To achieve quality education in Africa, continued investment in education infrastructure, teacher training and curriculum development is needed, as well as building on the progress already made in increasing access to education and reducing gender disparities.
Some of the main achievements in the education sector in Africa include increased enrolment rates, particularly in primary education, and improvements in access to education for girls. Many African countries have implemented policies and programs to address gender inequality in education, resulting in increased enrolment and completion rates for girls. Additionally, African countries have made significant strides in expanding access to education for children with disabilities.
- To what degree are African countries meeting the need for quality higher education?
- What successful strategies are African countries using to improve the quality of higher education, particularly in rural areas and for disadvantaged learners?
- What lessons can be learned from successful higher education initiatives in Africa and how can they be replicated or scaled up both within and outside of Africa?
Africa is one of the youngest, fastest growing continents in the world and it is estimated in the next decade that the ten fastest growing cities in the world will all be on the continent. Increasing populations, especially under the age of 25, provides its own unique challenges to countries. The demand for quality education, opportunity and equity is one of the key challenges of the first part of this century and together we must find collective solutions.
Across our continent we continue to struggle in some areas but we are seeing strides made as well. Please consider these seven areas I offer to you as areas that we must focus if we want to see meaningful change:
- Infrastructure and Resources is a continual challenge that most of our countries face. We have limited infrastructure, inadequate funding and a shortage of qualified faculty and staff. These resource constraints can hinder the delivery of quality higher education. The “Brain Drain” theory of our top and brightest scholars leaving to the Global North is a reality but we must find a way to keep them here in our continent, in Africa. Many times it is not possible for African universities to pay the salary scale the Western Countries pay, so we must find other incentives that keep our brightest minds here. For love of nation and continent, helping them see the impact of their scholarship in action.
- Government Policies and financial investment in higher education is critical. Adequate funding and supportive policies can go a long way in improving the quality and the accessibility of higher education. Does your government have loan programs or free aid to help subsidize education? Funding education must be a strategic priority and not treated as political battle for resources. Too often we battle over funds, but the first appropriation for our national budgets need to make sure that education funds are protected.
- Thirdly, I would propose the relevance of the higher education curricula to the needs of the job marketing and society is essential. The world does not need more of scholars, sitting under a tree, simply pondering what they believe the world needs, instead, the modern university needs to go into the communities, into where the people are, and find what the needs are. Aligning programs with industry demands and the countries development priorities is crucial for producing graduates who can continue to build economic growth and development.
- A fourth area from my vantage point is the quality of student services and the enhancement of our co-curricular programs. Our universities need to move away from only being the “Sage on the Stage” concept of a professor simply dumping information into the pupils as they sit and listen. We need to build modern 21st century African universities that provide world class support services for our students, to include counseling, career planning, financial guidance and community service. These areas are all critical to student success and retention. Engaging with local communities and understanding their needs is a common practice in successful African initiatives. This approach can be replicated by institutions worldwide to foster stronger ties between academia and society, leading to research and initiatives that address real-world problems. Creating a co-curricular experience that helps prepare our students through internships, on the job training apprenticeships and programs that has our students working and learning outside the traditional classrooms. We must move away from a high stakes testing culture, instead, I propose we have continuous assessment in our classrooms that builds our students for the global world competition they will encounter.
- Next, I would postulate that the access to technology will plays a huge role as well. The digital divide is a challenge in some African countries, affecting access to online learning and resources. Expanding access to technology and online education can help bridge this gap. Today, we stand on the campus of UNISA, where in 1946 the institution became one of the first public universities in the world to offer distance education modality, long before the advent of the internet. We need to place the power of information in the hands of the average person in Africa. An example, Nigeria as a country is one of the first nations in the continent working with the new satellite internet program instituted by Elon Musk, a name quite familiar to people around the world, especially here in South Africa. The program is called Starlink and it is the world’s first and largest satellite constellation using a low earth orbit to deliver broadband internet capable of supporting streaming, online gaming, videos call and more. But, having internet access alone will not solve all the challenges, we also need to continue to find ways to get devices in the hands of our people, especially our students. Partnership with large foundations like the Gates will be paramount for these types of access.
- Access to higher education is all too often limited, with relatively low enrollment rates compared to other regions. This can be attributed to factors such as limited capacity at universities, financial limitations, cultural barriers and geographical disparities in access. Simply put, education cannot, must not, only be for rich, upper-class men but instead, it needs to be for the masses and we must have policies and programs that supports this. It is easy enough for us to say this is what we want, but how are we achieving this. Are we finding ways to make sure the brightest students get post-secondary education, even if they do not have the financial means? Are we making sure that young girls have equal access? Are we assisting to make sure children with learning disability have accommodations as well?
