What question did this study set out to answer?

The aim is to argue against the idea of a single ideal university and to promote differentiated missions among institutions.

May 24, 2026Open Access

'African universities should differentiate their missions clearly'

Key Points

The aim is to argue against the idea of a single ideal university and to promote differentiated missions among institutions.
Discusses the concept of educational plurality and differentiation within higher education systems.
Explores the spectrum of functions that public universities can perform.
Highlights the need for intentional differentiation among universities in Africa.
Identifies the current discourse's failure to appreciate the variety of public university roles.

Abstract

The notion that there is a single ideal university must be resisted in favour of one that values a plurality of institutional types and promotes intentional differentiation in national higher education systems, according to Tade Aina, head of research, Mastercard Foundation. In this regard, one of the biggest failures in the current discourse, he says, is the failure to see public universities "as existing on a kind of spectrum along which there are a wide range of different functions that may be performed".

'African universities should differentiate their missions clearly'

Key Points

Abstract

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