Extending the University for Grass-Roots Development

Ronald Clarke of the African university is three-fold: to teach- There are many ways of looking at a university ing, to research, and to service for the wider and itsrole, from both inside and outside. A community; and they discussed ways in which the conservative academic may see his institution as academic community could serve the wider com- a community of scholars, a sanctuary of the munity which would probably sound heretical highest learning, to be shared only with a small to most senior academics in Britain. This was of and select elite. A radical politician (or academic, course conference talk rather than actual de- or student) may see the same institution as a claration of specific intent, but at least it demon- bastion of privilege, outside the mainstream of strates an attitude which is an essential base for development and irrelevant to the basic needs of action. And itis by no means alltalk. The the society. A peasant farmer may also see it as present reality is in the agriculture and commun- remote from his personal needs and affairs, but ity medicine extension services; in intermediate at the same time respect it as a place of learning technology advisory units; in centres for con- and opportunity to which some of his children tinuing education and extension; in village im- or young relations may aspire. provement vacation projects by students; and in many other ways often missed by the casual or Whatever one's angle of vision it is dangerous to less percipient observer of the university and its generalise, and there is an unfortunate tendency role in a developing society. Even so, while the for some of those who, for the best reasons, wish university with no community extension services to give priority for aid to the 'poorest of the of this kind is perhaps becoming exceptional, it poor'to dismissuniversitiesaselitistcitadels is also true that few universities have any specific which have already had too large a share of the plan or stated commitment to community ser- cake. While there is undoubtedly some justifica- vice apart from a general aim of sending their tion for this assessment, it can easily miss the graduating students out to 'serve society', and do point that universities in the poorer developing little to publicise what is being done in the way countries have a potential far beyond the tradi- of community service, to the extent that one may tional role of their counterparts in the Western at times wonder whether the most senior mem- world, and can play a major role in grass-roots bers of some universities themselves know what development through extension into the com- is going on beyond the campus. munity.1 The changes in these directions which are now An interesting contrast may be seen in the con- taking place in the universities in former British- clusions of two conferences held at an interval administered countries (especially in Africa) have of ten years on the development of universities been largelyinspired byindigenouspolitical inAfrica.The1962Unesco conferenceat questioning of their role in a new nation, and Tananarive (UNESCO, 1963: 76-7) paid little or by the more socially conscious of their own no attention to the question of a university's academics. Where inspiration for greater com- responsibility to the wider community, including munity involvement has come from outside it has in the report only a couple of largely routine come from such areas as North America and references to the need for universities to promote China rather than Britain. It was the basically extra-mural and adult education activities. conservative British academic tradition which had been the dominating influence in the develop- Ten years laterthe 1972 conference of the ment of universities and whatever community in- AssocationofAfricanUniversitiesat Accra volvementtheyhadintheformerBritish (Yesufu,1973)withsenior and middle-level colonies; a tradition which, with allits many academics and administrators from universities virtues, tolerated extra-mural departments only in all over Africa, emphasised that the commitment so far as they appeared to maintain "normal academic standards", and viewed the coming of 1 The word 'community' tends to he usedimpreciselyin the Open University with deep suspicion. thesecontexts,withconnotations ranging from the total population of a country to the subsistence-level inhabitants University extension activities and services to the of a particular village. In this paper I use the term to refer primarily to the common people throughout the country or community can be grouped in various ways. The area concerned, i.e., generally those with little or no formai following may be useful for our present discus- education; where small local groups are concerned, I refer to them as such. sion:1. direct material services; 2. research and

46 consultancy-based services; 3. educational exten- services can be seen in the Technology Consul- sion. tancy Centre (TCC) at the University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, , and in the Direct material services Industrial Research and Development Unit at In thisfirst area we may include projects of the University of Ife, . direct physical or material benefit to small com- munitieswhichareundertakenmainlyby The growth and activities of the TCC Kumasi university students, although staff may sometimes havebeenwelldocumented(Powell,1975; be involved. They may be extensive projects TcC, AnnualReviews)andtheunithas undertaken as part of an overall national or attracted a good deal of international attention university policy (as in the University of Dar es and support. Significantfeatures for our dis- Salaam)2, in the form of national service under- cussions are thatit involvesall the relevant taken either before or after undergraduate studies faculties