I 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2792 

To amend the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to provide assistance to 

expand, improve, support, and promote higher education in the countries 

of sub-Saharan Africa, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

AUGUST 2, 2011 

Mr. PAYNE (for himself, Mrs. CHRISTENSEN, Ms. BASS of California, Mr. 

CARNAHAN, Mr. JACKSON of Illinois, Mr. RUSH, Ms. WOOLSEY, Mr. 

LEWIS of Georgia, Mr. TOWNS, Ms. LEE of California, Mr. COHEN, and 

Mr. FATTAH) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Foreign Affairs 

A BILL 

To amend the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to provide 

assistance to expand, improve, support, and promote 

higher education in the countries of sub-Saharan Africa, 

and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘African Higher Edu5 cation Advancement and Development Act of 2011’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) The demand for higher education in Africa 

2 has been increasing at very high rates and is rapidly 

3 overtaking the capacity of current infrastructure and 

4 staffing capability. 

5 (2) Africa’s challenges in higher education are 

6 substantial and have important social, economic, and 

7 stability dimensions. 

8 (3) Despite increasing enrollments, sub-Saha9 ran Africa’s gross tertiary education enrollment ratio 

10 in 2007, the most recent year for which comparable 

11 data is available, was just under 6 percent as com12 pared to 13 percent in India, 11 percent in South 

13 Asia generally, and 22 percent in China, and 66 per14 cent in high-income countries. In many African 

15 countries the ratio hovers between 2 and 3 percent. 

16 (4) According to a 2008 World Bank report, 

17 university staff position vacancy rates often run be18 tween 25 and 50 percent and are notably common 

19 in engineering, applied sciences, and business admin20 istration, which are disciplines commonly linked to 

21 innovation and economic growth. Staff development, 

22 nurturing and retention are therefore important ele23 ments of higher education programming. 

24 (5) In 2005, only 28 percent of African univer25 sity graduates completed their degrees in science 


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1 and technology fields, including agriculture, engi2 neering, health sciences, and general sciences. 

3 (6) African higher education institutions have 

4 the potential to address many critical development 

5 challenges in collaboration with regional and inter6 national counterparts, such as the United Nations, 

7 the International Agricultural Research Centers, and 

8 bilateral and regional assistance agencies, and other 

9 United States based foundations. 

10 (7) Higher education has expanded to provide 

11 more opportunities for advanced education to grad12 uates of the secondary school systems and it has 

13 sought new ways to achieve university collaboration 

14 across national and regional boundaries. 

15 (8) Africa has made important strides as public 

16 universities have increased from roughly 100 to 500 

17 from 1990 to 2010 and private tertiary institutions 

18 have increased from around 24 to an estimated sev19 eral thousand during this same period. 

20 (9) Historically, sub-Saharan Africa was 

21 marked by several centers of excellence in higher 

22 education. Linked to former European sponsors, in23 stitutions such as Makerere University in Uganda, 

24 Kenyatta University in Kenya, Cheik Anta Diop 

25 University in Senegal, and the University of Ibadan 


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1 in Nigeria graduated scholars and professionals that 

2 were highly prized around the globe and that served 

3 the interests of their respective nations well. 

4 (10) These universities serve as ‘‘centers of ex5 cellence’’ that also have major positive impacts on 

6 other universities in their respective regions, and are 

7 currently making substantial progress in regaining 

8 their national and international prominence. 

9 (11) Increasing rates of higher education in de10 veloping countries is a critical component in efforts 

11 to achieve long-term economic growth and stability 

12 and poverty reduction. 

13 (12) Studies indicate that relatively small in14 creases in tertiary education can exponentially in15 crease national incomes and gross domestic product 

16 output within the span of a few years, that individ17 uals with higher education are more likely to engage 

18 in entrepreneurial activity, and that more highly 

19 educated entrepreneurs create larger numbers of 

20 jobs than those with less education. 

21 (13) Research has found a positive and statis22 tically significant correlation between higher edu23 cation enrollment rates and good governance indica24 tors, including the absence of corruption, higher 

25 standards and rates of adherence to the rule of law, 


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1 fewer incidents of ethnic tension, increased bureau2 cratic quality, a lower risk of repudiation of con3 tracts by governments, and a lower risk of financial 

4 malfeasance. 

