African Higher Education: Capturing the Recent Past, Projecting the Future

Damtew Teferra, Ph. D.
Director, International Network for Higher Education in Africa; Director for Africa and the Middle East, Ford Foundation International Fellowships Program

Higher education in Africa has seen considerable developments in the last decade. These developments are attributed to policy shifts favorable to higher education in the region, massive demand and major growth in providers, unprecedented progress in information and communication technologies (ICT), large numbers of unemployed and unemployable graduates, uncertainty due to international regimes such as GATS, diminishing faculty numbers, and massive brain drain. This article attempts to capture these major developments in the past decade and also sketches challenges for the future. more...