Introduction
There is an
overwhelming consensus, virtual unanimity, on the urgent need for
African universities to overhaul their management systems. A highly
experienced former registrar called for a transformation of the
entire management culture of universities, in order to re-orient
them towards cost-effectiveness, efficiency and accountability. The
damage caused by the prolonged economic crisis, and the
implications of macro-economic structural adjustment, have created
the climate in which such changes have become possible, or even
mandatory.
The
efficiency imperative is not disputed. However, what evokes a
furious response from university people is any inference that
efficiency is a sovereign goal. To receive the assent and
cooperation of university faculty, management restructuring must be
seen to be the means by which universities can enter the difficult
path of reconstruction and quality improvement.
This chapter
covers the response which universities are making and need to make
to the pressures for reform in management, including measures for
internal management reviews, and the requirements for management
training. The condition of women in university management is
considered. Planning capacity, including the achievement of
comprehensive management information systems, are at the center of
the changes that are already in motion on many campuses. Attention
is given to the effects of structural adjustment in university
financing, and the scope for cost reduction and revenue
enhancement. The second part of the chapter takes up the need to
protect postgraduate education in African universities by carefully
considered organizational and funding arrangements. The related
issue of research management follows, and the chapter closes with a
discussion of the vital management issue of equipment
maintenance.