We need to support the creation of excellent universities in Africa
7 May 2015
Read by 4809 persons
Despite widespread agreement on the vital importance of a skilled and well-trained workforce for Africa's emergence, only five African universities were among the top 500 in the 2014 Shanghai ranking, four in South Africa and one in Egypt. Africa therefore still suffers from a critical lack of excellent universities.
At the same time, there is strong growth in demand for higher education across the continent. Half of the population of sub-Saharan Africa is under 25 (including 190 million young people aged 15 to 24).
Over the next decade, 11 million young people are expected to enter the job market each year. In addition, a growing middle class (120 million households by 2025, compared to 60 million in 2010) is seeking quality education for its children. However, too many young Africans go abroad for higher education (more than 300,000 per year), often without intending to return, leading to a damaging brain drain for the continent's future.
Very expensive international training
Furthermore, this recourse to international training is very expensive for both families (8,000 to 10,000 euros per year on average) and states that provide scholarships. The majority therefore cannot benefit from the university education they aspire to and remain to study in their home country.
They are then often victims of the failings of the public system (Cheikh Anta Diop University in Dakar, initially designed for around 20,000 students, welcomes nearly 70,000) and struggle to find employment (especially salaried employment) after graduation. The unemployment rate for African graduates is indeed 30 to 40%, due to courses that are often poorly adapted to the needs of the job market.
Furthermore, while many African states are implementing "local content" schemes to promote the employment of local people in certain key industries ("Nigeria Content Act", "Law of Petroleum Operations" in Angola), they are struggling to implement them due to a lack of sufficiently qualified local workforce.
Nevertheless, for the past ten years, innovative educational initiatives have emerged, focusing on practical training and immediate employability. Several models exist: pan-African programs from international donors, public-private partnerships (PPPs) with states, African subsidiaries of international universities, or purely private local initiatives.
Nineteen "centers of excellence" in eight African countries
Firstly, at the continental level, the World Bank launched a funding program in 2014 ($150 million) for nineteen "centers of excellence" in eight African countries to support scientific and technical sectors. At the national level, the International University of Rabat (1,000 students in 2013) is the first PPP in higher education in Morocco.
Similarly, in Burkina Faso, about fifteen African states, private companies and institutions created the 2iE engineering school in 2006 (3,500 students). In another area, renowned international universities have opened African campuses. Carnegie Mellon opened a campus in Rwanda in 2012. After China and India, the Ecole Centrale Paris opened a school in Casablanca in 2014.
Finally, some purely private initiatives are emerging, such as Ashesi University (more than 600 students), an engineering school created in 2012 in Ghana that develops partnerships with excellent universities (Babson College, USA) and industrial companies (General Electric). A South African initiative, ALU (African Leadership Unleashed), aims to develop a network of twenty-five private universities on the continent with two initial campuses, in Mauritius and Kenya, by 2015-2017.
However, these new institutions are still few in number and will not be enough to meet the immense challenge facing the continent. The African university system of tomorrow is still to be invented. Five avenues can be proposed.
Firstly, it would be necessary to facilitate the implementation of adapted financing tools, in order to help create and expand tertiary education institutes, beyond the aid of international donors. The experience of Enko Education, a fund specializing in primary and secondary education in Africa, could be replicated in higher education.
Secondly, in a constrained context, efforts should be made to create new models that require less capital. Increased use of technology, for example, by dematerializing some of the courses, allows for the construction of smaller campuses and the "industrialization" of the education offer through online courses (this is the case for continuing education at 2iE).
Thirdly, academic and industrial partnerships must be strengthened in order to "produce" graduates with an international-level academic education and practical skills that allow them to immediately obtain employment (95% of 2iE graduates find employment within 6 months).
Fourthly, the specific characteristics of Africa argue in favor of flexible, modular university courses, allowing access to lifelong learning. 60% of the students at the BEM business school in Dakar are in continuing education and more than 40% at 2iE.
Fifthly, to meet the social demand for access to education for the greatest number of people, large-scale scholarship systems must be developed (Ashesi University welcomes 40% scholarship holders mainly funded by large foundations).
