremost, let me quickly mention that internationalization and globalization of education is an initiative that must be created so as to educate, involve and acquaint students as well as managers of education regarding various issues and challenges facing the global community.
Such issues include but are not exclusive to international development, mutual cooperation, conflict resolution, reduction of hunger, improved political systems, international and intercultural education, environmental matters and enhanced quality of life.
This discussion could not have come at a better time than now when many countries of the world are coming together and leveraging from each other the benefits of global education, technology and knowledge transfer for the purpose of development and nation building.
However, this is not the case in the Global South as most of the countries seem to have been left behind. While the rest of the world is moving ahead, the majority of the southern countries (our part of the world) seem to have been sidelined.
In an attempt to address this problem, Canadian universities and Global South universities are juxtaposed with the aim of finding out the extent to which Canadian universities and those in the global south can collaborate for mutual benefit.
A novel form of strategic and sustainable Canadian-Nigerian universities partnership is envisaged by this analysis. Canada being a developed country will provide a formidable partnership to support Nigerian universities to harness and apply education and related innovations to eradicate poverty, increase economic growth and achieve sustainable development.
The justification for this investigation is pivoted on the relevance of globalization and interdependency, both as a terrain of contemporary scholarship and a practical fillip for rapid development in a world scale as encapsulated in the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
For Canadian universities to globalize and internationalize, for the benefit of the Global South, three primary objectives must be borne in mind. These objectives serve as the driving force for the global initiative. The objectives are: Educational; Cultural awareness of the structural geopolitical issues related to globalization; Globalization and the international community beyond Canada. Let us briefly explore this trinity of critical imperatives.
The educational emphasis will expose students to the different methods and tools of teaching, research and learning in a comparative sense. Students will attend regular classes as they would in Canada and vice versa, but the key issue is for them to observe differences and similarities both in curriculum and methodology. Where possible, students will also be encouraged to visit state and local government officials, including state governors, and if possible, the president of the country. The students will be encouraged to ask questions and at the same time observe specific ways of life, and political and social nuances that may be different from what obtains in Canada. The same will apply to their counterparts from Nigeria.
The cultural aspect of the program enables students to become more involved in some social aspects of life in the host country. This includes visiting some villages, local or national political leaders, community groups, local ceremonies/rites, and tourism centres. In this way students become participant-observers and are able to learn how other societies live and relate to each other vis-à-vis national government and the larger global community. The uniqueness of these experiences can rarely be duplicated.
The globalization theme seeks to expose students to various pressing issues in a fast- changing world. First is the issue of developmental asymmetry between advanced industrialized societies and developing/under-developed countries; the various infrastructures and instruments that link different countries into the global political economy, the role of information technology and international finance (multinational corporations, etc.) in building bridges between different world regions and societies; and the environmental consequences of national economic development and its spill-over effects on health, quality of life and the natural ecosystem.
As the backdrop of the above suggestions, this paper will present envisaged areas of cooperation and collaboration between Canada and Nigeria the three broad objectives stated above, with implications for the attainment of clearly identifiable mutual benefits.
In this regard, five broad specific areas will now be presented, reviewed and discussed.
1. Collaboration in the area of research at the backdrop of various disciplines including Medical Sciences, Natural Sciences, Environmental Sciences, Social Sciences, Management Sciences, and the Liberal Arts, etc.
2. Partnership in the terrain of Information Communication Technology in such a way that the southern university will have access to the most recent ICT hardware and software facilities while the North will benefit in terms of expanded market and access to raw materials.
3. Collaboration in the areas of academic staff exchange programs to improve on the trinity of Research, Teaching and Learning (as is done with some American universities through such programs as the Fullbright Scholar’s scheme).
4. Collaboration in terms of Library information through mutual exchange of recent publications and literary works.
5. Collaboration in the area of student mobility with implications for a wider perspective in culture, communication and international relations.
This paper will review these five areas with specific regard to institutional relationships between Canadian universities and Nigerian universities, respectively. But first and foremost, let us briefly explore the problems confronting universities in the Global South.
Candidly, for this paper to serve its purpose, there is an urgent need for us to review, however briefly, the problems facing tertiary academic institutions in the Global South. One has chosen to undertake this effort at re-education, sensitization and conscientization, essentially because the truth must have to be told and one must have to be sincere at the very point of entering into any form of relationship.
The question is: what is this truth? Universities in the Global South, including those in virtually all African countries (perhaps except South Africa), are underfunded, underdeveloped and under-utilized in all ramifications. I am constrained to observe, at the backdrop of concrete existential realities on the ground, that in many universities in the Global South, particularly those in Africa, professors collect “take home pay that cannot take them home.”