of the university, and (perhaps more or in the middle of the course (as at one time in controversially) that it has developed production at what is now the University of Addis units within the university which actually manu- Ababa). Alternatively they may be vacation or facture and market products in order to demon- short-term projects, for instance as part of a stratethat they are commercial propositions, national youth week, which may occur in term hoping that they will then be taken over by a time. The work itself may be directly related to local entrepreneur. the students' course of studies or professional training (e.g., farming activities for those training The unit at If e has a similar purpose, although as agriculturalists, or work in village dispensaries there is a somewhat different emphasis in the by medical students); or it may be unrelated (e.g., work, and much of the external aid has come building a community centre, laying water pipes, from US sources. As in Kumasi, the main con- digging a well). cern is with assisting the development of small There is mutual benefit; the villagers see that industries through appropriate technology (as it students are not afraid to work with their hands, is called in this case) and the resources of the or among ordinary people, and at the same time whole university are available, with many staff receive some material benefit from the project; involved apart from those specifically employed the students learn to keep in touch with life at by the IndustrialResearch and Development the grass-roots, and have the satisfaction of com- Unit (SIDN; 1975). Rather more than at Kumasi pleting a worthwhile piece of work. This is the there is an emphasis on the economics and mana- theory, but in practice many things can go wrong gerial aspects of running a small business, or and much will depend on the attitudes of the industry, and the Unit is involved in a study of a students and villagers towards each other and the large number of entrepreneurial activities of this work they are doing, and on careful planning and kind in and around Ile-Ife, collecting and analys- co-ordination. ing all relevant data to determine whether the concern is likely to be viable. One danger is that the role of the community members may be too passive, in that the students Also in this area of services which extend the simply come and provide something for nothing university's research/consultancy function we can and then retire to their citadel of learning. All include the work of agricultural and medicaif university extension work should be basically health extension. Virtually all agriculture schools developmental which implies a teaching/learning and faculties provide some extension service to function whereby the recipients can learn a new their local communities, even if only as essential skill, and become more self-reliant. There is no field practice for their students. Generally, the reason why work of this kind by students should tendency seems to be for those universities which not have this character, but it demands sensitive have been most influenced by American associ- direction since people in a local community will ations to undertake extension/advisory work for only be prepared to learn from those whose skills local farmers as a university commitment beyond and knowledge they can respect, especially if they the needs of student training. Thus in West are younger than themselves. Africa, Njala University College in , Research-based consultancy services which is probably the most rural institution of its kind in West Africa, has a vigorous and varied Notable examples of research-based consultancy programme ofextensionactivitiesbasedon several departments of the Faculty of Agriculture, 2 For adetaileddiscussioncftheUniversityof Dar es which has included research and marketing of a Salaam's Conceptof theuniversity'srole insocietysee Court, 1975 and 1976. new baby food (from local benny seed), and

47 health and home economics services.3 The Uni- ambition through acquisition of paper qualifi- versityofNigeriaatNsukka,withstrong cations. The provisioniswide-ranging from American associations and influence from the degree courses (by correspondence at Lusaka, and land-grant college tradition also has a consider- evening classes at Lagos) through to GCE or able extension service, as does the University of lower-level formal qualifications, and a variety of 1f e through its Isoya Rural Development Project vocational or general courses. (Taiwo Williams, 1975), which has also been sup- ported by a link with the Agricultural Extension While some institutes attempt to cater for all and Rural Development Centre at the University apparent needs, some emphasise particular kinds of Reading. Again at Ile there is an interesting ofprovisioninparticularsettings. Thus the example of work in this basic research/consul- , in an urban setting, has tancy area in the field of community health and concentrated through its Centre for Continuing medicine, where the Drug Research Unit of the Education on short-term professional courses for Faculty of Pharmacy, which received a grant special groups of largely urban-based businessmen from the Federal Government to conduct research and professionals in various fields;6 while the in herbal medicines, cooperates with local herba- Centre for Extension Studies of the University lists to examine the local herbs traditionally used of , in a predominantly rural setting, has as medicines.4 concentrated on provision of specially designed continuing education courses by correspondence Much of this research/consultancy work at grass- for middle-level rural development and extension roots community level also involves a consider- staff who are considered as "intermediate com- able teaching function, far more than in the tradi- municators" since they are in