2024: The Year of Education
February 2, 2024 – Over sixty percent of the Africa’s population is under the age of twenty-five. Former Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf describes these youth as not just seekers of change; they are the creators of change.
To prepare these creators of change to create and lead their future, the African Union has declared 2024 the “Year of Education,” calling on all African governments to accelerate investment in education which has stayed flat at 3.7% of GDP since 2012.
Education Today
The challenges facing African higher education are well known. Only a small handful of students can access or afford tertiary education, there is a shortage of qualified human capital, low research output, financial resources are inadequate, poor infrastructure from physical buildings to digital accessibility, external interventions and politics compromises academia’s leadership and governance systems, and there is a clear mismatch between graduates’ skills and countries’ economic needs.
The number of universities across the Continent is increasing: in 2018, there were 1,682 universities in Africa, up from 784 in 2000 and 294 in 1980. However, in 2018, the continent of Africa was home to 16% of the global population, but only 8.9% of the world’s universities and only 6.6% of the world’s higher education students.
Study after study shows that that for societies to occupy a leadership role in today’s global world, higher education is a crucial and central importance because it builds domestic capacity for state-building, including health, education, law and the economy.
Equally important, education offers a conduit to engage young people and grow crucial skills like curiosity, critical inquiry and respectful dialogue so they can contribute to building a better future for themselves and their communities.
Creating Tomorrow’s Education Through Technology
Africa’s role on the global stage will be determined by the ability of her people to effectively advocate, negotiate, persuade and discuss topics ranging from human rights to security, the economy, war, supply chains, technology, intellectual property rights and more. Africa’s universities need to be the engine for transformation.
Technology offers new, more cost-effective ways to provide practical and relevant educational opportunities to more young people.
However, there are some substantial issues to be considered and overcome such as access to high bandwidth, affordable data and the devices to access educational materials. New materials will need to be created that require both subject matter and cultural expertise – Africa is, after all, a continent of multiple religions and countries as well as thousands of languages and cultures.
Next Steps
The world needs Africa and her youth. Every continent in the world is aging except Africa. It is in the world’s best interest to work alongside Africa’s higher education institutions and governments to ensure Africa’s youth are ready for today’s jobs in order to create and execute tomorrow’s solutions.
“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”
- Nelson Mandela
By working together to created locally rooted and globally competitive universities that focus on local contexts and offer technologically advanced and enabled higher educational opportunities, Africa’s universities will offer the world highly skilled, innovative, employable, ethical and civic-minded graduates.
Click here to read more about the work I am doing in higher education creating novel and innovative courses for undergrad, master and executives that go beyond theory and bring the business, political and leadership worlds to life as I pull from 30+ years working across Africa.
Photo source: my own, taken on a trip to South Sudan