5 (14) In most African countries, sharply in6 creased rates of access to higher education, ad7 vanced technical training, and specialized skills de8 velopment are necessary if transformational socio9 economic development success—notably in efforts to 

10 alleviate poverty, expand economic growth, combat 

11 disease, improve governance, and to increase respect 

12 for the rule of law and human rights norms—is to 

13 be achieved. 

14 (15) Exchange programs which bring Africans 

15 to developed countries for advanced training, while 

16 essential for improving higher education in Africa, 

17 will not by themselves reach enough students and 

18 scholars to bring about fundamental institutional ca19 pacity improvements and the attainment of world20 class standards of excellence across African higher 

21 education systems. 

22 SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

23 It is the sense of Congress that— 

24 (1) support for primary, secondary, and tertiary 

25 education is vitally important in achieving transVerDate Mar 15 2010 01:57 Aug 04, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2792.IH H2792

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1 formational state and socio-economic development in 

2 sub-Saharan Africa, and that assistance for such 

3 ends should be increased; 

4 (2) it is cost-effective and in the self-interest of 

5 the United States and other development partners to 

6 respond to the increasing need for qualified teachers 

7 and demands for greater access to higher education 

8 created by expanded access to primary and sec9 ondary education in sub-Saharan Africa, a long10 standing United States policy objective, by providing 

11 commensurate assistance to sub-Saharan African 

12 colleges and universities; 

13 (3) effective and sustained partnerships be14 tween United States and sub-Saharan Africa col15 leges and universities are an important means 

16 through which increased access to quality tertiary 

17 education can be achieved; 

18 (4) members of the African diaspora have a 

19 crucial role to play in improving the capacity of sub20 Saharan African colleges and universities; 

21 (5) the international development community 

22 must help build indigenous basic and applied ad23 vanced research and academic capacities in sub-Sa24 haran Africa in order to expand and enhance the 

25 ability of sub-Saharan Africans to achieve economic 


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1 growth, improve social welfare, foster political sta2 bility, and to address critical challenges, such as the 

3 HIV/AIDS pandemic, climate change, conflict pre4 vention and mitigation, and poor governance; and 

5 (6) the United States must commit to providing 

6 long-term assistance to build the capacity of sub-Sa7 haran African systems of higher education and in8 crease the number of annual higher education stu9 dent and professional graduations, in particular— 

10 (A) in social, humanities, natural, biologi11 cal, agricultural, life, computer, and health 

12 sciences, technology development, business, en13 gineering, mathematics, economics, and edu14 cation; and 

15 (B) by targeting such support toward ef16 forts to improve and expand sub-Saharan Afri17 can higher education institutions’— 

18 (i) administrative and management 

19 capabilities, including accounting and re20 porting transparency and accountability; 

21 (ii) program and budget planning, de22 velopment and execution capacities; 

23 (iii) access to advanced technology 

24 and improved infrastructure; 


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1 (iv) curriculum development capabili2 ties; 

3 (v) advanced basic and applied re4 search capabilities; and 

5 (vi) instructional training and quality 

6 of staff and faculty at the undergraduate, 

7 graduate, and post-graduate levels and 

8 within professional training programs. 

9 SEC. 4. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 

10 It is the policy of the United States to provide long11 term assistance to expand, improve, support, and promote 

12 higher education in sub-Saharan Africa by building the 

13 capacity of sub-Saharan African colleges and universities, 

14 through partnerships with colleges and universities in the 

15 United States, in order to expand teaching, research, and 

16 innovation opportunities for sub-Saharan African and 

17 United States students and staff. 

18 SEC. 5. ASSISTANCE TO EXPAND AND IMPROVE HIGHER 

19 EDUCATION IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA. 

20 Chapter 1 of part I of the Foreign Assistance Act 

21 of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151 et seq.) is amended by inserting 

22 after section 105 the following new section: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 105A. ASSISTANCE TO EXPAND AND IMPROVE HIGH2 ER EDUCATION IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA. 

3 ‘‘(a) AUTHORIZATION.—The President, acting 

4 through the Director for Higher Education in sub-Saha5 ran Africa (designated pursuant to subsection (c)), is au6 thorized to provide long-term assistance to expand, im7 prove, support, and promote higher education in sub-Sa8 haran Africa. 

