RE 005 964 The Admission and Academic Placement of Students from Selected Sub-Saharan ...

263 Pages·2011·9.78 MB·English

DOCUMENT RESUME
RE 005 964
ED 096 936
The Admission and Academic Placement of Students from
TITLE
Selected Sub-Saharan African Countries. A Workshop
Report July-August, 1973.
American Association of Collegiate Registrars and
INSTITUTION
Admissions Officers, Washington, D.C.; National
Association for Foreign Student Affairs, Washington,
D.C.
Aug 73
PUB DATE
263p.; Report of a Workshop on the admission and
NOTE
academic placement of students from selected
sub-Saharan countries (Ghana, Togo, and Nigeria, July
19-August 10, 1973)
National Association for Foreign Student Affairs,
AVAILABLE FROM
1860 19th Street, N.W., Washington, D. C. 20009
($2.50)
MF-$0.75 RC- $12.60 PLUS POSTAGE
!DRS PRICE
*Admission (School); *College Placement; *Exchange
DESCRIPTORS
Programs; *Foreign Countries; Foreign Students;
*Higher Education; Workshops
*Africa
IDENTIFIERS
ABSTRACT
This report covers the findings and recommendations
of the Workshop on the admission and academic placement of students
from selected sub-Saharan countries. The workshop was held in Ghana,
Togo, and Nigeria from July 19 to` August 10, 1973. The report has
been subdivided into five major areas: West Africa; English speaking
Africa; West and Central Africa; French speaking Africa; East Africa;
and Central and Southern Africa. Filch section includes a typology for
general reference, country reports, placement recommendations, a
bibliography, and sample credentials. A final section is included as
the English language Proficiency report. (WJM)
10
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
PREFACE
1
Anglophone
WEST AFRICA:
Typology
4
I
The Gambia
25
II
Ghana
26
III
Nigeria
IV
38
47
Sierra Leone
Placement Recommendations
VI
54
Liberia
VII
58
Placement Recommendations
VIII
71
Francophone
WEST AND CENTRAL AFRICA:
83
Typology
I
Ivory Coast
100
II
Mali
109
III
Senegal
118
IV
Togo
127
Placement Recommendations
136
VI
140
VII
Zaire
155
Placement Recommendations
VIII
EAST AFRICA
164
Typology
I
174
Kenya
II
180
Tanzania
III
186
Uganda
IV
Placement Recommendations
191
193
Ethiopia
VI
207
Placement Recommendations
VII
CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN AFRICA
216
Malawi
I
223
Zambia
II
233
Botswana, Lesotho, Swaziland
III
241
Placement Recommendations
IV
ENGLISH LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY REPORT
247
.
254
Workshop Participants, Staff and Guests
APPENDIX A:
PREFACE
findings and reco97,ndations of
This report covers the
and academic placco. At of students
the Workshop on the admission
The workshc, was held in
from selected sub-Saharan countries.
19 to August 1", 1973, spon-
Ghana, Togo, and Nigeria from July
of Collegiate Registrars and
sored by the American Association
National A,,c)ciation for
Admissions Officers (AACRAO) and the
have
Seven previous workshops
Foreign Student" Affairs (NAFSA).
Asia and the Pacific, Germany,
been held covering Latin America,
and the Carribean.
three partisipants and
The workshop consisted of twenty
States of America and Canada, thus
three observers from the United
affiliation and geo-
representing a diversity in institutional
All, in their various capacities, are
graphical representation.
and/or admission of students from
involved in the counse3ing
extensive pro-
Some of the participants had
African states.
in Africa prior to the workshop.
fessional and/or travel experience
in addition, to have representatives
The workshop was privileged,
the Agency for International
of some major sponsoring agencies --
the Canadian Inter-
Development, the Rockefeller Foundation, and
Workshop participants were sub-
national Development Agency.
specific country or regional
divided into work groups with
responsibilities.
workshop were ambitious - to cover
The objectives of the
sub-Saharan Africa.
structures as possible in
as many educational
could be included due to
Needless to say, not every country
Priority in the selection of
funding and time limitations.
assigned to countries having large
countries to be studied was
However, an
American institutions.
student populations at North
provide up-to-date data on certain
attempt was also made to
known in terms of educational
countries about which little is
in-
In total, 19 country reports were
structure and credentials.
analysis and review by the work-
cluded in this report reflecting
shop group.
-1
The format of this workshop differed to some extent
There was no provision for the use
from some previous ones.
of U.S. resource persons who would travel in advance of the
Participants responsible
conference to the respective countries.
workshop
for areas other than the three countries visited by all
Thus
members did not have the opportunity to visit their areas.
educators from
access to information and extensive contact with
To compensate for
all African countries selected was uneven.
these limitations, priority was given to inviting, as guests,
prominent educational officials from Government and University
In addition, local hosts and colleagues in Ghana, Togo,
circles.
and Nigeria contributed substantially to the workshop deliberations
Special acknowledgement must be made of the
and activities.
tremendous and invaluable assistance given by the African guests,
Without their sincere and
whose names are listed in Appendix A
sympathetic collaboration the task would have been extremely
difficult, if not impossible.
Education in African countries, as will be noted by the
of restruc-
contents of this report, is in the continual process
Inherited colonial structures -- whether
turing and rethinking.
being
British, French, Belgian, or American -- are increasingly
philosophy and structure
put to a test to determine whether the
One must
correspond to relevant national and cultural criteria.
educational
therefore anticipate that modifications of the present
structures will be made in many countries.
sections:
This report has been sub-divided into five major
Francophone;
Anglophone; West and Central Africa:
West Africa:
The terms anglophone
East Africa; Central and Southern Africa.
speaking areas res-
and francophone refer to English and French
general reference,
Each section includes a typology for
pectively.
bibliography, and
country reports, placement recommendations, a
consis-
An attempt has been made to follow a
sample credentials.
information available.
tent format insofar as possible, given the
Proficiency
A final section is included as the English Language
of this issue by workshop partici-
After much discussion
Report.
recommendations separately, rather
pants it was decided to present
than with the placement recommendations.
recommendations are
As in previous workshops the placement
the discretion
offered as general guidelines to be used entirely at
with institutional policy
of admission officers, and as consistent
They represent the consensus of the workshop
and requirements.
