It's Africa's time to rise: let's end our academic isolation

Africa’s challenge is how to create a strong higher education sector to prepare a new generation of leaders in the professions, business and civil society. This is necessary because the continent has long struggled with how to create and deliver quality tertiary education to its young people. Making progress on this challenge is possible now because Africans are stepping up after decades of academic isolation and inadequate support from their own leaders and from the West.

There are fewer than 2,000 colleges and universities on a continent with a billion people in 55 countries. In comparison, the US is home to more than 4000 institutions for 320 million people. Less than 7% percent of Africans have college degrees compared to 30% of North Americans and Europeans. More than half of Africa’s population is under the age of 30. This is either a demographic dividend, if the talent is developed, or a demographic curse if the next generation is large, economically marginal and unable to do the work of advanced economies. Africa is the leading continent in the fraction of its young people sent abroad for education. Sadly, many of the young have remained abroad and represent a “brain drain” from Africa while providing a talented dose of diversity in America and Europe.

Coming on the heels of Black History Month in the US, now is a good time to draw parallels between the education of black people in the US and Africa. And while there are significant challenges and obstacles in terms of educational equity for black people in the US, there is a significant parallel and lesson to be found in comparing colonial Africa and pre-civil rights America. In both cases, there was a de-emphasis on science and math. Black people were given little instruction and were discouraged from these fields. This pattern became embedded and remains that way: black people are scarce in the technology sector. In recent years, rapid growth and higher pay has been in jobs that draw on analytical skills. Knowledge-based jobs have become the key to both national economic growth and personal opportunity. Similarly, in Africa, math was not and is not emphasised, with the result that many of the professional jobs in an emerging continent go to foreign nationals, not African nationals. African schools are not producing the engineers, scientists or architects required to advance its economies in the ways Asian countries did a generation ago. The lesson for Africa is that they must prepare the educated labor force needed for the economic advancement they seek.

There are two other issues that challenge the African continent related to tertiary education. Only a handful of the sub-Saharan African schools (outside of South Africa) are ranked in the top 500 in the world. That means African academics are isolated from the global knowledge generation which increasingly comes from collaboration across ranked institutions and national borders. Africans educated in Africa, with some exceptions, are not part of the global talent pool – employers in Africa complain that they cannot find Africans for professional positions and as a result must bring in outsiders or send the work to the west.

Finally, the research tradition in Africa and especially in science and math is very limited. Whether the issue is research on infectious disease, how to adapt to climate change, ways to increase agricultural productivity, or the best strategy for global leverage of Africa’s rich reserve of commodities, there is a dire need for more African scholars who can conduct research on the issues.

As we move to a “flat world” where digital connection removes some barriers to innovation such as distance and physical isolation, Africa is isolated from the most important market – that of talent and knowledge generation. Those outside with resources can engage Africa but without knowledge and resources, Africa cannot move itself into the global economy. It will be important that Africa owns, develops, manages, and deploys its talent both to advance its own development and to be among the global players in the science and technology domains as diverse as agriculture and medicine on the one hand, and climate change and business management, on the other. When a nation can compete on the production and use of knowledge, there is a better chance for shaping its own fate.

That opportunity can become real if two things happen. The first is that Africa’s talent profile is enhanced by preparing more young people and supporting their research and connection to global peers. Happily, African STEM talent is being developed and a strong group of young scientists is on display in a week at the Next Einstein Forum in Dakar, Senegal where young African scientists together with colleagues from the West are meeting to develop ways to support science and expand its reach.

The second challenge is to build a set of institutions that are first-class, committed to serving as a model for excellence, globally connected, and focused on fields that advance industry and professions. These institutions also need to address African problems and promote economic development. One example of African-based progress is the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS) which is a network of graduate programs that offer excellent graduate education with a world-class faculty. AIMS collaborates with leading global institutions and is expanding to connect with research partners and global companies. AIMS has programs in six countries and plans to expand to 15.

Other institutions that have been created first class include Ashesi University in Ghana and the Aga Khan University in East Africa. The Pan African University is just starting with an ambitious plans in several countries. There is also the need to transform and support existing institutions in order to broaden the number of quality institutions.

Developing new talent and creating and transforming existing schools is a big lift. To find a model for success one need only look at South Korea. In 1960, Ghana and South Korea were similarly undeveloped and struggling countries. South Korea took the education and industry route to rapid development and is now in the first rank among nations in STEM education. They are industry giants in a diverse sectors. In the US, South Korean companies displaced market leading companies like Motorola (with Samsung), General Electric appliances (with LG) and they have two Korean cars among the top ten ranked cars for 2015.

More than ever before we can be cautiously optimistic. Many challenges and obstacles to progress remain. Technology can make rapid progress possible. There are Africans who are stepping forward to lead change. Students are eager to have educational resources in their home countries. Political and economic development are beginning to occur together. Much remains to be done but there is now a sense that its Africa’s time to rise.