9 ‘‘(b) ACTIVITIES SUPPORTED.—Assistance provided 

10 under subsection (a) shall, to the maximum extent prac11 ticable, be used to— 

12 ‘‘(1) build the capacity of sub-Saharan African 

13 colleges and universities, including through the de14 velopment and use of internships and other tools, in 

15 the areas of— 

16 ‘‘(A) professional and academic training, 

17 faculty development, and technical expertise, 

18 with particular emphasis on mentoring and re19 tention of young and new faculty; 

20 ‘‘(B) development and strengthening of 

21 educational administrative capacity; 

22 ‘‘(C) undergraduate, graduate, and grad23 uate curricula development; 

24 ‘‘(D) improving infrastructure of academic 

25 and institutional facilities; 


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1 ‘‘(E) technical capacities and expertise, es2 pecially in the areas of basic and applied re3 search and institutional development, including 

4 strategies for cost-effective procurement of ad5 vanced scientific research equipment and main6 tenance strategies for such equipment; 

7 ‘‘(F) vocational training, including profes8 sional development, behavioral courses, informa9 tion technology courses, job placement, and fi10 nancial aid; and 

11 ‘‘(G) development and use of internships 

12 and other tools; 

13 ‘‘(2) establish, expand, and promote linkages 

14 and partnerships between sub-Saharan African col15 leges and universities and United States colleges and 

16 universities, with special attention to the inclusion of 

17 historically Black colleges and universities in the 

18 United States, including— 

19 ‘‘(A) student exchange programs between 

20 sub-Saharan African colleges and universities 

21 and United States colleges and universities; 

22 ‘‘(B) internship programs between sub-Sa23 haran African colleges and universities and 

24 United States colleges and universities, includ25 ing community engagement activities; 


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1 ‘‘(C) interactive and collaborative instruc2 tional programs, employing Internet-based and 

3 other networked digital telecommunications 

4 technologies, between sub-Saharan African col5 leges and universities and United States col6 leges and universities; and 

7 ‘‘(D) collaborative and reciprocal degree 

8 awarding programs based in sub-Saharan Afri9 can partner institutions, supported by United 

10 States faculty working with sub-Saharan Afri11 can colleagues to help design curricula and 

12 serving as visiting lecturers for periods of at 

13 least a semester; and 

14 ‘‘(3) assist with efforts to recruit and retain 

15 women students, faculty, and administrators at sub16 Saharan African colleges and universities. 

17 ‘‘(c) DIRECTOR FOR HIGHER EDUCATION DEVELOP18 MENT IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA.— 

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 days 

20 after the date of the enactment of this section, the 

21 Administrator shall designate a Director for Higher 

22 Education in sub-Saharan Africa, who shall report 

23 directly to the Administrator, and who shall carry 

24 out the responsibilities described in paragraph (2). 


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1 ‘‘(2) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The responsibilities 

2 referred to in paragraph (1) include— 

3 ‘‘(A) ongoing consultations with and the 

4 provision of technical advice to sub-Saharan Af5 rican governments, particularly ministries of 

6 education, regional organizations, and public 

7 tertiary and related educational institutions, 

8 and education and educators’ organizations 

9 with respect to carrying out the activities de10 scribed in subsection (b); 

11 ‘‘(B) coordination and administration of 

12 long-term assistance authorized under sub13 section (a) in support of the activities described 

14 in subsection (b); and 

15 ‘‘(C) coordinating with other bureaus with16 in the Agency, with other relevant United 

17 States Government agencies, with the United 

18 States and sub-Saharan African private sectors, 

19 with the higher education community and rel20 evant research organizations in the United 

21 States and sub-Saharan African countries, and 

22 with other bilateral and multilateral develop23 ment partners to maximize the gains and im24 pact of activities carried out under subsection 

25 (b)(1). 


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1 ‘‘(d) SUB-SAHARAN AFRICAN HIGHER EDUCATION

2 ADVISORY BOARD.— 

3 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is hereby estab4 lished within the Agency a sub-Saharan African 

5 Higher Education Advisory Board. 

6 ‘‘(2) MEMBERSHIP.— 

7 ‘‘(A) NUMBER AND APPOINTMENT.—The 

8 Board shall be composed of members appointed 

9 by the Administrator in consultation with the 

10 Speaker and the minority leader of the House 

11 of Representatives and the majority and minor12 ity leaders of the Senate. 