Physical infrastructural development is basically elementary; research funds are not adequate to carry out meaningful research; libraries are ill-equipped; laboratories, studios and workshops are stocked with archaic materials and equipment; computerization and digitalization of facilities are still elementary and are moving at a very slow pace.
To complicate the already compounded situation, in many universities in Africa, attention is often diverted by secondary associated problems, such as those of strike action by professors asking for reasonable and humane remuneration; student demonstrations as a result of collapsing infrastructural facilities; and the new apparent danger of decimated standards of research, teaching and learning. In evaluating these problems facing universities in the Global South, the common denominator, in my humble submission, is the problem of funding. Universities in the Global South, universities in Africa, universities in my own country, Nigeria, are not adequately funded. The truth is that in many instances, the level of funding is very elementary, clearly infinitesimal.
For instance, the minimum budgetary allocation to the education sector by World Bank standard is 26% but my country, Nigeria, has only barely allocated between 11% and 15% to the education sector in the past few years.
However, the government of president Umaru Musa Yar’Adua is very serious about improving on this. There are many reasons for the phenomenon of underfunding of many universities in the Global South, but in Africa, the major impediment is the economy. Some African economies have collapsed and others are in the process of collapsing, while the remaining are caught up in the web of general cyclical crisis. However, countries like South Africa and Nigeria are working very hard to establish vibrant and sustainable economic growth and development.
I am optimistic, for example, that by the year 2020, Nigeria will be one of the leading twenty economies in the world. The present administration of president Musa Yar’Adua is transparently committed to the finest ideals of economic growth, infrastructural development, equitable distribution of resources, social justice and proactive, cordial, international relations and diplomacy. We have not lost control of the very thematic preoccupation of this paper. The truth is that all that has to be said and clearly stated, in relation to the problem under investigation.
For example, it is not enough to suggest that many universities in the Global South are not adequately funded essentially because of collapsing economies, in some cases. I think it is important, in an international symposium of this magnitude, to extend the frontiers of the argument by asserting in lucid and precise terms, why the economies of the Global South are not strong enough, with adverse effects on the universities. This is in comparison with those of the Global North, especially the United States of America and Canada. We shall quickly dispose of this argument before we return to the principal theme of this paper which is, how best to establish institutional relationships between Canadian and Nigerian universities. Let us please dispose of our preliminary thesis.
The following twenty problems enable us to understand and appreciate the dynamics confronting many countries in the global south with adverse implications on the universities expressed in terms of underfunding.
The Problems
1. Lack of sound productive base.
2. Lack of sustained economic growth.
3. Lack of equitable distribution of resources.
4. Slow pace of globalization.
5. High phenomenon of disguised unemployment.
6. High rate of inflation.
7. Intimidating debt burden.
8. Mono-cultural dynamics of the economy.
9. Contradiction between the concept of “technology transfer” and “supply of technology.”’
10. Planlessness and dearth of reliable statistics.
11. Collapse of the education superstructure.
12. Deplorable social welfare services and inadequate health facilities.
13. Deplorable social security system.
14. Wide-spread poverty and corruption.
15. Low capacity utilization.
16. Dearth of direct and portfolio investments.
17. Low level of technological development.
18. Low emphasis on research and development (R & D).
19. Problem of skilled manpower.
20. Low level of symbiotic, horizontal economic relationship between the North and the Global South.
I have simply outlined the major problems without elaborate analysis on paper, because doing so may divert attention from the basic theme of this work. I will, however, ask your indulgence to allow me a few minutes to discuss these problems. This is essential because, no university can grow bigger than the economy of its country. I will be brief in the discussion.
Collaboration in the area of research
In my opinion, Nigerian and Canadian universities can symbiotically collaborate in the area of research and development. The range is wide and the scope impressive. It includes but is not exclusive to such terrains of scholarship as Medical Sciences, Natural Sciences, Environmental Sciences, Management Sciences, Social Sciences and Liberal Arts, etc. The University of Jos, is willing and ready to receive scholars from Canadian partners on a one-year sabbatical or for a shorter period to enable them to carry out research on African experience in these disciplines (for example, tropical medicine or African history and culture) as is currently done with Iowa State University and Michigan State University in the USA and the University of Siena in Italy. In return, Canadian partners can endow special research funds on some of these areas as part of its contribution to the Global South or even donate some urgently needed state-of- the-art equipment for research. The terms and conditions in each instance would be agreed upon mutually by drawing up a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to facilitate this arrangement.
