Transforming Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences in East African Universities from Endangerment to Sustainability: Lessons for Rwanda

Abstract

This study was conducted in eight universities within the East African Community (EAC). Its objective was to investigate the endangerment situation of arts/humanities in order to suggest some lessons for Rwanda to transform the teaching of these subjects. The endangerment was measured in terms of stakeholder salience, declining student enrollment, government budget-cuts as well as devalorisation of and negative society perceptions towards these disciplines. The study investigates the causes and consequences of this endangerment and shows how these embattled disciplines can be helped to survive. It draws on the stakeholders’ theory of salience to argue that less salient stakeholders in universities can have their saliency strengthened through policy. Arts and humanities are disciplines holding the key towards solving a complex set of social problems in the current globalised world because they offer a sure channel of imparting analytical and critical thinking skills, effective argumentation and negotiation skills. The article argues that, if left unchecked, the current devalorisation of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences (HASS) in favour of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) will eventually lead to a non-holistic education with inadequate skills for all categories of students, including science ones. Graduates need these skills to cope with challenging social demands in their workplace.