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Togo by Edee A. B .K. M. Emmanuel Introduction
Togo, with a population growth rate of 2.7%, has an estimated population of over five million.History
Since 1965, the governments of Togo and Bénin, with the assistance of the French government, have inaugurated an embryonic university called the Advanced Institute of Benin (Institut Supérieur de Bénin) which consists of two branches based in Porto-Novo and Lomé. In 1970, the two states decided to set up their own universities. In September 1970, the University of Benin was created by a presidential decree.What started in 1970 as four schools (letters, law, science and medicine) scattered to the four corners of the city was later grouped into a single university campus situated in Lomé.
Enrollment
Two types of institutions provide higher education in Togo: national public and private institutions. Togo has two universities, one of which has been operational for thirty years. The second, situated inland at Kara, is under construction.The number of students rose from 845 in 1970-71 to 16,263 in 1998-99. A total of 30,000 graduates have been trained by a teaching body of 727.
Faculty
The teaching body in higher education is composed of over 700 faculty members. These include full professors, lecturers, assistant professors, and teaching assistants. Of these, 391 are either holding a permanent position or are under contract, and 336 are part-timers.Funding and Resources
Budgets for institutions of higher education are decided after consultation with the General Higher Education Council (Grand Conseil des Universités). The operational and investment budgets are composed essentially of subsidies from the state. Other income is generated from student fees (about 5%), loans, donations, endowments, and various other revenues. 65% to 70% of the state budget is allocated to salaries.
Research and Publishing
Efforts are being made to give the research teams an interdisciplinary profile to produce better results. Efforts are also being made to establish a closer collaboration between researchers and regional and sub-regional businesses.The dissemination of research results is made through the publications of the University of Bénin and the Scientific Research Journal of the same university. The entire publication apparatus produces about a hundred articles per year in all disciplines.
Research is focused mainly on areas that respond to the country’s needs such as agriculture, transformation of natural resources, handicrafts, medicinal plants, pharmacopoeia, social development, and applied science. Other research fields include urban development, education, nutrition, applied chemistry, food industry, environment, hydraulics, and medicine.
Financing of research activity is provided by the government along with a number of external organizations.
Note: For detailed account on the state of higher education in Togo, please consult: Edee A. B .K. M. Emmanuel, African Higher Education: An International Reference Handbook (Damtew Teferra and Philip. G. Altbach, Indiana University Press, 2003), pp. 595-600.
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