Institutes in India are starting to take advantage of this new boom now. This is a great opportunity for many people. Now individuals do not have to travel for their education, but can stay at home, or in the area of their employment and still get their education. Distance Learning Institutes have changed people’s lives because of this. Those with disabilities, children, or other responsibilities can have the same chance as anyone else to have the life-altering course that they need to build a career on. This training is a key part in make the most of one’s life and career.

There are many ways to find the courses from Top Institutes in India, but the most convenient is the internet. There are hundreds of resources waiting for people with the desire to be educated to go to the site for more information. They have lists of the courses, the times that they are available, and from which institute they are available from. They also have articles pertaining to the different schools and courses that lend a very big helping hand in choosing the appropriate courses.

Some sites will actually help you compare the different schools and courses that are in the same topic area. For example, if there is several similar business courses from a few different schools, then you will want know the differences between each one. They will probably have different costs associated with them, maybe different time periods or slightly different curriculum. These are all essential pieces of information to know, and you will find those comparisons online.

Even if you are looking for Institutes in India that offer courses that are unusual such as personal development classes, yoga, amongst others, you can still search for them at this site. In fact it will be much easier this way than contacting all of the different schools and offices looking for the same facts. It will save time and effort.

Institutes in India are benefited as well by this exposure as it brings students to their courses that otherwise wouldn’t be there. This is a wonderful way to be able to get their courses publicised to a greater degree. Because of the lack of exposure that certain courses receive, this could be a crucial point for them. Any new courses that are being offered now have a better way to becoming public. Many Top Institutes in India are following this new trend which is indeed a wise decision.

For all of those involved, whether it’s the students or the institutes, this being online is a perfect way for many courses to be offered or taken. The benefits and advantages keep on adding up and the opportunities are endless.

Alex Smith providing infinitecourses Distance learning, coaching institutes, distance learning institutes and learning institutes.

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Animation is an art of imparting life to virtual characters and images. It is an important essence of entertainment industry and it requires artistic skills and a lot of creativity. It has become the fastest growing section of electronic media. World of animation is interesting as well as exciting too. It requires a lot of hard work, dedication and skills in understanding animation process. It is an art of filling emotions and feelings in virtual characters and requires proper training. Several colleges and institutes provide short term and long term programs which can be chosen depending on eligibility and interest.

Selecting the best animation institute

One need not struggle to find an appropriate animation institute. There are certain things which should be considered while selecting the best institution like its track record should be checked and researched before joining it. Reviews and credentials will also tell a lot about institute and would widen vision about reputation of the organization. Such centers that provide unique features and facilities are recommended. Institutes with the best faculty are always considered apt as they have experienced staff that can guide better than others. Institutions that provide placement assistance are a good option to choose from. One would need to research a lot to select the best one that meets your criteria. These institutes can be searched for online as well and their ratings will also enable in understanding its standards. Websites of top institutes will serve as an easy way to find the best one that meet required needs.

Keep in mind

While hunting for the best institution, location should be used as a major key. Centers around your locality are recommendable. Ones with best alumnus, high prestige, attractive outlook, impressive infrastructure and best repute are good options to choose from. Aims and objectives of an association, method of training, important goals, classes offered, length of studies, performance opportunities, preparation for the market place, animation degree and total cost should be considered while keeping a hand on one. Interviewing people related to animation, talking to friends, family and teachers would also help in making picture of the appropriate animation center clear. Ex-students will also be able to clear all your doubts and provide true and actual information of internal working of an institution.

There are many other ways by which search for in this field can be made easy. Checking out position of these study centers on world scale will also be of great help in determining the best one out of the pool. Check out comments and testimonials of the animation institutes that are appealing and meet requisite needs. Shortlist best ones and evaluate their pros and cons. Finally it would be convenient to choose and join one of the best out of short listed ones.

Article written by Mr. N.C. Bansal, founder and chairperson of RKFMA, journalism college India and animation institute Delhi.

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It is located in Macon city, which is also called the heart of Georgia, USA. American Professional Institute is like a technical school, it is private for- profit type institution. They mainly give training for those students who select their career and who need some guidance and professional training in their chosen field of career. American Professional Institute offers certain degrees, which is mainly less than 2 year courses.

