In his doctoral dissertation Terence Yuh Yong examines the knowledge economy and entrepreneurial university policy objectives that have won great influence as international policy reference for university processes aimed towards socio-economic development. Specifically, the study examines how public universities in Cameroon have responded to these global education policy objectives within the framework of system-wide higher education policies under the auspices of the country’s Higher Education Ministry between 1993 and 2016. This includes examining the management complexities of the public university in relation to the knowledge economy and entrepreneurial university policy objectives, which aimed at a significant contribution to understanding the management and organisational efforts of the government of Cameroon and its universities towards the country’s socio-economic development aspiration.
Premised on a non-positivist (post-positivist) philosophical/theoretical approach—critical realism and historicism—subjectivity of the researcher and significance of context, Yong employs the international regime and institutional theories, a discussion on neoliberalism and global education policy issues to analyse Cameroon’s response to the Knowledge economy and entrepreneurial university policy prescriptions: a case study design involving empirical inquiry of the policy objectives at the University of Buea, purposively selected in order to adequately capture the complexity of both phenomena at public universities in Cameroon.
Consequently, the study arrived at a number of conclusions:
“Global education policy strategies for economic development could be a potential source of diversion and confusion in the national education systems of recipient countries”, Yong says.
This is based on the potential of global education policies to influence unintended and far-reaching outcomes on its policy landscape at national levels when met with contextual differences in terms of capacities and cultures of receiving governments.
In the case of Cameroon, the “Knowledge economy and entrepreneurial university policy prescriptions have introduced a complex type of relationship between Cameroon’s higher education governance structure and its public universities, giving rise to new and confusing dimensions in the character of the public university in the country”, Yong says.
The study therefore strongly suggests the need for national transformative capacities and guiding principles in education policy to help mediate the negative impacts of global education policies. More precisely, Cameroon would have to develop and focus on schemes that rigorously support actions that contextually design and/or adapt GEPs to the particular needs, demands and aspirations of the country
M.Sc. Terence Yuh Yong is completing his Doctoral studies in the field of Higher Education Management under the supervision of Professor, Dr. Jussi Kivistö (Tampere University,
Finland), Dr. Anu Lyytinen (Tampere University, Finland), and Professor, Dr. Seppo Hölttä (Tampere University, Finland).
The dissertation titled The Knowledge Economy and entrepreneurial University Policy Objectives in Cameroon’s Public Universities: The Case of the University of Buea will be publicly examined in the Faculty of Management and Business at Tampere University on 18.03.2022 in Paavo Koli Hall, Pinni A, 1st Floor, Kanslerinrinne 1. The opponent will be Associate Professor Ronald Bisaso, Makerere University. The Custos will be Professor, D.Sc. Admin. Jussi Kivistö, Faculty of Management and Business.
The event can be followed via remote connection.
The dissertation is available online at:
https://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-952-03-2280-9