- Collaboration with universities and institutions from other countries can help our African universities enhance their quality and global standing. International partnership can provide more access to resources, faculty exchange opportunities, student exchanges and increased research opportunities. How do we collaborate as the Global South but at the same time, also find support from the top universities in the Global North? Strong offices of international exchange and collaborations need to be built on all our campuses so we can work more collaboratively to solve the challenges of the 21st century.
I am confident in the resilience of the African people and I know there has already been great strides in access to quality education. Allow me the moment to share in some of our success stories and please note, there are many more, but these are a few.
- Rwanda stands out as a remarkable success story when it comes to promoting education and access. Their government made significant investment in infrastructure, teacher training and curriculum development. Notably, the “One Laptop Per Child” Program has distributed to student to enhance digital literacy. Moreover, Rwanda has implemented a gender-sensitive curriculum that addresses the unique needs and challenges faced by girls. As a result of all these efforts, Rwanda has achieved near gender parity in primary and secondary education enrollment.
- Another example is being seen here in the Southern African region is in Malawi. The country has adopted innovative approaches to remove economic barriers that hinder girls access to education. The government, in partnership with international organizations, has introduced initiative such as cash transfer programs, which provide financial incentives to families for sending their girls to school. Additionally, Malawi has taken steps to eliminate gender-based violence in schools, creating a safer environment that encourages girls to attend regularly.
- Let us stay in the East Africa region, and learn a little more about the programs that Kenya is implementing to help promote access. In Kenya, addressing menstrual hygiene challenges has been a significant focus of efforts to promote girls’ education. The government has distributed free sanitary pads to girls in schools, reducing absenteeism caused by menstruation-related issues. The simple yet impactful intervention has helped girls stay in school and receive uninterrupted education.
- Another aspect of access we must always consider in students with disabilities. In my homeland of America, we have made significant strides in the last three decades but we have more to go as well. Several African countries have enacted laws to specifically focused on the rights of people with disabilities. The laws often include provisions that address inclusive education, reasonable accommodations and removal of barriers to access. Our host country, South Africa’s Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination act is a leading example of legislative efforts to support students with disabilities in education.
- For a moment, let us move to my part of the world, to West Africa and to my adopted country of Nigeria. While Nigeria faces significant challenges in girls’ education due to cultural and economic factors, various non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have been instrumental in driving change. NGOs like the Malala Fund, named after 2014 Nobel Peace Prize Recipient, and Educate Girls Nigeria have been working tirelessly to advocate for girls’ education, provide scholarships, engage communities in conservations about the importance of girls’ education. At the post-secondary level, I stand before you today representing the American University of Nigeria because of our dear Founder, His Excellency Atiku Abubakaar, and his passion for education for all people, across economic and gender barriers. It was when he was a young orphan child growing up in one of the poorest parts of Nigeria, Adamawa State, that a group of educators from the American Peace Corps came and educated the children of his village. It was because of this love for education, 20 years ago next year, he founded the American University of Nigeria and an institution was born as the first “development university” in Africa. But you may ask, what does this mean, let me give you a few examples. Do you remember the terrible insurgence of the Boko Harem in Northeastern Nigeria that launched around 2009? The date will forever live with us in Nigeria, especially on the night of 14–15 April 2014, 276 mostly Christian female students aged from 16 to 18 were kidnapped by the terrorist group Boko Haram from the Government Girls Secondary School at the town of Chibok in Borno State, Nigeria. The story of these young ladies did not end there, through a collaboration with the Robert Smith Foundation in America and the Nigerian Ministry of Woman Affairs, the women that were released and many (over 100) are now a part of the American University of Nigeria. The President of AUN, was on the ground and went in a bus to help drive the young girls away when they were released to bring them directly to our campus. It was not easy, but it was the right thing to do. AUN works with organizations like the WHO, UNESCO, USAID and the United Nations Population fund to involve our students in programs to reach the people of the region. It is community service at a level that I have never experienced in my 25 years in American Higher Education, and I get to be a part of a solution because one man had a dream that a university in his home state of Adamawa, could have an impact on his country and world. Today, AUN feeds street children, teach them literacy and our students are involved in this program coined Feed and Read. Then there is our program where we work with women in the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camps that we teach how to make handicrafts and how to start micro businesses so they get a hand up, not simply a hand out. This my friends is the education for the 21st century in our continent of Africa.
Text of President DeWayne Frazier’s Presentation at the 2023 Times Higher Education (THE) Impact Forum in Pretoria, South Africa, on Thursday, September 21.