Nelson Mandela said: "Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world."
What is true for the world is true for Africa!
www.lemonde.fr
At the same time, there is strong growth in demand for higher education across the continent. Half of the population of sub-Saharan Africa is under 25 (including 190 million young people aged 15 to 24).
Over the next decade, 11 million young people are expected to enter the job market each year. In addition, a growing middle class (120 million households by 2025, compared to 60 million in 2010) is seeking quality education for its children. However, too many young Africans go abroad for higher education (more than 300,000 per year), often without intending to return, leading to a damaging brain drain for the continent's future.
Very expensive international training
Furthermore, this recourse to international training is very expensive for both families (8,000 to 10,000 euros per year on average) and states that provide scholarships. The majority therefore cannot benefit from the university education they aspire to and remain to study in their home country.
They are then often victims of the failings of the public system (Cheikh Anta Diop University in Dakar, initially designed for around 20,000 students, welcomes nearly 70,000) and struggle to find employment (especially salaried employment) after graduation. The unemployment rate for African graduates is indeed 30 to 40%, due to courses that are often poorly adapted to the needs of the job market.
Furthermore, while many African states are implementing "local content" schemes to promote the employment of local people in certain key industries ("Nigeria Content Act", "Law of Petroleum Operations" in Angola), they are struggling to implement them due to a lack of sufficiently qualified local workforce.
Nevertheless, for the past ten years, innovative educational initiatives have emerged, focusing on practical training and immediate employability. Several models exist: pan-African programs from international donors, public-private partnerships (PPPs) with states, African subsidiaries of international universities, or purely private local initiatives.
Nineteen "centers of excellence" in eight African countries
Firstly, at the continental level, the World Bank launched a funding program in 2014 ($150 million) for nineteen "centers of excellence" in eight African countries to support scientific and technical sectors. At the national level, the International University of Rabat (1,000 students in 2013) is the first PPP in higher education in Morocco.
Similarly, in Burkina Faso, about fifteen African states, private companies and institutions created the 2iE engineering school in 2006 (3,500 students). In another area, renowned international universities have opened African campuses. Carnegie Mellon opened a campus in Rwanda in 2012. After China and India, the Ecole Centrale Paris opened a school in Casablanca in 2014.
Finally, some purely private initiatives are emerging, such as Ashesi University (more than 600 students), an engineering school created in 2012 in Ghana that develops partnerships with excellent universities (Babson College, USA) and industrial companies (General Electric). A South African initiative, ALU (African Leadership Unleashed), aims to develop a network of twenty-five private universities on the continent with two initial campuses, in Mauritius and Kenya, by 2015-2017.
However, these new institutions are still few in number and will not be enough to meet the immense challenge facing the continent. The African university system of tomorrow is still to be invented. Five avenues can be proposed.
Firstly, it would be necessary to facilitate the implementation of adapted financing tools, in order to help create and expand tertiary education institutes, beyond the aid of international donors. The experience of Enko Education, a fund specializing in primary and secondary education in Africa, could be replicated in higher education.
Secondly, in a constrained context, efforts should be made to create new models that require less capital. Increased use of technology, for example, by dematerializing some of the courses, allows for the construction of smaller campuses and the "industrialization" of the education offer through online courses (this is the case for continuing education at 2iE).
Thirdly, academic and industrial partnerships must be strengthened in order to "produce" graduates with an international-level academic education and practical skills that allow them to immediately obtain employment (95% of 2iE graduates find employment within 6 months).
Fourthly, the specific characteristics of Africa argue in favor of flexible, modular university courses, allowing access to lifelong learning. 60% of the students at the BEM business school in Dakar are in continuing education and more than 40% at 2iE.
Fifthly, to meet the social demand for access to education for the greatest number of people, large-scale scholarship systems must be developed (Ashesi University welcomes 40% scholarship holders mainly funded by large foundations).
Nelson Mandela said: "Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world."
What is true for the world is true for Africa!
www.lemonde.fr