13 ‘‘(B) QUALIFICATIONS.—The Board shall 

14 include seven members drawn from individuals 

15 with private sector experience, three of whom 

16 shall have demonstrable knowledge of sub-Saha17 ran Africa and the field of higher education or 

18 higher education in sub-Saharan Africa, three 

19 of whom shall currently be affiliated with or 

20 have career-length associations with one or 

21 more sub-Saharan African higher education in22 stitutions drawn from a list submitted jointly by 

23 the Association of African Universities (AAU), 

24 Southern African Regional Universities Associa25 tion (SARUA), and Inter-University Council for 


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1 Eastern Africa (IUCEA), and one of whom 

2 shall be a president of a historically Black col3 lege or university in the United States. 

4 ‘‘(3) DUTIES.—The Board shall— 

5 ‘‘(A) advise and assist the Director in car6 rying out the responsibilities described in this 

7 section; 

8 ‘‘(B) not less than twice a year, meet with 

9 senior officials of the Agency in order to fulfill 

10 the duty described in subparagraph (A); and 

11 ‘‘(C) once a year, submit to the Director 

12 and Administrator a report, which shall be 

13 made publicly available, which evaluates the im14 plementation of this section for the preceding 

15 year, including the extent to which— 

16 ‘‘(i) the requirement of subsection 

17 (b)(2), relating to participation of histori18 cally Black colleges and universities in the 

19 United States, was met; 

20 ‘‘(ii) the requirement of subsection 

21 (b)(3) was met; and 

22 ‘‘(iii) outlines a plan of specific inter23 ventions to support the recruitment and re24 tention of young and new professors, schol25 ars, and researchers at sub-Saharan AfriVerDate Mar 15 2010 01:57 Aug 04, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2792.IH H2792

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1 can colleges and universities that identifies 

2 barriers to such ends and proposes pro3 grammatic interventions to overcome such 

4 barriers. 

5 ‘‘(e) PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS.—The Direc6 tor and the Board shall seek, to the extent practicable, 

7 to use any funding appropriated for the purpose of car8 rying out the duties, goals, and functions described in this 

9 section to leverage equal or greater sources of private sec10 tor funding for such purposes, and shall undertake and 

11 prioritize efforts to identify such sources of private sector 

12 funding. 

13 ‘‘(f) REPORTS TO CONGRESS.— 

14 ‘‘(1) INITIAL REPORT.—Not later than one year 

15 after the date of the enactment of this section, the 

16 President shall transmit to the Committee on For17 eign Affairs of the House of Representatives and the 

18 Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate a re19 port that contains— 

20 ‘‘(A) benchmarks for measuring the long21 term impact of activities carried out under this 

22 section; and 

23 ‘‘(B) a proposal for enhancing opportuni24 ties for the African diaspora to engage in activi25 ties to improve the capacity, on either an onVerDate Mar 15 2010 01:57 Aug 04, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00015 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2792.IH H2792

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1 going or short-term basis, of sub-Saharan col2 leges and universities. 

3 ‘‘(2) ANNUAL REPORT.—Not later than one 

4 year after the date of transmission of the initial re5 port under paragraph (1) and annually thereafter, 

6 the President shall transmit to the congressional 

7 committees specified in paragraph (1) a report that 

8 contains a description of the activities carried out 

9 under this section for the preceding fiscal year and 

10 the progress made toward achieving the benchmarks 

11 outlined in the initial report, and any program ad12 justments undertaken to improve efforts to achieve 

13 such benchmarks. 

14 ‘‘(g) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 

15 ‘‘(1) the term ‘Administrator’ means the Ad16 ministrator of the Agency; 

17 ‘‘(2) the term ‘Agency’ means the United States 

18 Agency for International Development; 

19 ‘‘(3) the term ‘Board’ means the sub-Saharan 

20 African Higher Education Advisory Board estab21 lished pursuant to subsection (d); 

22 ‘‘(4) the term ‘Director’ means the Director of 

23 Assistance for Higher Education in sub-Saharan Af24 rica designated pursuant to subsection (c); and 


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1 ‘‘(5) the term ‘higher education’ means post2 secondary undergraduate, graduate, and post3 graduate academic training. 

4 ‘‘(h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—To 

5 carry out this section, there are authorized to be appro6 priated to the President such sums as may be necessary 

7 for each of fiscal years 2012 through 2016.’’. 

Æ 


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