As the continent looks to Agenda 2063, the blueprint of the African Union (AU) for a prosperous, integrated and peaceful Africa, and the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), it is imperative that higher-education institutions reflect critically on their purpose In their current form, too many of our universities appear disconnected from the realities around them The disconnect between academic knowledge and its practical application continues to widen, and this failure must be addressed with urgency Africa’s challenge is not a lack of intelligence or ambition
It is a failure of systems – systems that produce graduates without equipping them with skills for a fast-changing, demanding world In a 2016 report the African Development Bank cited a crisis of youth unemployment and migration These trends are deeply linked to the inability of our educational systems to prepare students for work or entrepreneurship As institutions of higher learning, we must accept some responsibility for this shortfall
Universities must become engines of societal impact
The traditional mission of a university – namely to teach, conduct research and serve society, remains relevant However, the third element, societal service, is often the weakest Academic impact, measured by journal citations and global rankings, has taken centre stage, while community impact is often treated as peripheral, if not forgotten entirely This academic culture, driven by the mantra “publish or perish”, has created a system where research often ends up in international journals, with little to no relevance for the communities from which the problems originally arose
We must ask ourselves: of what value is research that cannot be felt, seen or applied to improve the lives of the people around us A society as young and dynamic as that of Africa requires research that is solution-driven, research that addresses local challenges in health, agriculture, energy, water access and poverty alleviation Research must be felt in the streets, not just in seminar halls Rethinking curriculum and learning approaches
There is an urgent need to revisit our curricula.African universitiesmust redesign their academic programmes to reflect the demands of the 21st century and the aspirations embedded in Agenda 2063 and the SDGs
Degrees must not merely confer prestige; they must translate into competence, relevance and innovation Our teaching methods must evolve Problem-based learning, challenge-driven education and development education should become core approaches These
Source: Gemnation
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Source: Gemnation
