The Role of Regional Institutions in Higher Education and Sustainable Development

Abstract

With the liberalization of Uganda government policy on higher education (HE) services in the 1990s, student enrollment has increased substantially. This is evidenced by the number of private higher education (PHE) institutions being set up in Uganda. However, the higher education institutions (HEIs) are faced with a difficult situation of trying to understand how helpful regional Higher Education institutions can support and sustain development. This conceptual paper seeks to explore the criteria with which regional HEIs can support, sustain development and build a conceptual model to suit to the local HE services industry based on the principles of systems thinking, participatory planning, and sustainable development. Lastly, the required changes in teaching learning process were explained to create a base for new academic culture. To achieve the purpose, the literature of sustainability in HE, and the most popular activities, around the world, for integrating sustainability into all functions of universities and the role regional institutions in development were reviewed. The formation of Sustainability Committee in universities to plan for integrating sustainability into education, research, and outreach is the most important part of the model. It is hoped that the designed model could help to develop HE, on course of scientific power sustainability of the country. Based on this review, the elementary model was designed and areas for future research are highlighted.