It will be noted
the unanimity.
group, although not necessarily
standardized tests such
that there has been no reference to common
Examination (GRE), The Admission Test for
as the Graduate Record
Scholastic Aptitude Test
Graduate Study in Business (ATGSB), The
(SAT), etc.
-2-
It was the consensus of the participants that due to a
number of variables, some of which are identified in
the discussion of English language proficiency tests,
these tests may not be the best indicator of academic
competence, and if required, should be used along with
other credentials submitted.
On behalf of the Workshop Director, Mr. Stan
Berry, the Joint Committee on Workshops (AACRAO/NAFSA)
and the workshop participants, we wig.h to express our
great appreciation to those who made this workshop
Without assistance from a number of interested
possible.
groups and institutions, the funding requirements of
a conference of this nature would not have been met.
The contributors included;
The African Scholarship
Program of American Universities (ASPAU); the African-
American Institute (AAI); the College Entrance
Examination Board (CEEB); the Agency for International
Development (AID); The U.S. Department of State-
Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, Office
of Youth, Student, and Special Programs (GUMS),
and the Office of African Programs (CU/AF)
the
;
Rockefeller Foundation; and the International
Education Research Foundation.
Finally, we wish to give credit and recogni-
tion to our guests ;I'd local hosts which included the
Association of African Universities (AAU), the West
African Examinations Council (WAEC), the University
of Benin, and the Universities to which we travelled,
where various university officials went out of their
way to make our stay enjoyable and profitable.
It
is our hope that they also obtained useful insights
into the American educational structures as we
attempted to gather better perspectives on educational
developments in their countries.
Cynthia Wise
Report Editor
Assistant Workshop Director
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WEST AFRICA: Anglophone
CHAPTER I
TYPOLOGY OF CURRENT EDUCATIONAL STRUCTURE
:
This section provides a typology, or explanatory model,
of the educational structure applying, with some exceptions,
to Gambia, Sierra Leone, Ghana and Nigeria.
Country sections
are added subsequently for more comprehensive descriptions of
the educational structures within each country.
Liberia's
education, being different from this model, is treated in
Chapter VII.
Readers are also urged to refer to the last
section of this report on English language proficiency.
Primary and Secondary School Structure
Primary school in all four countries - Sierra Leone,the Gambia,
Ghana and Nigeria - varies from six to seven years for students
generally entering at age six.
Promotion from primary to
secondary school is usually determined by secondary entrance
examinations or national examinations administered by the West
African Examinations Council (WAEC) for the Ministries of Edu-
In Sierra Leone, this tett is known as the Selective
cation.
Entrance Examination given upon completion of class 7.
The
Common Entrance Examination is administered in Ghana at the end
In Nigeria pupils sit for the Nigeria National
of class 6.
Common Entrance Examinaclon.
Secondary school programs are normally of five years'
duration -- Form I
At the end of Form V candidates
to Form V.
sit for a number of secondary school leaving certificates.
The
most common are the West African Examinations Council School
Certificate or the University of London Certificate of Education
at Ordinary "0" Level.
Form VI is offered at a limited number
of institutions in Ghana, Nigeria and Sierra Leone.
Form VI
consists of two years of additional education leading to the
WAEC Higher School Certificate or the G.C.E. Advanced "A" Levels.
secondary
An intermediary level - between primary and senior
Middle
cycles - is available in Ghana at the Middle School.
The four year program leads
through IV.
Schools offer Middle Forms I
Prior to completing
to the Middle School Leaving Certificate.
the Common
this program many students will attempt, by taking
Entrance Examination, to transfer to the academic secondary
schools Forms 1-V.
_,1011ipp,..1....11.
West African Examinations Council Examinations
founded in
The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) was
administering
early 1952 for the purpose of developing and
and
examinations in the public interest of West African states
standard and
for awarding certificates which would be of the same
the United
quality as certificates issues by examining bodies in
Originally WAEC was to assist external examining bodies
Kingdom.
of tests in West
in the United Kingdom in the administration
external
However, the final objective was to supplant
Africa.
The Council is composed of two representa-
examinations bodies.
Cambridge, and repre-
tives from the Universities of London and
of Nigeria, Sierra
sentatives nominated by the member Governments
Liberia participates as an associate mem-
Leone and the Gambia.
WAEC offices exist in all member states.
ber.
relation-
Since its origin the WAEC has maintained a special
Examinations Syndicate.
ship with the University of Cambridge Local
examinations were at first
The West African School Certificate
By 1966 the WAEC was
administered by the Syndicate in 1955.
The Syndicate
administering these examinations independently.
School Certificate
continued the administration of the Higher
Council assumed lull
examinations until January 1973 when the
of the
responsibility for the development and administration
subjects
Nevertheless, until the Council has developed all
exams.
still take some subjects
at the Advanced level, candidates may
Examinations or the Uni-
through the University of London School
Syndicate.
versity of Cambridge Local Examinations
G.C.E. Advanced "A"
In June 1962 the University of London
Syndicate Higher School
Level examinations replaced the Cambridge
Sierra Leone, and in the
Certificate examinations in Ghana and
The Joint Examination for the School
Gambia one year later.
of Education - G.C.E.
Certificate and the General Certificate