Higher education follows primary?

I was interested by this article because I've visited Cheikh Anta Diop. In fact, I have a friend who is a professor there. They aren't kidding -- the vet school (one of the few, if not the only, in W. Africa) is in good shape for them, but there isn't much there. Their entire lab space is about the size of the gross anatomy labs at any school here. They don't have a clinic to practice in. It's not where you'd want to be training the front line against avian influenza, rinderpest, and other diseases that could devastate our economies if they surged.

Why should we care? Besides the large proportion of grad students coming into this country from Africa (who need to know things they might not learn there), we benefit from their improved education by not having to pay Western researchers to do the needed field trials for African problems. They work cheaper even when they have the education, so we can put more development money into the infrastructure and project funds, less into the staff salaries.

I've been given this incredible blessing of attending good colleges and universities. One day, I may even leave them; for now, I'd just like to share that opportunity with people who've worked much harder to get much less.