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- Convenor:
-
John Kirkland
(Diversity in Development)
- Stream:
- Books, writing and education
- Location:
- G60
Short Abstract
none
Long Abstract
African academic staff, currently in he UK studying for doctorates, will report the findings of a survey which they are conducting amongst their peers about the barriers that bright yong Africans face in returning to the higher education system back home.
Accepted papers
Session 1Paper long abstract
Co-author: Rachel Day
International scholarships in particular, have become more prominent in development policy during recent years. Yet the forms of delivery vary, and without careful planning such awards can become part of the problem, rather than the solution. This paper, based on the experience of the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission in the United Kingdom over the past four years, considers ways in which programems can maximise benefit for both home and host countries.
Paper long abstract
Co-authors: Sabelo Dlamini, London School of Health and Tropical Medicine, Ambrose Dodoo, University of Gloucestershire
Currently, there are over 300,000 Africans in the Diaspora, 30,000 of whom have PhDs. At the same time, Africa spends more than US$4 billion per year (representing 35% of the total official development aid to the continent) to employ about 100 000 western experts performing functions generally described as technical assistance. This exodus of highly trained manpower from developing countries to industrialised nations is not a new phenomenon and the higher education sector is one of the worst hit. However, the magnitude of the problem in Africa and its alarming increase presents a growing urgency for action as the consequences of brain drain are debilitating not only to the university sector but also to the overall development of the continent.
This paper seeks to investigate the perceptions and perspectives of Commonwealth Scholars on the issues of brain drain in universities of developing countries. It assesses the working conditions of academic staff in these universities and explores the perceptions of these Scholars' working conditions in African Universities. In the paper, we establish perceived attitudes of academic staff towards working abroad and get their views and perspectives on measures that could be taken to address brain drain in African universities. Recommendations on measures that could be taken to lessen brain drain and its impact on African Universities are also solicited.