From Dependence To Cooperation

Studies of evolution of higher education in African English-speaking countries can't get around at investigating their relations with the Commonwealth.In the colonial period,the British Africa region was incorporated into the British Empire.The start and development of higher education in Africa was the transplantation of and adaptation to the British model;After those countries got independence and joined the Commonwealth,they embarked on a road of self-exploration.Higher education system in Africa transformed from dependence on British model to exchange and communication with their British counterparts.Based on the evolution of African higher education under the framework of Commonwealth system,the study is divided into four historical stages.In the first stage of colonial period,African higher education was the transplantation of and Adaptation to British system.Taking the Second World War as the watershed.Before it,the UK attached little importance to African higher education under the influence of the indirect ruling policy.After it,due to domestic influences,the UK changed its colonist policies and actively helped improve African higher education.It transplanted London University model in Africa.In this stage,higher education in Africa was highly attached to British system.In the second stage of the early independent era,African higher education was a kind of self-exploration under the Commonwealth framework.After independence,African countries were faced with dual tasks of building countries and getting rid of colonialism.Development of higher education was closely connected with external support.On one hand,African countries and the UK enhanced exchanges and communication among university students and teachers.In addition,they mutually recognized credentials.On one hand,Africa boosted the development of local higher education.During the third stage,in the 1980s,with the regionalization of Commonwealth,African higher education gradually expanded regional cooperation under the Commonwealth framework.African countries implemented "South-South"cooperation model in the academic area and conducted other inter-regional research exchange programs.African countries initially developed quality assurance mechanism for higher education,providing quality guarantee for regional cooperation.In the fourth stage,African Higher Education experience new development under the commonwealth framework.As globalization and regionalization deepened,the establishment of partnership became an inevitable trend.On one hand,the Commonwealth was committed to constructing education quality assurance system through cooperative framework and to boosting the internationalization of African higher education.On the other hand,the Commonwealth expanded cooperation areas by including cooperation in fields of distance education,teaching staff training and curriculum development,thus enriching new cooperation system with Africa.The development of higher education in African Commonwealth countries has gone from dependence to cooperation,which provides insight into reflecting how African countries develop more effective cooperative model with outside parties,how Africa should promote local development,and how Africa should strengthen the capacity building of higher education.