Integration of Higher Education and Endogenous Development in Staff, Students and Curricula Development Processes

Higher education in most developing countries, particularly on the African continent, suffers a major contradiction, where even though the populations in nearly all African countries are of mixed cultural backgrounds, the university curriculum content encompasses, predominantly, the modern western view. Accordingly efforts and experiences for staff, student and curriculum development incorporating research, teaching and learning capacities focus, primarily, on modern concepts, approaches and methodologies. Thus most development initiatives are consequently looking to modern western view to motivate individuals who have come to associate modern western schooling and school-type programmes with success and the non-modern western world views with failure (Rustemeyer 2011:15). Arguably, modern western view pervades nearly every aspect of daily lives of traditional societies dwelling in rural communities whilst being increasingly influenced by inevitable factors of universal marketplace economically. This article challenges the University of Technology to become more passionately initiative in supporting the essence of ‘endogenous development (ED) meaning development originating from within through encouraging and promoting networking with rural Community-based Traditional Institutions. The international Comparing and Supporting Endogenous Development (COMPAS) Network describes endogenous development as an empowering process of the community, in which cultural awakening, creation of unity and participatory action are essential elements (COMPAS 2006:9). The significant aspect of the endogenous development approach is the willingness of development experts to implant their work and effort in the worldviews of the Traditional Institutions even though the professionals may not fully understand or agree with the worldviews of the respective Traditional Institutions