direct and regular tionalhigh-level research/consultancy work of contact with people at the grass-roots (Clarke, universities. This is particularly obvious in the 1974). areas of agricultural and health extension, since the term 'extension' in this context implies not Literacy is another area in which a number of only advice but also instruction so that the reci- universityadulteducationdepartmentshave pients can learn a new technique and acquire been concerned, and although it is generally felt new knowledge. It is also an important element in that universities should not become directly in- the work done by the Kumasi TCC and similar volved in a continuing programme of literacy consultancy units, and should indeed be an ele- teaching, there is a role in research, consultancy ment in all developmental work. and training, and occasional assistance with on- going programmes (perhapsincludingstudent 3. Educational extension involvement), with which the university can and The third area is that of educational extension, should be involved.7 There are indeed convincing deriving mainly from the predominant teaching arguments forthe university's educational ex- functions of the university, and including those tension involvement in grass-roots development to activities in Which the primary purpose is to be indirect rather than direct, through study pro- stimulate learning of new skills and new knowl- grammes and training courses for the "inter- edge. mediate communicators" or those who administer Although many university departments and in- the extension, literacy, and community develop- stitutes run their own programmes of public ment programmes, etc., in the field. lectures and extension courses, the great majority The question of media is particularly relevant to of this work is done by the institutes and centres auniversity'seducationalextension provision, of adult and continuing education, several of since it directly concerns the university's ability which have evolved from the old extra-mural to reach people at all levels and in all parts of departments of pre-independence days.5. Much of this provision is beyond the scope of this paper the country. because it is only very indirectly concerned with Inevitably, it seems, there is a tendency for the grass-roots development, and primarily satisfies, university initsvarious extensionservicesto or attemptstosatisfy,middle-level individual cater more for the local communities near the campus, largely because of basic problems of 3 Information provided by George B. Goba, Senior Assistant physical communication. Extra-mural departments Registrar, Njala University Coflege. I am grateful to several universityadministratorsattendingstudyprogrammesat Manchester for information relevant to this paper. 4 Information provided by O. Lokulo-Sodipe, Deputy Regis- 6 See Bown, 1976 for a recent and detailed description of trar, University of Ife. the work of the Lagos CCE, and of other Nigerian univer- S Only Khartoum(InstituteofExtra-MuralStudies)and sities. seem to have retained the term 'extra- 7 See Bown, 1975, for a discussion of the university's role in mural' the promotion of literacy at all levels.

48 and their successors have done more than most Perhaps the greatest potential for all educational to extend their services throughout the country extension work from universities lies in the more or area served by the university, and in the past effective combined use of suitable media.9 10 years there have been rapid advances in the use of distance media based on correspondence Why the university? studies to extend university educational services Two main areas of argument which question the so that people can study in their own homes or nature and extent of the university's role in com- local communities. The successful launching and munity affairs, are considered briefly here. development of the Open University in Britain has attracted a good deal of attention in devel- One school of thought argues that this involve- oping countries but, although the principle of ment with the common people is inappropriate combined-media studies is excellent, the sophis- to a university as an institution of higher learn- tication and expense of the Open University's ing and scholarship, except in so far as itis operations are far beyond the scope and needs beneficial to the student or teacher in his teaching of the poorer developing countries and cannot or research. Perhaps a majority of academics besimply exported,as some have assumed. throughout the world would hold this view, and In any situation, suitable media need to be identi- possibly also a sizeable proportion of the aca- fled and effectively used; most study materials demics indeveloping countries,evenifthey need to be written or adapted locally. Much would be less likely to express such views public- money and time was wasted, especially during the ly. These are arguments which cannot be lightly middle and late 1960s, in trying to use television brushed aside, since they concern the essential for adult education in Africa, while more basic nature of an institution which has been, for many and readily available media were still being in- centuries, accepted as a centre of the highest efficiently employed and other media, with special learning. One might reply, first, that community potentialindevelopingcountries, were either involvement does not, .or should not, imply any ignored or under-used. dilution of the rigorous scholarship, in teaching and research, which should remain at the core On the other side of the world the University of the university's work, only that these intellec- of the South Pacific is making imaginative use of tualachievementsshouldbecommunicated a convenient satellite to develop two-way radio toordinarypeople,and notmaintainedas communciation betweeen study centres on the the preserve