Reinforcing Higher Education in Africa

With 70% of the entire population under 30, youth are one of Africa’s greatest reasons for optimism, and access to higher education for this youth should be a major driver for economic development, social cohesion and lasting peace. Yet, tapping into this potential continues to face several challenges. Ways of tackling these challenges was at the heart of a UNESCO Chairs Seminar on 21 September 2023 under the theme Reinforcing Higher Education in Africa.

Framing the discussions were UNESCO’s 2022 Higher Education Road Map and Campus Africa, one of the flagship programmes of UNESCO’s Operational Strategy for Priority Africa (2022-2029). Campus Africa aims to build integrated, inclusive, and quality tertiary education systems and institutions, for the development of inclusive and equitable societies on the continent, as outlined by Rita Bissoonauth, Director of the UNESCO Liaison Office to the African Union. Borhene Chakroun, Director of UNESCO’s Policies and Lifelong Learning Systems Division set the tone of the debate, saying in his opening remarks that, “universities must become incubators for social transformation.”

The various speakers identified several challenges, including the region’s low enrolment in higher education, which is around 9%, compared to a global average of 42%. Whilst there is an increase in demand for higher education, universities in the region are saturated and unable to provide an adequate learning environment, including for higher technical education. Higher education on the continent is currently underfunded at the national level, including investment in research and development which stands at an average of 0.38% of GDP (by comparison to 2.25% in Europe and North America). 

Other speakers also pointed to the high youth unemployment rate in Africa and the need to better align the skills of graduates to the labour market: currently, some 20-50% of graduates cannot find a job after graduation. The lack of quality assurance authorities and mechanisms in Africa, by comparison to other continents, was also underscored, whilst Prof. Jean Koulidiati, Rector, Pan-African University, also pointed to the inadequate teacher training.

Prof. Mpine Makoe, Executive Dean, College of Education, UNISA, in her keynote speech, traced many of the current difficulties in African higher education systems to the colonial systems that imposed curricula that “were meant to subjugate”. This, she argued has led to an inequitable system, elitist in nature, with too few people shaping economic growth, leading to disillusionment and conflict. As ever greater numbers seek access to higher education, it is an opportune moment to reflect on systems and structures, aligning them to a social justice mandate. Access to higher education should be open to more diverse groups, be affordable and guaranteed as a human right and the curricula should be decolonized. Above all, higher education should be reshaped in line with African needs and be “grounded on the concept of working together rather than individual pursuit, which goes against principles of Ubuntu, which means ‘I am because we are’”.

Promising Avenues

Overall, the Seminar strongly underscored the need for harmonization at the continental level and to strengthen cooperation within Africa, in terms of knowledge sharing and development, so that institutions and researchers can meaningfully contribute to Africa’s future. It raised further awareness of the lack of adequate infrastructure for research, teaching and learning due to the insufficient evolution of funding mechanisms within countries in line with the rising demand of young people entering higher education. Furthermore, several interventions highlighted the need to accelerate ratification and adherence to the UNESCO 2014 “Addis Convention” that facilitates the recognition of higher education qualifications. Speakers noted the importance of the Convention in promoting governmental and institutional cooperation, facilitating the harmonization of recognition systems across the region and enhancing academic and students’ mobility. 

There was unanimous agreement among speakers that digital technologies, including artificial intelligence, offer great potential for opening up educational opportunities across the continent. As Prof. Olusola Oyewole, Secretary General, African Association of Universities, raised, digital technologies allow for innovation and the opportunity to assess knowledge from a huge range of sources. To fully capitalize on the potential of digital technologies also requires pan-African cooperation, as outlined by Prof. Souleymane Konaté, Secretary General, Conseil Africain et Malgache pour l’Enseignement Supérieur. To tackle funding shortfalls, Prof. Aissatou Sy Wonyu, Director of Agence universitaire de la Francophonie (AUF) for Southern Africa and Indian Ocean, pointed to innovations in funding mechanisms and cooperation partnerships with the private sector, including building synergies with research labs. Indeed, Prof. Catherine A. Odora Hoppers, Professor of Education, Gulu University, made the point that to transform higher education, we need people who are not in higher education. “To enter into the transformation, other people must come in, other people who have different ideas of living”. Prof. Odora Hoppers referred to higher education as a “banquet table”, saying that “we must introduce new concepts to banquet table so that we are not just assimilated into it”. Prof. Patricia Pavallicini brought students into focus, saying that new models for higher education need to be relevant and stable, with emphasis on inclusion and gender equality.

With Africa being one of UNESCO’s global priorities, the Seminar sought to enhance collaboration amongst higher education stakeholders. This series of UNESCO Chairs Seminars on Transforming Knowledge for Africa’s Future creates spaces for discussion, knowledge sharing and mutual exchange.