Abstract:
There are two widespread assumptions about university education in Africa: first that the Europeans introduced it, and second that it has declined since independence. Both are false, writes Paul Zaleza. Higher education and universities long antedated the establishment of "western" style universities in the nineteenth century, and the post-independence era was a period of unprecedented growth during which the bulk of contemporary Africa's universities were established. (Abstract from Pambazuka News)

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Zeleza, Paul (2006). A historical accounting of African universities: beyond Afropessimism. Unpublished.