The members of the African Association of Methodist Institutions of Higher Education (AAMIHE) and the African Association of United Methodist Theological Institutions (AAUMTI) met during their joint meeting in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to elect their respective Senators to serve in the Africa Senate.
The Africa Senate for Methodist Education (ASME) emerged as a new initiative on the African context in the 21st century, but its origins trace back to a long tradition of Christian teaching, the Wesleyan tradition of education, more than 125 years of the University Senate established by the Methodist Episcopal Church in the United States in 1892, and worldwide initiatives promoted by the International Association of Methodist Schools, Colleges, and Universities (IAMSCU). Moreover, this initiative embraces the work developed by the African Association of Methodist Institutions of Higher Education (AAMIHE) and the African Association of United Methodist Theological Institutions (AAUMTI) with the support of the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry (GBHEM) of the United Methodist Church. Also, this whole tradition dialogues with the Pan-African Quality Assurance and Accreditation Framework (PAQAF) established by the African Union (AU) and its Member-States.
The University Senate in the United States was founded in 1892 as one of the first accreditation organizations in the world which established a peer-review process for the evaluation of Methodist institutions. The members of the University Senate are higher education professionals and church leaders who are elected by their peers and given the authority by the General Conference of the United Methodist Church to determine which schools, colleges, universities, and theological schools meet the criteria for affiliation with The United Methodist Church and the corresponding benefits (such as funding, scholarships, support, etc.).
The Africa Senate for Methodist Education (ASME) followed a different process, which included following the guidelines of the African Union (AU), which was established in 1963 and has accompanied the several decades of liberation, post-independence, new political and governmental structures as well as social, economic, and educational initiatives of African countries. The AU’s Agenda 2063: “The Africa We Want” affirms a future based on “unity, self-determination, freedom, progress and collective prosperity pursued under Pan-Africanism and African Renaissance” and includes aspirations such as a decolonized United Africa, the AU Continental Free Trade Area, a Peaceful and Secure Africa (APSA), and a Continental Education Strategy for Africa (CESA). Within the educational strategy, there are two general goals regarding the quality of higher education: (1) to unleash the potential for Africa to become self-reliant in its higher education provision, by promoting leadership and good governance; and (2) to enhance investments to assure inclusion, equity and access to education for all. Based on these goals, the AU initiated a movement to harmonize, recognize, and increase the quality and accreditation of education, including a continental Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) and a Pan-African Quality Assurance and Accreditation Framework (PAQAF) which are responsible for the African Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ASG-QA).
Connecting these cultural, political, ecclesiastical, and educational processes, the Africa Senate for Methodist Education (ASME) was established as a natural outcome of the development of AAUMTI (founded in 2011) and AAMIHE (founded in 2013). In 2015, both associations began to discuss the importance of church-relatedness, accessibility, quality, and sustainability among their institutions. Conversations among members, dialogue with representatives from GBHEM and the University Senate in the United States, and an adaptation of the peer-review model to the African context led to the establishment of a similar initiative for Methodist education in Africa in 2017. Discussions continued since then, including during the global pandemic of COVID-19 in 2020-2023. As the AAMIHE and AAUMTI were able to meet in October 2023 in Kinshasa, DRC, they also used this opportunity to discuss questions of academic quality and church relatedness. This led to the election process which included the nomination and elections of three experts representing AAUMTI, three representing AAMIHE, and three nominated by GBHEM.
Senators representing AAMIHE:
- Professor Lillian Siwila (South Africa)
- Professor Ribas Guambe (Mozambique)
- Professor Louis Aboua (Cote d’Ivoire)
Senators representing AAMIHE:
- Professor Maraaidzo Mutambara (Zimbabwe)
- Professor Gamboa (Angola)
- Professor Izwela Olivier (DRC)
Senators representing GBHEM are still being selected. According to the Africa Senate guidelines, each of the nominating entities (AAMIHE, AAUMTI, and GBHEM) need to elect three persons from three different countries, representing the three language groups (French, Portuguese, and English), and at least one woman. With these guidelines, the Africa Senate for Methodist Education (ASME) is a very dynamic body representing the diversity of multicultural societies in Africa and the Methodist educational institutions in these contexts.
The Africa Senate for Methodist Education will start its work based on the approved guidelines and initially focus on how to educate Methodist educational institutions in Africa about the importance of academic quality, accountability, church relatedness, and financial health, among other issues. Institutions will then have the opportunity to live into this culture of accountability and receive funding or support from Methodist-related organizations in case they are approved by the Senate and its evaluation process.