This study identifies and evaluates contributions made by institutions of higher education in the process of attaining the economic and socio-cultural goals of the Ivory Coast.
Based on documentary interviews and survey data, this study attempts to determine: (a) the objectives of higher education in the Ivory Coast, specifically those of ENSA and INSET, two of the graduate technical schools created to produce the kind of expertise necessary to meet the foreseen manpower need of the country; (b) the nature of the linkages between these two institutions and their metropolitan counterparts; and (c) the effects of political, economic and social factors stemming from this umbilical link.
The finding contrary to a prevailing optimistic literature indicate that this developmental conception has had many consequences. It has overshadowed the real achievement of the university system and has diverted attention away from scrutinizing its ability to fulfill its many objectives, among them, the establishment of an effective, genuine teaching and research capacity. The many contradictions which pave the daily existence of ENSA and INSET have been ignored and thus they stand as a mechanism of self-defeating strategy.
As part of the governmental bureaucracy ENSA and INSET have no autonomy, they are involved in a system of obligations and private loyalties which impedes from the outset the possibility of their making decisions for the general interest. Consequently, and as a result of the philosophy of planning put in motion by the country's leadership the structure and content of education have reflected these foreign ties and influences and make them stand apart from the reality of the Ivorian society.
The study suggests a number of ways on how and under what conditions change may occur. The study reaffirms regional planning and the development and integration of African educational programs in lieu of loyalty to metropolitan academic standards. In that respect and as a case study, this research calls for a true national independence of the Ivory Coast, from either French or any other foreign power as the primary step towards a viable educational system.
