Universities fail to meet African skills requirements
Wednesday, November 11, 2015
Subject
Outlook for universities in sub-Saharan Africa.
Significance
Last month, the World Bank warned that population growth in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) -- from 1.16 billion in 2015 to 1.63 billion in 2030 -- spells a demographic "disaster" if states fail to make sufficient human capital investments. The growing numbers accessing tertiary education -- from 200,000 in 1970 to 10 million today -- might suggest improvement, but in fact has overstretched resources.
Impacts
- University research output orientates towards medical concerns given the strong influence of donor funding.
- The lack of science, technology, energy and mathematics research hampers commercial R&D, hurting economic diversification.
- South Africa's recent tuition fee freeze will exacerbate university funding woes, spurring research and capital budget cuts.
- Low rates of formal job creation, coupled with rising enrolment, will exacerbate disaffection among the young.