1. The main degrees are Medical Insurance Coding Specialist + coder. In this course professional gives proper training in data entry, record keeping procedure related to medical administrative.

2. Medical +Clinical Assistant course, that includes medical offices administrative services, patients caring process, file keeping.

3. Massage Therapy + Therapeutic Massage, course period is less than one year and it includes massaging procedures, give proper training in various types of massages.

4. Cosmetology and Related Personal Grooming Arts, other; this is a less than 1 year course.

5. Cosmetology + Cosmetologist, the course period is less than two year. In this course professional gives students proper training in cosmetic predations, doing manicure and pedicure, facial treatments, chemical treatments, customer service, etc.

6. Allied Health and Medical Assisting Services, other, it is a less than one-year course. This course gives training in medical assisting services.

In last three years, the American Professional Institute gives training for more than 350 students. It gives a support to the students to achieving their goal. It also promises that each student gets extra care and attention to ingress their willpower there are experienced professionals, teachers, staffs, and faculty to assist the students dedicatedly. And of course taking training from American Professional Institute, students can have an advantage in getting their career

The Institute is doing a great job for students who need career guidance in his/her career. It gives a great opportunity for students to improve their technical and professional skill. The institute gives a personal attention to every student, which makes the students comfortable, and he or she can ingress his confidence. Everyone needs career guidance, so the American Professional Institute is really helpful for those who need training in their career.

American Professional Institute is mainly for those students who need training for their jobs. You will find more American Professional Institute Information over the authors site where he also discusses about other Top Universities whose name is famous worldwide.

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Campus

With seven regular and one affiliate campus located throughout Connecticut and Massachusetts, there are overall eight campuses. Main campuses are located in Stratford, Connecticut. Others are Enfield, Rocky Hill, and Watertown in Connecticut and Canton, Westborough and Chicopee in Massachusetts. Only affiliate campus is located at Branford in Connecticut.

Brief History

Porter school of Engineering Design was founded in Hartford in Connecticut in 1946. In the year 1973 it merged with Chester Institute for Technical Education of Stratford, Connecticut. That was the time when the name Porter and Chester Institute was adopted standardizing the curriculum. Porter School at Rocky Hills became the Rocky Hill campus of the institute. Waterbury and Enfield campuses were established in 1979 and 1986 respectively. In 1987 the Rocky Hill branch was moved to Wethersfield. Chicopee campus was established in 1993 and Connecticut School of Electronics war merged in 1995 and was moved to New Heaven at Branford, Connecticut. A new campus was established in Westborough in 2002 and finally the Canton Branch was opened in 2009.

Unique Features

Porter and Chester Institute got the School of Excellence award in 2009 from ACCSCT. Also the day programs span 12 months but the evening programs span 18 months of course duration.

Programs Offered

Ten different career programs are offered by the institute. Automotive Technology, CADD, Computer Network, Electrician, Electronic System, HVACR are the main programs offered with day class duration of 12 months and evening class duration of 18 months. Other programs with 9 months duration in day time but 12-15 months duration for evening time are administrative health specialist, dental assisting, medical assisting, and practical nursing. Online education is not available.

Admission

Open admission policy is followed by the institution. Details can be viewed on the state university website.

Accreditation

Porter and Chester Institute is accredited by Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges of Technology (ACCSCT), Accrediting Bureau of Health Education Schools (ABHES) and the Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA). Chicopee campus is accredited by Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs upon the recommendation of the Curriculum Review Board of the American Association of Medical Assistants Endowment (CRB-AAMAE). Institute is also approved by the Commission of Higher Education of Connecticut and Massachusetts.

Student Support and Financial Aids

Porter and Chester Institute offers academic and career counseling, PT cost defraying employment, and career placement and on campus library services. Extensive undergraduate morning or evening classes are also available. Financial assistance includes federal, state, local, and institutional grants, scholarships and student loan aids.

Porter and Chester Institute offers extensive career based education and training for students of Connecticut and Massachusetts and others. With eight campuses, it becomes easier for the students in the institute to pursue their studies in close proximity to their residence. For details one can visit the college directory at the state university website.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Michael_Mize_Russell

Career institute training is easy to access Career institute training online is available for many industries so that students can get the skills they need when it’s convenient for them to attend class. Career training might be right for you if are:

Career institute training is suitable for whom?

Employed professional – An employed professional trying to move ahead: If you are already happy in your job and doing well at your job but you want to learn more so that you will stand a better chance of moving up the corporate ladder career institute training is probably a good fit for you. The focus on practical skills will help you achieve your promotion goals. You can also take a few career training courses in leadership and HR skills to show your boss that you would be a great supervisor.

Change Careers – An employed person who wants to switch careers: If you don’t like your job and you want to make the jump to a new career it’s important that you can demonstrate the skills necessary for that new career to potential employers. Career institute training will give you the experience you need to show employers that you can hit the ground running in a new career.

Find a New Job – An unemployed person who has been laid off: If you have lost your job and you can’t seem to find any decent jobs in your field career institute training can give you a new set of skills so that you can start looking for work in other fields. A certificate from a career institute could help you get a toehold job in a new industry while you figure out what path you want your career to take.

Find a New Career direction – An unemployed person who doesn’t know what they want to do: There are millions of people who haven’t found their calling yet. But, you need to work and make money while you figure out what you want to do with the rest of your life. Career institute training will give you a great skill set that you can use to get a job while you figure out the path you want your life to take. It would be foolish to invest hundreds of thousands of dollars in a college degree if you don’t really know what you want to study. A far less expensive certificate from a career institute will make it easier for you to get a job and save money for college so that when you do figure out what you want to study you’ll be financially ready to attend college.

UCareerEducation.com is a professional education website who provide free information on Career Institute Training.

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Educational system in schools and colleges
The educational system is schools and colleges do not match with the expectations of higher education institutes. Premier institutes like IIT, IIM test students’ ability, that how far they have understood the concepts and whether they are able to apply concepts in practical.

But in educational institutions students are taught in examination point of view. System of education in India is more examination oriented. There is a system of examination and there is no system of education in India. Students memorize the concepts and reproduce in the examination. Examination tests students’ memory power only.

Role played by coaching institutes
Coaching institutes teach students the concepts in science, mathematics and similar subjects. They teach students how to apply concepts they have learned, in practical situation. What students should learn in schools is taught in coaching institutes. With the knowledge gained in schools, students are unable to get through in the entrance examinations of higher education.

Problem with coaching institutes
Of course through these institutes students are trained well in learning science concepts. But the fees they are charging are exorbitant. A report says that nearly 5000 million rupees is spent together by all students getting training in these institutes. Coaching institutes also cannot be blamed for these high fees, as they are paying handsome salary to their faculties.

Moreover as these institutes are located in cities, rural students are denied this opportunity.

Remedy to this issue
The curriculum in education should be restructured, so that it improves students’ comprehensive ability, making them to understand the concepts well and attend the entrance tests of premier institutes. Government may consider starting boarding schools having separate curriculum, where talented students are selected, admitted and trained to appear for entrance examinations. Government may consider giving subsidy to these schools and nominal fee may be charged from students. Changes in pattern of examinations should be done. Objective type questions can be introduced, to test whether the students have understood the concepts.

This may be considered as a reform in higher education in India.

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Once a graduate receives their sheep skin from the culinary institute of their choice, the real world begins. In the traditional sense, a degree from a culinary institute still carriers as much or more weight that it did in the past. With new ideas and modalities and marketability options of a chief, both locally domestically and internationally it is of little wonder a degree from a culinary institute is now more valued than it ever has been. The best way to find and decide upon a great culinary institute school is to log onto the internet. The growth of the Internet has made it all too easy to search for anything in instant. The smart researcher who is planning on being the next Julia Childs will see the power of the little box and will utilize this power in the best way possible.

The continent of North America is home to some of the best culinary institute training facilities in the world. Of course Europe will argue that they have the oldest and most well-respected schools on the planet and this is a great argument but one that they must lose. You see it is all about location and the location that is near the epicenter of the world is New York City, New York. This fantastic town is only a few hundred miles from another great North American city, Montreal. Both if these cities make up two of the most dynamic one two culinary training ground punches and they knock the other worldly contenders down to the mat.

A favorite culinary in New York is called The Culinary Arts Institute of New York. Here the student s is introduced to the wonderful world of food and cooking and the disciplines are varied and unique. Food has that wonderful ability to bring people and ideas and culture all together into one big melting pot. The graduates of these schools will find that they are both respected and very well compensated for their efforts. Pay a visit to the local culinary school and see for yourself.

Visit Learn Culinary Arts School for more helpful resources on culinary schools.

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All India Institute of Medical Sciences was established by an Act of Parliament of 1956, as an autonomous institution of national importance and its objectives and functions were defined. By virtue of this Act, the institute awards its own medical degrees, diplomas and other academic distinctions. The degrees and diplomas awarded by the institute under the All India institute of Medical Sciences Act are recognized medical qualifications for the purpose of the Indian Medical Council Act, are deemed to be included in the first schedule of that act entitling the holders to the same privileges as those attached to the equivalent awards from other universities of India.

The Institute is a residential university in which the faculty members, staff and the students live on campus. There are 8 hostels for undergraduate students (6 for boys and 2 for girls) with a capacity to accommodate 850 students. There are separate hostels for the postgraduate students. The hospital has 1560 beds including the beds in Paying wards.

All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS)

The prime concern of the Institute is to develop patterns of teaching in undergraduate and postgraduate medical education in all the branches so as to demonstrate a high standard of medical education to all medical colleges and allied institutions in India. The other important objectives of the Institute are to bring together in one place educational facilities of the highest order for the training of personnel in all the important branches of health activities and to attain self-sufficiency in postgraduate medical education. The educational principles and practices being adopted here are those which are the best suited to the needs of the country. Adaptation of education to meet the problems of community health is a major preoccupation. To this effect the Institute has been trying to initiate a model educational program which is undertaken in the Ballabgarh Community Development Block in collaboration with the Haryana Government. The Institute has also been able been able to initiate model educational programme in Community Medicine at the urban field practice area in Malviya Nagar, New Delhi. Emphasis is laid on the active learning process and on the cultivation of scholarly habits and scientific methods.

The first batch of undergraduate medical students was admitted to the Institute in the year 1956 and since then the Institute has been admitting 50 students every year to the M.B.B.S. Course. The number of students to this course is kept relatively small to ensure an adequate teacher student ratio. The undergraduate curriculum is constantly the subject for discussion at the faculty and Staff Council levels and required changes in the curriculum are brought about, off and on in order to evolve a pattern which is the most suitable for the Indian needs and conditions.

The undergraduate medical students get sufficient impetus for higher studies as the institute provides facilities for postgraduate degrees in almost all the branches of medical sciences. At present, the Institute is awarding post-graduate degrees in about 45 different specialization.

Rohit Mehra is webmaster of http://www.pmtprep.com/ – All India Institute of Medical Sciences which is a leading online education portal provides a platform where students or medical aspirants can have online tutorials for competitive exams like AIIMS, AIMPT, AFMC etc. The portal intends to provide an elite expert panel, comprising Medical students, graduates and medical coaching professional who have a common passion for medical Entrance exams in particular and science in general. The panel will provide online guidance to students appearing for the AIIMS exam. The biggest asset of the venture is that it is free, no subscription cost either! This comes as a huge-advantage to the student community who has been craving for personalized help, but could not afford it due to costs or demographics. It also breaks all geographic barriers to bring together some of the best brains in the industry to help nurture the next generation.

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Now, we see the condition in middle class educational institutions. There is no quality of education in the so-called average educational institutions. The teaching environment and the faculty is not upto the mark. The standard of graduate & postgraduate level is so poor that some institutions are even selling their transcripts & degrees. The government is taking action against these institutions in private sector. The University of the Punjab and Higher Education Commission have set a standard for the operation of these institutions and award affiliations & charters to only those private institutions who qualify the required criteria. Everyday, we see the sign boards of a school or college removed by the concerned authorities but again we see a new entrant in the education sector with a very poor standard of teaching environment and faculty. The tuition culture is also a black spot on our prevailing educational environment in private institutions. Many daytime colleges & schools are converted into tuition centers in the evening. There are some private institutions that have not been awarded charter by Higher Education Commission or affiliation with Punjab University but they are miss-leading or rather cheating the students by putting false statements on their signboards and brochures.

The curriculum offered in most of the educational institutes does not fit in the requirements of the job. Due attention is not given to the professional programs to enable a student to face competitive & professional requirements of the job opportunities in the market. Education does not merely mean academic qualification. What we have to do is to mobilize our people and build up the character of our future generations. In this world of global competition, success of a business is dependent upon the quality of management, which comes through the quality of education.

The basic role of the educational institutions in the private sector is to educate, train and develop the young generation for the successful leadership roles in the practical realms of life. It is not just the degree from a college, which ensures the highest standards of excellence & growth. The basic purpose of training programs should not be to transmit knowledge from books but to impart learning & training to effect changes in behaviours & skills.

The point to note here is whether our educational institutions in private sector are providing an opportunity to explore human capabilities which are not addressed in main stream education and are they willing to modify their curriculums to meet the demands of global competition in the job market. Due to high merit and limited seats in government institutions, the majority of the students join private educational institutions. So the demand of the day is that private institutions should provide quality education at affordable price to fulfill their social responsibility. Disintegrated nations can be transformed into uncanny force by bringing revolutionary changes in their stagnant thinking. We want our younger generation to be flexible, creative and assertive enough to make out dreams true about a progressive, liberal and strong Pakistan.

Education without purpose & direction is a mere waste of time & resources that results in unemployment & frustration. The educational institutions in the private sector should feel their responsibility to provide quality education at affordable price. All of us do not have equal talents, but all of use should have an equal opportunity to develop out talents to have a competitive edge in the global market.

The government has its own role to play which includes monitoring the activities of the educational institutions in the private sector, encouraging those institutions which are playing a positive role in providing quality education at affordable price and taking action against those who are a black spot in the field of education.

Khalid Nasr is a retired Major from Pakistan Army. He completed his MBA from IBA, Karachi University. Presently, head of Business Administration department in a University at Lahore. Khalid Nasr is member of Hamdard Thinker’s Forum and Eilaaf Club in Lahore.

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One of the central goals defined by the Government of Mozambique in its long-term development strategy is “poverty reduction through labour-intensive economic growth”. The highest priority is assigned to reduce poverty in rural areas, where 90 percent of poor Mozambicans live, and also in urban zones. The Government recognizes also that, for this development strategy on poverty eradication to succeed, expansion and improvement in the education system are critically important elements in both long-term and short-term perspectives.

In the long term, universal access to education of acceptable quality is essential for the development
of Mozambique´s human resources, and the economic growth will depend to a significant extend on the education and training of the labour force. It is very important to develop a critical mass of well trained and highly qualified workforce which in turn will improve the overall literacy, intellectual development, training capacity and technical skills in various areas of the country’s economic and industrial development.

In the short term, increased access and improved quality in basic education are powerful mechanisms for wealth redistribution and the promotion of social equity. This policy is consistent with the provisions of the new Constitution of Mozambique adopted on 16 November 2004, in its articles 113 and 114 which deal respectively with education and higher education. Around the year 1990, the Government of Mozambique decided to change its social, economic and political orientation system from the centrally-planned system inherited from the communist era and adopted a western-style of free market system. At the same time, it was also decided to adopt fundamental changes in the education programmes. Since drastic changes and wide ranging effects were resulting from the adoption of the new economic and political orientation, it was necessary to provide new guidelines and rules governing the management of institutions of higher education.

The struggle continues: “a luta continua” !

The economic and political changes were progressively introduced with success through legislative and regulatory reforms. However, it has not been very easy to evenly change rules of social and cultural behaviour. In particular, vulnerable younger generations are the most affected by the rapid changes in society, while the reference model and values they expect from elder people in the modern Mozambican society seem to be shifting very fast. And in some instances, there seem to be no model at all. The new wave of economic liberalism in Mozambique, better defined by the popular concept of “deixa andar”, literally meaning “laisser-faire”, was mistakenly adopted as the guiding principle in the areas of social, cultural and education development.

The “laisser-faire” principle is better understood by economists and entrepreneurs in a system of open market and free entrepreneurship, under which the Government’s intervention is reduced to exercising minimum regulatory agency. The recent considerable economic growth realized by the Government of Mozambique (10% of successive growth index over four years) is attributed mainly to this free market policy. This principle should be carefully differentiated from “laisser-aller” which, in French language, rather means lack of discipline in academic, economic, social and cultural environments.
Reforming higher education institutions represents a real challenge, both at the institutional and pedagogic levels, not only in Mozambique, but elsewhere and in particular in African countries faced with the problem of “acculturation”. The youth seeking knowledge opportunities in national universities, polytechnics and higher institutes, where students are somehow left on their own, having no longer any need to be under permanent supervision of their parents or teachers, are disoriented. Since reforms in higher education institutions take longer than in any other institutional environment, it is necessary indeed to adopt adequate transitional measures to respond to urgent need of the young generations.

This essay reviews current trends and the recent historical background of higher education institutions of Mozambique. It argues against the adoption of the classical model of higher education from European and other western systems. In its final analysis, it finds that there is need to include ethical and deontology (social, cultural and moral education) components as priority sectors within the curriculum in higher education institutions, with a view to instill in the students and lecturers positive African values in general, and in particular, national Mozambican models. It is rejecting the neo-liberal thinking, which proposes that students in higher education institutions should be allowed to enjoy unlimited academic, social and intellectual uncontrolled independence, in conformity with western classical education and cultural orientation. It advocates for critical thinking and brainstorming on key issues towards the development of positive cultural and ethical models in higher education institutions which could be used to promote knowledge development and poverty eradication in the country’s rural areas and urban zones affected by unemployment, pandemics and economic precariousness.

The colonial legacy and its cultural impact on higher education in Mozambique.

Many experts have described the Mozambican mother of higher education as an institution for colonialists and “assimilados” . The first institution of higher education in Mozambique was established by the Portuguese government in 1962, soon after the start of the African wars of independence. It was called the General University Studies of Mozambique (Estudos Gerais Universitários de Moçambique EGUM). In 1968, it was renamed Lourenço Marques University. The university catered for the sons and daughters of Portuguese colonialists. Although the Portuguese government preached non-racism and advocated the assimilation of its African subjects to the Portuguese way of life, the notorious deficiencies of the colonial education system established under the Portuguese rule ensured that very few Africans would ever succeed in reaching university level. However, many educated African were led to adopt the colonial lifestyle.

In spite of Portugal’s attempts to expand African educational opportunities in the late 1960s and early 1970s, only about 40 black Mozambican students – less than 2 per cent of the student body -had entered the University of Lourenço Marques by the time of independence in 1975. The state and the university continued to depend heavily on the Portuguese and their descendants. Even the academic curriculum was defined according to the needs and policies defined long ago by the colonial power.
Soon after Independence in June 1975, the Government of Mozambique, from the FRELIMO party, adopted a Marxist-Leninist orientation and a centrally planned economy. The educational system was nationalized, and the university was renamed after Dr. Eduardo Mondlane, the first president of FRELIMO.

Many cadres trained in Portugal and other European and American universities came also with their own educational and cultural background. Apart from the Eduardo Mondlane University, new public and private universities and institutes were established. These include the Pedagogic University, the ISRI, the Catholic University, ISPU, ISCTEM and ISUTC. Most of these institutions adopted a curriculum clearly modeled on the classical European model. There is still need to integrate African traditional values in the course profiles offered and research programmes developed by these institutions.

The traditional role of a university is to enlighten and serve as a reference within the society: “illuminatio et salus populi”. Today, Mozambique is one of the most culturally and racially diversified society of Africa. This diversity should be considered as a cultural treasure for the nation. It has become however apparent that it’s more a “Babel Tower case”, as no unified Mozambican values appear to develop from this wide variety. With the creation of new public and private universities and new faculties, it would become easier to increase a critical mass of university lecturers and academic professionals, who would in their turn, influence the society, creating and instilling national positive values and ethical principles of conduct in the younger generations. According to many lecturers and students contacted at UEM, Universidade Pedagogica UP and UDM, the impact of higher education on the development of positive academic, scientific, social and cultural values in Mozambique is yet to be felt.

It is however necessary to acknowledge the importance of newly introduced community-based education programmes in some institutions. For instance the emphasis on community and service has guided curriculum development at the Catholic University; its course in agronomy (Cuamba) concentrates on peasant and family farming systems and leans heavily on research and outreach within local farming communities. The CU course in medicine (developed in collaboration with the University of Maastricht) which concentrates on teaching medicine, was particularly deemed appropriate for the rural and urban poor populations of Mozambique, as it is more based on problem-solving and focuses much more on traditional issues.

