As agents of social transformation, African universities should explore new ways of restructuring curricula, developing students and producing knowledge, according to South African academic Cheryl de la Rey, who is now the vice-chancellor of the University of Canterbury in New Zealand. "I see African universities as a critical component of the transformation of African societies," she said. "And I use that word 'transformation' in the broadest sense to encompass transforming knowledge; transforming identity; transforming or making an impact on systems of governance and how governance is conceived; and transforming individual lives, including through the ripple effect created by each graduate whom the universities educate.
Human Sciences Research Council (Fri,) studied this question.