Support for further and higher education

For over forty years there has been a narrow focus by many donors and development agencies on providing support for primary school education. While everyone can understand and will agree with the importance attached to developing good quality primary education in the Millennium Development Goals, unfortunately in many parts of Africa this has often been done at the expense and by the neglect of further and higher education. AET has always tried to ensure a balance between its support for primary, non-formal and secondary and its support for further and higher education both through scholarships and grants for further and higher education and through the development of university level distance teaching programmes.

Distance teaching programmes

Almost 200 people in Southern Sudan, Somaliland and Somalia have now completed a certificate course in Public Administration and Management (PAM) by Distance Teaching which was specially developed for AET by the University of Fort Hare in South Africa. In March 2008 twenty one people graduated on the Second Level Advance Certificate Course. The Trust has also supported a number of students for Post-Graduate Certificates and Master’s degrees by distance teaching through British Universities and South African Universities. Many of the graduates from the Fort Hare and UK distance teaching programmes are now key figures in the Government and Parliament of Southern Sudan.

Scholarships and grants

Over the past fifty years AET has supported students from almost every country in Africa for further or higher education studies in the UK. This has included full-time scholarships for study on postgraduate courses as well as grants for part-time study on further and higher education courses. Trust records show that over 5,000 African students have been funded by AET for full or part time courses in the UK. Many were exiles from countries such as South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Ethiopia and Eritrea who helped to bring about change in those countries and went on to become senior political figures, civil servants, academics, doctors, lawyers and business leaders. Amongst people who were supported by AET were: Kenneth Kaunda who became President of the Republic of Zambia, Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, Foreign Minister of Republic of South Africa, Dr Lindiwe Sisulu, The Minister of Housing, Republic of South Africa, Professor Derrick Swartz, Vice Chancellor, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, South Africa, Professor Peter Katjavivi, Ambassador, Embassy of the Republic of Namibia, Germany, Advocate Bience Gawanas, Commissioner for Social Affairs, African Commission.

During the 1980s and 1990s most of the funding available for scholarships went to assist students from Southern Africa and the Horn Region. Since 1998 there has been a significant drop in the level of funding available for scholarships, nevertheless AET has been able to support a significant number of students from Southern Sudan on scholarships in the UK, in Kenya and Uganda and is currently also supporting a small number of Somalis on Master’s degrees in Kenya. In addition to its main scholarship programme, AET has also provided support through a number of small scholarship and grant schemes.

The Kenneth Kirkwood Memorial Fund which was established in 1998 in honour of Professor Kirkwood, a former Chair of AET’s Board of Trustees and the first Professor of Race Relations and Co-ordinator of Africa Studies at St Antony’s College, Oxford. The fund provides small grants for maintenance or fees for emergency payments for students from Africa, particularly Southern Africa.

The Andrzejewski Memorial Fund which was established in honour of Professor B W Andrzejewski the scholar and broadcaster who specialised in the languages and literacy of the Horn of Africa. The awards are for individual study or field work on post graduate courses or PhD research which will assist the study, production or provision of materials which will support language, literature, education or broadcasting in the Horn of Africa.

The Emergency Small Grant Scheme which can provide one-off grants up to a maximum of £500 for students who have come from Africa to study in the UK and who run into unexpected financial difficulties during the last few months of their courses. Through this scheme over 600 people from almost forty different countries have been able to complete their studies and return to use their new qualifications and skills to work in Africa.

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