Intégrer l’enseignement de la gouvernance dans l’enseignement universitaire en Afrique : Perspectives, défis et leçons

The research paper argues that good governance is a prerequisite for economic development and that African universities are essential for producing competent governors. However, it finds that these institutions are plagued by declining resources, outdated curricula, and political interference. The author suggests a shift toward regional cooperation, distance learning, and the adoption of an 'African agenda' to overcome national resource constraints and improve the relevance of governance education.

• African higher education is currently characterized by a systemic crisis involving overcrowding, inadequate staffing, deteriorating standards, and declining government budgetary and political support.
• Governance education has been historically neglected in Africa due to the perception of political science as hostile to governments, a focus on national identity over management values, and the fragmentation of governance topics across multiple disciplines.
• There is a significant gap in the teaching of critical contemporary governance topics; while development studies and conflict management are common, electoral models and security studies are infrequently taught.
• University staff face severe capacity constraints, including high teaching loads that leave little time for research, a lack of PhD-qualified personnel, and a 'brain drain' where staff leave for more lucrative opportunities.
• Access to current pedagogical resources is a major hurdle, with 75% of respondents finding research funding difficult to obtain and 67% struggling to access printed journals.
• African universities often suffer from poor internal governance, including opaque decision-making processes, politicized appointments of leadership, and administrative rigidity.
• To address resource shortages, some lecturers have resorted to selling 'reading packs' to students, which the author notes can lead to corruption and a reduction in the quality of learning as students rely solely on these summaries.
• The author proposes a regional model of resource sharing and institutional agreements to standardize skills and materials, citing the historical example of the University of Bechuanaland, Basutoland and Swaziland (UBLS).

APA

Petlane, T. (2009). Intégrer l’enseignement de la gouvernance dans l’enseignement universitaire en Afrique : Perspectives, défis et leçons. South African Institute of International Affairs. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/Occasional-Paper-43-FR.pdf

Chicago

Petlane, Tšoeu. Intégrer l’enseignement de la gouvernance dans l’enseignement universitaire en Afrique : Perspectives, défis et leçons. South African Institute of International Affairs, 2009. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/Occasional-Paper-43-FR.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Petlane |first1=Tšoeu |title=Intégrer l’enseignement de la gouvernance dans l’enseignement universitaire en Afrique : Perspectives, défis et leçons |publisher=South African Institute of International Affairs |date=September 2009 |url=https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/Occasional-Paper-43-FR.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{petlane2009intgrer, author = {Petlane, Tšoeu}, title = {{Intégrer l’enseignement de la gouvernance dans l’enseignement universitaire en Afrique : Perspectives, défis et leçons}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2009}, month = sep, url = {https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/Occasional-Paper-43-FR.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }