The Politics of Higher Education: The Battle Over the Control of Knowledge in Africa

Abstract

Education is the pillar of social development. Higher education in particular teaches how to develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills. For the better opportunities of tomorrow, forward-looking nations formulate inclusive education policies today. However, it is not uncommon to see authoritarian regimes control knowledge production and dissemination as an instrument of political socialization to establish their rules, making the education sector in particular the key political battleground. Using the Gramscian hegemonic approach, this article examines how education policies have been manipulated in many African states to serve the dominant interests of the ruling class. Drawing on evidence from Ethiopia, Egypt, Eritrea, Malawi, and Rwanda, the paper argues that the governing regimes in postcolonial Africa that turned dictators abused learning institutions to manufacture consent and legitimacy to their rules, undermining indigenous education and knowledge in Africa.