Building National Universities and Making Human Resources in Southeastern Africa

This paper examines the formation and early development of the University of Dar es Salaam and the University of Zambia in relation to the larger project of producing a professional workforce for nation building in Tanzania and Zambia. It is a draft of the first chapter of a book on the training, labor, and circulation of professional workers in southeastern Africa. The chapter outlines three visions of the African national university that related higher education to national development in competing ways, variously prioritizing academic excellence, economic growth, and human equality. It also explores the experiences of the first generations of domestically educated university students within these institutions. My analysis will be of interest to anyone seeking a historical background for contemporary discussions of decolonization and African universities.