Southern African communities have fallen prey to western developmental strategies that promote industrialization at the expense of rural communities. Our rural communities are neglected by our governments and the education system. Graduates from our educational institutions are educated away from their communities. This results in a brain and economic drain from rural communities.
Research is one of the important functions of most tertiary institutions.
It is incumbent upon these institutions to provide ways of addressing the issues that have a bearing to quality of life in a scientific manner. It is my belief that the knowledge and skills imparted in some of tertiary institutions often neglect or the problem of poverty. Attitudes of institutions towards social services will also be explored with a view to offer recommendations on appropriate means of addressing the current rural problems. A review of the patterns of Educational research in Southern Africa will be done. In conclusion suggestions on how tertiary institutions can contribute to improving rural communities's quality of life from the margins to the centre stage of our research endeavours, will be offered.