Partnership in the terrain of information communication technology
In Africa, as a whole, the pace of computerization and digitalization of science, research and communication is generally slow. Access to laptops and to the Internet superhighway is less than 20 per cent of the population. At the University of Jos, there is an urgent need for rapid improvement in these areas. For example, with a student population of over 34,000, less than 2,000 students have personal laptops. In a symbiotic relationship, these students and most of the academic and non-academic staff would be willing to buy laptops at reduced prices if Canadian partners can engage a reputable ICT firm from Canada or elsewhere to supply the hardware on mutually agreed prices, terms and conditions or, alternatively, they can decide to pay for the Bandwidth for some number of years to promote ICT capability and this becomes its contribution to the development of the Global South.
Collaboration in terms of library information through mutual exchange of recent publications and literary works
University of Jos will be delighted to collaborate in the area of library information services. In this case, University of Jos will be able to donate free copies of various titles from diverse disciplines (especially in the area of African or Nigerian History and Culture) to Canadian partners. This will also enable staff and students of at these universities have access to recently published works from Africa on such areas of scholarship as Social Sciences, Liberal Arts, Medical and Natural Sciences (Phytomedicine) and Environmental Sciences (Traditional African Architecture), etc. Canadian universities, on the other hand, may endow a special fund for the rejuvenation and intellectual uplifting of University of Jos libraries in terms of books, ICT equipment, training of some technical staff in specialized areas of library information service. This arrangement can be mutually arranged.
Collaboration in the area of exchange programs to improve on the trinity of research, teaching and learning
So many professors and other lecturers at University of Jos are willing to travel to Canada to teach and carry out research on sabbatical or under any other exchange program in order to broaden their scholarly base and research potentials. Many graduates of the University who excel in their studies will also be willing to pursue post-graduate degrees. The University of Jos will also be willing to receive scholars on research programs or those coming for sabbatical on a reciprocal basis or even encourage the establishment of fora/networks which will allow synergy, sharing of experiences, best practices and ideas in the context of real sector practices or specifically University-University knowledge transfer partnerships.
Collaboration in the area of student mobility with implications for a wider perspective on culture, communication and international relations
At the University of Jos, we encourage student exchange programs both within and outside the country. There are many envisaged cultural and political benefits at the level of symbiotic analysis as stated in one of the objectives. With the anticipated assistance of some relevant Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) in Canada, the University of Jos will be willing to arrange for exchange programs that will be of symbiotic benefit to students of the University of Jos and their counterparts in Canada, respectively, as is currently done with some universities in the USA and UK. Numerous opportunities abound in this area of collaboration and the University of Jos management is ever ready to open up talks on this area.
In conclusion
A salient point must be made now. The organization of this paper is such that discussions of the socio-economic problems facing the Global South appear to be in detail. This is in contradistinction to the central theme under investigation. This is deliberate. The reason is essentially because first and foremost it is important to establish why envisaged institutional relations with the Global South will be on the level of unequal partnership. The symbiotic relationships have to be roughly formed and not pivoted on precision and exactitude for reasons that have earlier been adduced. Southern economies are to a large extent weak and underdeveloped. Put simply, the Global South needs, asks and solicits for the understanding, help and kind gestures of the developed North, particularly Canada.
I have earlier taken the pains to explain why we find it difficult to fund our universities. It will be unfair to detain you with more details. All we ask is for your understanding and cooperation. Suffice it to suggest that overlooking the Global South, to enable it to grow at its own pace, is not the solution to the global problems of poverty, illiteracy, hunger, and disease as largely seen in the Global South. And if the search for a symbiotic, equal relationship is the answer, what then is the question?
Author's Information
Professor Bethrand Tabugbo Nwufo (Ph.D, Fpin, Ficcon, Ksm) is deputy vice-chancellor (academic) at the University Of Jos, Jos, Plateau State, Nigeria.
© 2008 Bethrand T. Nwufo. All rights reserved. Used with permission.
REFERENCES
In Africa, there are some recently published works on the political economy of Africa, the problems of university development and the need to encourage mutual horizontal relationships between the north and the global south. For example see:
Ake, Claude, Political Economy of Africa (1981), London, Longman Publishers.
Elaigwu, J.I., Foundations of Nigeria’s Federalism, vol. I, II & III (2000), Jos, Aha Publishing House.
Nzekwe, Amaechi, No past, No present, No future. How Nigerians Underdeveloped Nigeria (2000), Jos, Transafrica Links
Rodney, Walter, How Europe Underdeveloped Africa (1983), Enugu, Ikenga Publishers.
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