of a tiny elite; and second, that those islands which come within the university's orbit, who advocate extension and community involve- and thisis clearly the best medium (supported ment are by no means necessarily also those who where necessary by printed material) to develop would turn the traditional university into some and use for extension education at all levels in kind of multi-versity where anyone can come and this particular situation (Wynne, 1976). In my own learn what he likes when and how he pleases. experience of the various media (including radio and television) used to provide continuing educa- Another school of argument, rather more prag- tion during the late 1 960s at Makerere University matic, contends that much of this involvement in in , by far the most effective was the the wider community is inappropriate to a univer- newspaper project, in which correspondence study sity because other institutions, government de- material in three subjects was published in an partments or voluntary agencies, are better equip- 'education supplement' of the national English- ped to undertake this work; this, it is argued, may language weekly, which reached many thousands be because the university is mis-directing its high- of people beyond those actually enrolled for the level intellectual and physical resources, or be- correspondence study programme, and had the cause it is less skilled and therefore less able to added advantage of being retainable as reference perform thenecessaryoperations than other material. Much of this material could also have agencies. These again are arguments deserving been translated and adapted for use in vernacular careful consideration, perhaps rather more than papers. Yet it seems that only minimal use of insoluble arguments about standards and the the press for educational purposes has been made essential natureof auniversity. Undoubtedly otherwise by universities in developing countries there are some activities undertaken by university as a medium for extension education (Clarke, extension units which could and should be under- 1968)8. 9 Unfortunately the Instituteof Adult Education in Dar es Salsamis no longer part of the university and therefore technically beyond the scope of thisarticle, but the health education campaigns describedinvarious articles by Bud 8 This pamphlet evaluates the prolect and also discusses the Hall and others, provide an excellent example of the use role of the press in education. of media in a large-scale national project.

49 taken by government departments: for instance, made to secure agreement and coordination with direct secondary school substitution courses lead- community services provided by government and ing to GCE and other school examinations, which voluntary agencies; wherever possible government should be provided by the Ministry of Education. officers and other professional people should also However there are often good reasons why the be encouraged to become actively involved in the university is in the best position to promote these university's programmes, if only to avoid giving activities, which may not always be explicitly the impression that the university has a monopoly stated, and they include the following: of brains and expertise; its structure is generally less hierarchical and all extension and community services should bureaucraticthan governmentministries,and be essentially developmental in terms of human being thus more flexible it may be able to design resources, so that the people in the communities and implement a new project more quickly; being served are at least given the opportunity it normally has some degree of neutrality in to acquire new knowledge and learn new skills, relation to other organisations which can be very even if the particular extension project is not useful where there may be inter-ministerial rival- specifically educational; ries, as for instance in the 's there should be a constant awareness that what- combined extension studies programme for rural ever service is provided for the community it is development staff in the ministries of education, aprocess of two-way benefit, and that both agriculture, health and community development; students and teachers will be personally improved it is likely to enjoy considerable prestige among by their contact with the community, and this the ordinary people, even at times when itis not merely in terms of individual research or officially out of favour, and this can provide a professional advancement; this awareness should good foundation for an extension project. also help to remove any element of condescen- sion in extension provision. Organisation and administration As we have seen, there are many university ex- Inspiration and encouragement from the top is tension activities taking place, but with rare ex- essential, and there is unlikely to be any effective ceptionstheyareuncoordinated and under- and coordinated policy and planif the Vice- publicised. Chancellor and his senior colleagues are dis- interested or pay mere lip service to involvement Is this lack of coordination necessarily a bad in community service. The role of the administra- thing? A heavy bureaucratic hand could easily tion in university policy-making and development deflate vigour and enthusiasm in much of the is a matter for separate discussion, but there is work that is done at present, yet some degree of coordination and planning is surely necessary if clearly scope for senior members of the central the university's potential for grass-roots develop- administration to help to coordinate extension ment is to be more fully realised. It must also servicessinceinvariouswaystheyalready imply a commitment by the whole university, play an intermediate role between the university, and by the people at the top. government and the general public. There may be