The relationship between universities and society in Africa is examined. A framework to encompass the desired aims of both the university and society and the relationships between them is formulated. Implications for the structure, content and operation of the university in Africa are indicated. (Author/MLW)

Some instructive experience about the potential and limits of a meaningful role for African universities in the 1980s is discussed. The challenge of the 1980s is to convince African governments and national populations that university contributions to national development lie in the ability to train minds and a thinking society. (Author/MLW)