Toward A Civic Engaged Academic
By: Ndumba J Kamwanyah
I ONCE read that a great university improves the community in which it is located. That, of course, is referring to the importance of universities, as anchor institutions, in engaging communities and revitalising local economies.
Can we say the same about Namibia’s institutions of higher learning? I pose this question conservatively. This is because not only are Namibia’s three universities – namely the University of Namibia (Unam), Polytechnic of Namibia/University of Science and Technology, and the International University of Management (IUM) – still a work in progress, but also remain the envy of other African countries. Well, maybe not quite all African countries.
Nonetheless, in a shortest period of time possible, the three have admitted and produced the largest cohort of graduates. Unam has established satellite campuses throughout the country and the Polytechnic has matured into a fully-fledged university of science and technology, with satellite centers of its own in the regions. For its part IUM has become a popular pathway for career and upward mobility for many students from all walks of lives.
However, there is just one slight problem, and that problem pertains to a university’s civic mission. Teaching and research are, of course, the first and second missions of a university. But there is also a third mission of community engagement. That third mission, which is an important critical part of education for democracy and citizenship, seems to be lacking from our institutions of higher education.
First, that is to say that our universities are becoming more and more isolated from community issues (and issues of national concern too), neglecting their civic goals. Mind you, our university campuses are actually surrounded or located near poor neighborhoods such as those found in Katutura in Windhoek, Kehemo and Ndama in Rundu. The same can also be said about other Unam campuses and Polytechnic centers throughout the country. But more importantly, an academic voice – that critical and rigorous voice – is lacking on issues of national concern such as poverty, violence against women, unemployment, education, health care crisis, and many other social issues facing Namibia.
Secondly, in terms of student involvement in community issues, our institutions of higher learning are lagging behind. Students at our campuses seem disengaged, disinterested and less passionate (if not less critical) about issues affecting their communities. And even the graduates who are being produced by our universities appear to be more interested in material wants – the type of getting rich fast – than anything else!
This prevailing academic disengagement at Namibia’s campuses is not necessarily a new phenomenon. It is known as the ivory tower syndrome, referring to elitism and detachment from common reality/experience. The way how the learning environments at our campuses and the university class rooms are structured is probably partly to blame for this disengagement. Too much emphasis is placed on theoretical context and less on practical reality in order to connect students to the real world out there.
Students are not the only culprits when it comes to community disengagement. The university faculties’ involvement in community is minimal too: Their teaching methods focus less on civic missions. There are scarce resources or incentives for the faculty to engage in what is known as “community-engaged scholarship” in order for them to collaborate, share and apply their expertise to real-world problems in the communities. Faculty collaboration with peers in other disciplines or collaboration with NGO’s/community groups/government is also non-existent.
It is, therefore, not by chance that universities, like hospitals, are referred to as anchor institutions. This is so because they can harness (socially, economically, academically and politically) community change/development. They are a place for innovation and thinking out of the box. They have resources – in the form of faculty expertise, students, information – which uniquely make them serve as a one stop centre for community social change. In return, this community partnership would benefit the university as well by enriching and informing the university’s academic agenda in terms of teaching, research and learning.
There are many ways to community engagement. But what I have in mind is the importance of our universities to engage in action research, lectures/discussions, policy discussions, training, and student service-learning projects as a way of spearheading solutions to pressing issues facing Namibian communities, neighbourhoods, regions and towns.