The 26th Ordinary Council Meeting of The University of Bamenda in Cameroon, held on January 24, 2025, resolved to formally adopt TAGDev 2.0 (Transforming African Agricultural Universities to meaningfully contribute to Africa’s growth and development, phase 2.0) as an institutional programme.
The TAGDev 2.0 is a collaboration between RUFORUM, Mastercard Foundation, the Global Confederation of Higher Education Associations for Agricultural and life Sciences (GCHERA) and 12 African universities, namely Egerton University (Kenya), Gulu University (Uganda), Africa University (Zimbabwe), University of Cape Coast (Ghana), Universite Nationale d’Agriculture (Benin), University of Free State (South Africa), Universite Mohammed VI, Polytechnique (Morocco), Uganda Martyrs University (Uganda), University of Eldoret (Kenya), University of Port Harcourt (Nigeria) and Malawi University of Science and Technology (Malawi) and now University of Bamenda (Cameroon). The TAGDev 2.0 programme was created to revolutionize agricultural education by strengthening universities and Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions to better serve communities by skilling and equipping students and their institutions to drive inclusive, equitable and climate resilient transformative agriculture and agri-food systems, with a strong emphasis on entrepreneurship. The programme is intended to contribute to three strategic outcomes:
- Expanded equal work opportunities for young women and men in the agricultural sector;
- Improved climate adaptive agricultural production and productivity; and
- Strengthened quality of higher agricultural education outcomes in training, research and innovation.
These outcomes address barriers affecting how agricultural education impacts the broader agriculture ecosystem’s growth and functions. These barriers include traditional educational models at universities and TVETs that inadequately equip young people with the necessary knowledge and skills, policies, systems and practices in universities and TVETs that constrain institutional transformation, limited capacity for entrepreneurship education and commercialization of innovation, and weak collaboration between education ecosystems actors.
During the council meeting, Vice-Chancellor, Professor Theresia Nkuo-Akenji, gave a presentation that covered the main pillars of TAGDev 2.0 as well as the institutional shift towards Problem Based Learning (PBL) approach to teaching and learning. Professor Sammy Beban Chumbow, the Chairperson of the Council (Pro-Chancellor), who is also the President of the Cameroon Academy of Sciences and Head of the African Scientific, Research and Innovation Council (ASRIC) of the African Union, praised the university’s efforts and acknowledged the unwavering support RUFORUM has given to the institution’s growth. He also encouraged the university to move forward with transparency and accountability in managing the program.
The TAGDev implementation team at The University of Bamenda will take the program to all the 48 Private Higher Education Institutions (PHEIs) under its mentorship. This undertaking will involve the following:
- Organizing training workshops for staff of these PHEIs in Douala, Buea, Yaoundé and Bamenda on PBL;
- Present the following policy documents already completed and adopted within the framework of TAGDev 2.0 to these PHEIs for appropriation and as deliverables for year one of the programme:
- The University Policy on Inclusion, Anti-discrimination and Safeguarding
- The Universities Policy on Examination Conduct and Transparency
- The University Research Policy and Guide
- The University’s Policy on blended learning and use of its newly inaugurated Digital Development Centre
- Onboard these PHEIs on the TAGDev Programme especially in the areas of entrepreneurship and support student start-ups
Furthermore, the Council endorsement clears the way for workshops with TVETs in Bamenda and Buea, as outlined in the workplan. Seminars and workshops for TVETs will currently focus on:
- Onboarding the institutions on various aspects of TAGDev 2.0
- Engaging them on establishing student enterprises
- Support the roll-out of out of school schemes
- Capacity building on entrepreneurship and microfinance opportunities for job creation
From a policy standpoint, the council’s adoption of TAGdev 2.0 now provides for a revision of the curriculum on Leadership, Global Commons, Civic Responsibilities and Climate resilience. Prior to this adoption, discussions with the Minister of Youth and Civic Education were well advanced. This program responds to a national need as identified in the National Youth and Development Policy document. It now also paves the way for additional discussions with the Minister of Vocational Training regarding collaboration with TVETS and out-of-school youths. Involving these partner Ministries is critical for making a national and perhaps regional impact.
This milestone demonstrates RUFORUM’s commitment to advancing a greater value proposition of universities and TVETs to Africa’s agricultural and higher education ecosystem.
