Beyond the neoclassical university : agricultural higher education in the developing world -- an interpretive essay

This study synthesizes findings of an evaluation of agricultural universities in ten countries (India, Indonesia, Thailand, Brazil, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Ethiopia, Morocco, Nigeria, and Malawi) and explores an approach for revitalizing agricultural education. Four main problems inherent in the neoclassical model are identified. (1) The effectiveness of agricultural universities in promoting rural and agricultural development is often limited by the policy environment. Three factors stand out here: the absence of strong linkages to the Ministry of Agriculture; the lack of autonomy concerning enrollment, programming, and finances, together with weak internal mechanisms for keeping university leaders accountable; and policymakers' conservative views of the role of the university. (2) Another constraining factor is the universities' overemphasis on research in crop and animal production and neglect of broader social and economic concerns and public policy issues. (3) The traditional university is organized around discipline-based departments, their involutionary tendencies unchecked by cross-disciplinary structures, strong extension services, or well-organized external constituencies. (4) A final constraint is posed by a highly didactic philosophy of education which views learning as merely transfer of knowledge in the classroom. The paper concludes that a new type of university is needed. This post-neoclassical model would have the following attributes: a broader curriculum to include general issues of rural well-being (e.g., employment, education, tenure security) in addition to the subjects of crop and animal production; an innovative, activist orientation toward both educational methods and educational goals, involving increased cooperation among faculty, students, and local citizens; and a new university structure, in which interconnected task groups are clustered around major programmatic themes.