New Reforms in higher education institutions with a more participative approach

Mozambique is one of few countries in Africa where a new generation of leadership has stepped forward to articulate a vision for their institutions, inspiring confidence among those involved in higher education development and the modernization of their universities. In a series of case studies sponsored and published by the Partnership for Higher Education in Africa , it was confirmed that African universities covered by the studies have widely varying contexts and traditions. They are engaged in broad reform, examining and revising their planning processes, introducing new techniques of financial management, adopting new technologies, reshaping course structures and pedagogy, and more important, reforming practices of governance based in particular on their own contexts and traditions.

Important institutional reforms concerning the strategic planning experiences of the Eduardo Mondlane University (UEM) were initiated and implemented so far. Two strategic planning cycles were developed, the first in 1990 and the second one in 1996 / 97. The second one was meant to adapting to the impacts of newly adopted multi-party democracy, market competition, and globalization. Whereas the first reform cycle was the result of high level officials at the University, the second one was generated using a participatory methodology deemed to be more effective in involving the university staff in the process.

It is important to listen to everyone, and to be seen as listening. We are also convinced that various components of the population in Mozambique should be involved in the next phases of the process with a view to define what kind of education orientation the population would wish to have for their children.
There is important progress but yet limited academic impact on the development of the society
Considerable progress has been so far made in post-independence Mozambique. After the initial problems caused by the long years of civil war and then the long efforts necessitated by the adjustment to a market-driven economy and a multi-party democratic political order, Mozambique is now considered to have a higher education system that offers a wide variety of course options and extensive research opportunities. However, a major weakness highlighted by many observers is that all the institutions remain basically concentrated in the capital city of Maputo and its neighboring provinces. It is argued that they serve only a limited fraction of the Mozambican population, and are destined to train the elite of prominent people in government and in the professions, industry and commerce. It is also alleged that the majority of the students who succeed in entering public and private institutions of higher education are from relatively rich families.

It is finally emphasized that nearly 80 per cent of university students in Mozambique use Portuguese as their principal means of communication, thus strengthening the perception of establishing, reproducing and consolidating a hereditary elite, with model values copied on western societies. In response to this challenge, it was suggested that the government should encourage the emergence of new and non-traditional HEIs closer to the local communities, able to respond more rapidly and flexibly to the demands and expectations of the public and private sectors for a high quality trained workforce, while addressing both regional and socioeconomic imbalances in the country.

In our final analysis, we find that the impact of higher education institutions on the development and dissemination of traditional African social and cultural values would be very limited for a long period. As long as the access and feed-back from all levels of the society and regions will be left out of the core interaction with the highly educated elite and higher education institutions mainly concentrated in Maputo, the role of universities in promoting African positive values, a culture of academic ethics and deontology in the entire national society will be very limited.

The process of “Nation building” needs to rely on a strong academic support. One of the Government’s main constitutional commitments is to promote the development of the national culture and identity (article 115 of the 2004 Constitution). It is clear that many institutions, for instance the television, are actively promoting cultural diversity through various means. Institutions of higher education should be seen doing more, in particular starting with the students themselves and the academic community members, who are expected to be the light of the society. Such actions would include the integration of courses on ethics and deontology, and develop a wide-ranging variety of education models that reprove negative behavior and promote positive values. Our recommendation is that the Government should for example instruct public universities and other higher education institutions, to appoint “Ethics and Deontology Committees” at the level of their University Councils and within all autonomous faculties.

Bibliography

-Fry, Peter and Utui, Rogéro (1999), The Strategic Planning Experience at Eduardo Mondlane University, ADEA Working Paper on Higher Education, ADEA, Association for the Development of Education in Africa, Paris.

-Mouzinho, Mário ; Fry, Peter ; Levey, Lisbeth and Chilundo, Arlindo (2001), Higher Education in Mozambique: A Case study, The Partnership for Higher Education in Africa, New York University, New York

The author, is a lecturer and an International Consultant on Trade and Investment, Director of InterConsult Mozambique and is the Representative of Emerging Market Focus (Pty) in Mozambique. Coments on this article are encouraged.

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