The Paper examines the mission and role of the community colleges in the context of the current national and international situation. It sees the curriculum and programmes of the community colleges as a product of mission, context and historical forces.

Variants of the community college model are identified and their respective capacities as vehicles for performing the required role in tertiary education assessed.
Major challenges and imperatives posed for community colleges’ curricula, programmes and operations by contemporary social, cultural, economic, political and technological changes are identified and discussed. Alternative approaches to tackling the challenges and meeting the imperatives are briefly explored.

June 6, 2004