Transcript Re-Visioning Africa’s Tertiary Education in the Transition

Tertiary Education as Engine
for Growth in Africa
Peter N. Materu (Ph.D.), The World Bank
Talking Notes for the Panel Discussion on Tertiary Education in the
Knowledge Economy
University Leaders Forum
Cape Town, South Africa
November 19-21, 2006
OUTLINE
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Global Context
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The Africa Context
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Main Messages
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Unlocking the Potential for Tertiary Education in Africa
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Issues for further consideration
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World Bank Higher Education Activities
Globalization, Knowledge Economies, Information
Societies
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Increasingly linked
Increasingly competitive
Increasingly networked
Increasingly based on partnerships
Change is continuous
Adaptability generates competitive advantage
Higher education as a driver of growth
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Skills development
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Access to knowledge / information
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For productivity
For competitiveness
Application; problem-solving
Remaining relevant
Adapting to change
Generating new knowledge; research
Roadmap getting ahead
Relevant higher education
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greater productivity
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increased competitiveness
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economic growth
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poverty reduction
Emerging Global Consensus
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Commission for Africa Report 2005
NEPAD HD Strategy
African Union – 2nd Decade for
Education
World Bank Studies & AAP
Still, many countries do not have
tertiary education as a priority in
their development strategies
Large but Highly Fragmented Region
Trends
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Africa has the fastest increase in tertiary
enrollment (grew at an average of 15.6% increase a year
between 1991-2004)
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But coverage is still the lowest in the world
(gross enrollment ratio 5%)
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Gender parity has been improving (40% female
students)
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Rising enrollment share in private sector
(8 %
on average and share exceeds 20% in 10 countries)
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Increasing diversification (28% of students in short
technical programs)
Financing
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Public spending on higher education
declining (in real terms and as a share of education
spending, currently 17.6%)
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Public spending per student has been falling
sharply but remains high (3 times the GDP per capita)
Due to inefficiency and high social spending
(particularly in Francophone Africa 35%)
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Financial sustainability is a concern
Efficiency and Relevance
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Low efficiency (only one out of four students graduates
from university).
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Mismatch between output of graduates and
labor market demand (tertiary graduates more likely to
be unemployed than youth with primary and secondary
education)
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Research and Development is nascent (48
researchers/million inhabitants, R&D 0.3% of GDP)
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Limited ICT capacity and connectivity
Aging faculty, difficulty in staff retention
Weak governance and poor alignment of
Main messages
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Tertiary education is critical for growth in a
knowledge economy.
Threat of collapse has passed; a wave of change
is gaining momentum, but………..
Need more balanced investments in education.
Staffing is a major constraint.
Quality and relevance is a rising challenge.
Need to constantly adapt to market signals
ICTs are indispensable - interconnected world
Unlocking the potential of higher
education in Africa
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Increase investment (public and private)
Produce and retain more academic staff
Assure educational quality and relevance
Strengthen Research Capacity in niche areas
Improve efficiency (innovate)
Leverage ICTs
Increase investment
How do we justify increased public
investment in TE and mobilize funds
when there is still a large unmet demand
at the primary & secondary education
levels?
Produce and retain academic staff
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What can we do to retain & motivate
quality staff?
Need for creative ways to use the African
Diaspora: Role of ICTs
Strengthen R&D Capacity in Niche
Areas
Interest in S&T among young boys and
girls is falling in most countries. How do
we attract more to join?
Quality and Relevance
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Weak link to labor market, trade strategies
and investment priorities. Can this link be
improved? How to monitor labor market
signals?
HE QA Agencies in Africa are just emerging
and are costly. Are there Alternatives?
Efficiency through innovation
There is an increasing number of
impressive cases in TE innovation in
Africa. Need to learn from each other ad
also from other regions (Latin America,
East Asia, etc).
Leveraging ICTs
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Integrating ICTs into teaching and
learning: Do we have enough capacity
How to deal with the cost issue
For Further Consideration…
Tap ICTs Potential
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Bandwidth Consortia (FPHE)
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Open Source Content Partnerships
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Increase ICT literacy
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Partner with Private Sector
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How can TE Support development of
digital literacy at lower levels of
education?
For Further Consideration…
Increasing Relevance
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Increase focus on Key Skills
(communication, team work, thinking,
reasoning and problem-solving
competencies…). How? Who?
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Policy dialogue in-country
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Monitor Labor Market Trends
Observatories at HEIs ?
For Further Consideration…
Strategic Partnerships and Regional
Collaboration
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Partnerships and regional cooperation
as strategic tools for institutional
development
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Is there a role for international
development partners?
For Further Consideration…
Staffing Capacity & Engaging the African
Diaspora
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Link staff incentives to performance (Tenure
system?)
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Learn from promising Strategies in other
countries and regions
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Need to overcome internal inhibitions
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How can the international community be of
assistance?
For Further Consideration…
Innovative Financing Strategies
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Analytical work to make the case for increased
public funding of TE
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Experiment with new approaches
(Loan Schemes, PPP, Innovation Funds)
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Reform Public Funding Policies: Link public
funding to performance?
Equity concerns vs need for adequate funding
– How to maintain balance?
For Further Consideration…
Role of Governments, Private Sector
& International Development Partners
Clearly define the roles of:
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Governments
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Private Sector
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International development partners
Engage them in a partnership
Need for long term commitment
World Bank Higher Education Activities
Higher education Projects:
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Mauritania
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Mozambique
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Uganda Science & Technology
Projects with HE comp:
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Burkina Faso
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Cameroon
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Ethiopia
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Gambia
Ghana
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Lesotho
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Tanzania FY07
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DRC FY07
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Kenya FY07
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Namibia FY07
Projects in Science & Technology
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Uganda Science & Technology
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Nigeria Science &Technology
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Mozambique Science & Technology
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Analytical Work
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Ethiopia, 2003
Uganda S & T, 2004
HE & Economic development 05
Univ staff retention, 2005
SADC policy dialogue, 05/06
Francophone HE conf, 2006
Nigeria S & T, 2006
HE Cost and Financing in
Francophone Afr. 2006
Innovation Funds for HE 06
Quality Assurance, 07
Tertiary agric education, 07
Tertiary education & growth 07
DGF (WGHE, AAU, SARUA)
For more information…
www.worldbank.org/afr/teia
Thank You