Dr. James Etim
Dr. James S. Etim, professor of education and coordinator of the middle grades education program at Winston-Salem State University’s (WSSU) School of Education and Human Performance, is serving as editor-in-chief of a new peer review quarterly publication, Review of Higher Education in Africa, which recently published its first issue.
“The scarcity of publications on African higher education and economic conditions across that continent means publishing is slowly grinding to a halt,” said Etim. “The financial situation confronting many African institutions of higher learning has also affected the ability of their libraries to subscribe to international journals as well. Launching this on-line publication will provide a forum for students, teachers and policy makers to debate and exchange ideas as well as publicize findings on higher education throughout Africa.”
Etim taught at the University of Jos in Nigeria from 1980 to 1989 and is familiar with the various issues facing higher education in Africa, including financing, deterioration of services, faculty recruiting and the impact of HIV/AIDS.
“Notwithstanding all of the issues, tremendous progress has occurred in African universities during this decade,” Etim added. “Yet the continent has urgent problems that need to be tackled, ranging from the low output of graduates in the technical, engineering and medical areas to the need to develop instructional materials with more local examples.”
Articles in the first issue of this journal included “The Political Economy of African Higher Education” and “Challenges in Managing Change: The Case of Performance Management System at the University of Botswana.” In addition to editing the journal, Etim co-edited a book titled Educational Reform in Africa: Essays on Curriculum, Libraries, Counseling and Grade Levels, published in April by Edwin Mellen Press.