some reluctance on the part of administrators I suggest that the foÛowing principles should be to bcome involved in new organisational prob- considered fundamental when a general plan or lems which will create more work for themselves, programme ofuniversityextension and com- but senior administrators have at times been munity services is being drawn up: instrumental in getting a new project off the while the local communities near the campus ground, especially where it has involved a unit will inevitably benefit more than others in some outside the main faculty structure. ways (e.g., being able to visit a university dispen- One possibility would be for a senior adminis- sary or health centre), every effort should be trator to be given responsibility for overall co- made to provide services for the whole national ordination, perhaps as secretary to a committee or regional community in the area which the representing all the units in the university directly university serves; concerned with aspects of community services the whole university should be involved in ex- andextensionprovision.Anotherpossibility, tension services in one way or another, and these where there is already a strong centre or institute should not be left exclusively to the full-time staff for continuing education (or similar unit), is for of units tacitly regarded as peripheral to the main- coordinationofalltheuniversity'sextension stream work of the university; activities to be undertaken here, although this whatever is done should be in close accord with would require delicate handling, with much de- Government policy, and every effort should be pending on the personality of the director of that

50 unit and his relationship with colleagues. It is Clarke, R. F., 1968, Correspondence Education not difficult to imagine a situation where such an rhroughout a National Newspaper, Makerere arrangementwouldprovequiteunworkable. University College Alternatively, where such a unit does not exist, it Clarke, R. F., 1974, 'Part-time Study Programmes might be worth considering the creation of a for Rural Development Personnel', Conver- small unit, such as an institute of extension ser- gence Vol. 7 No. 1 vices,through which the university's external work could be channelled and coordinated, but Court, David, 1975, 'The Experience of Higher again there would need to be flexibility and scope Education in East Africa: the University of for individual departments or faculties (such as a Dar es Salaam as a new model', Comparative medical school on a separate campus) to run their Education Vol. II No. 3, October own projects if they are not happy about having Court, David, 1976, 'East African Higher Educa- them channelled through an institute or centre tion from the Community Standpoint', paper of this kind, or if they find the director of the presented to seminar on Education and the institute impossible to work with.'° Community in Africa, University of Edinburgh, Generally, however, a coordinating committee June; also in Higher Education, February, 1977 serviced by a senior administrator who can give Powell, J. W., 1975, 'The Work of the Tech- a good deal of his time and energy to this work nology Constultancy Centre, Kumasi', Overseas would seem to be the most practical solution to Universities No. 22, Inter-University Council, the problem of coordination, especially where London there are already strong units engaged in various SIDN,1975,'UniversityofIfehelpssmall kinds of extension provision, which would not Nigerian Industry', SIDN Newsletter Vol. 2 take kindly to being directed or coordinated by No. 2, University of Georgia one of themselves. It would also help to suggest Taiwo Williams, S. K., 'Isoyaa rural develop- more clearly where separate departments of the ment project at Ife', Overseas Universities No. university could cooperate in certain projects, as 22, Inter-University Council, London forinstancetheDepartmentofContinuing Education at Ife is now cooperating with the De- Technology Consultancy Centre, Annual Reviews, partmentof Extension Education and Rural Kumasi Sociology in the Isoya project referred to earlier, UNESCO, 1963, The Development of Higher and this is surely the kind of development to be Education in Africa, Report of the 1962 Con- encouraged if the university's potential in these ference on the Development of Higher Educa- areas is to be more fully realised. tion in Africa I have not discussed the problems of financing Wynne,J.G.,1976,'University Teaching by the growth of this work, which would clearly Satellite', International Review of Education be of some importance. However if the university Vol. 22 No. 1 is seen to be prepared to adjust its priorities and Yesufu, T. M. (ed.), 1973, Creating the African allocate some of its own resources to extension University: emerging issues of the 1970s, Asso- services, itis likely that particular projects will ciationofAfricanUniversitiesand OUP, find support from donor agencies including, we Ibadan may hope, some of those which have so far Yousif, Abdelwahid, 1976, 'The African Univer- tended not to associate the university with this sity and its Community: the search for a rele- kind of developmental role. vant role', Convergence Vol. 9 No. 2 References Bown, Lalage, 1975, 'Adult Education and the Universities',OverseasUniversities No. 22, Inter-University Council, London Bown, Lalage, 1976, 'Adult Education, the Com- munity and the Nigerian University', paper presented to seminar on Education and the Community in Africa, University of Edinburgh, June 1G In a recent article (1976) Abdelwahid Yousif suggests that each faculty should have its own extension unit, although he recognised the need for coordination. See also J. Babs Fafunwa's systems model for innovative university education in Yesufu, 1973: 127-8.

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