2ND CARTA VICE CHANCELLOR'S MEETING CARTA 2ND VICE CHANCELLORS MEETING REPORT | Page 17

© Consortium for Advanced Research Training in Africa (CARTA) & University of Nairobi (UoN)
In his final remarks, Prof. Nyaigotti urged CARTA to return scholarships to where they used to be and
redirect some money to producing great scholarly outputs and minds. In his closing remarks, Prof.
Nyaigotti wished CARTA well and requested the consortium to work together with CUE to improve
the quality of university education particularly in postgraduate training. He urged African universities
to make ‘quality’ the center of their operations including creation of human capital.
SESSION II
INTRODUCTION REMARKS
By Prof. Chacha Nyaigotti Chacha, Board Chairman, CUE
Prof. Nyaigotti flagged off this session by indicating that he was excited with the choice of venue for
the meeting. He indicated that in the past, the reason for joining university was to obtain knowledge
and training for critical thinking. The challenge that consortiums now have is the task to return
scholarly training back to where it used to be, the fundamental basics. Prof. Nyaigotti posed the
question ‘What is the driving motivation of a student in Africa seeking University education in Africa?’
He indicated that the major challenge faced is the motivational level of learners. He said that when he
listens and talks to university students their driving force is geared towards getting a certificate to
demonstrate to potential employers for employment rather than to get education or knowledge.
Universities should therefore strive to make the experience for the students enjoyable and worthwhile
so that their motivation is to gain knowledge and become leaders in their different disciplines.
Universities need to build cohorts of scholarly individuals motivated to participate in their fields with
enthusiasm. Prof. Nyaigotti indicated that the aim of the universities should not to be counting
numbers of enrollments in order to make money from the parrarel programmes but instead should be
focused on generating quality graduates able to solve market needs.
In conclusion, Prof. Nyaigotti indicated that whatever knowledge is gained by scholars, it should be
propagated to building the knowledge of the students. He thanked the VCs’ for allowing him to be
the keynote speaker for the meeting and wished them the very best in the 2 day deliberations.
PRESENTATION ONE: RETHINKING DOCTORAL LEVEL TRAINING IN AFRICAN
UNIVERSITIES: THE COMPARATIVE ADVANTAGE OF CARTA
Presentation by Prof. Alex Ezeh, Executive Director, APHRC
Prof. Ezeh began his presentation by looking back at the journey of APHRC. Discussions on setting up
CARTA began in early 2000. In 2005, interviews were made to over 20+ PhD holders from African
universities but the applicants did not make it. It was evident that there was need for a high
undergraduate program to get to PhD level. APHRC wondered why the PhD holders did not make it
CARTA’s 2 nd Vice Chancellor’s Meeting –Report of meeting proceedings – July 10-11, 2017
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