Higher Education in Africa: Current status and perspectives for inclusive transformation

Abstract

African universities are expected to help tackle challenges facing the African society and realise the aspirations of the Africa Agenda 2063 and the UN Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals 2030 in the current context of globalization of higher education. Unfortunately, there have been substantial challenges affecting Higher Education in Africa, notably the disparities in gender inclusion, limiting the potential of women, and the decline in average public expenditure per tertiary education student, making Sub Sahara Africa tertiary education enrollment ratio the lowest in the world. This editorial introduces the third issue of the fifth volume of the African Journal of Rural Development. In this edition, we have published nine papers addressing issues related to higher education in Kenya, Uganda, Democratic Republic of Congo, Cameroon, Zambia, Mozambique, Ethiopia and Sudan. In particular, the issue brings insights into the future of the African University, the importance of regional academic training programs, the gender disparities in participation in Science, Technology and Innovation, and the mechanisms for financing and strengthening higher education in Africa. It is our hope that the readers will find this information useful to guide further decision in the efforts towards transforming the higher education sector in Africa.