Higher education in SA still a challenge

South Africa’s higher education system is facing stiff competition from its African counterparts, despite the country hosting six of the top 15 African universities says the World Economic Forum in the 2017 Africa Competitiveness Report.

The latest report puts Mauritius (ranking 52nd) as the highest ranked of all African countries, on the competitiveness index’s in higher education and training, says that it had has improved its talent pool significantly over the past 10 years.

South Africa trails by a whopping 25 points at 77th spot and is followed by Botswana (88th), Kenya (97th) and Ghana (99th) which also made the top 100 ranking.

Other Africa countries point to greater higher education gaps: Cameroon (105th), the region’s sixth-best performer, is four basis points below Ghana and the lowest-ranked country scores are only half of the score of leader, Mauritius.

The report goes on to say that South Africa’s skills level is not improving sufficiently. Secondary and tertiary enrolment rates have improved marginally while in Mauritius, both enrolment rates increased significantly.

It is alarming to see that the feedback from South African business sector who say that higher education quality levels have decreased relative to the expectations of employers, while in Mauritius these have improved steadily.

Other countries showing positive trends include Ghana, one of the most improved on both a ten-year and a two-year horizon.

Cameroon, Botswana, and Ethiopia have also improved, although to a lesser extent.

The progress made in all four countries points to the possibility of positive employability outcomes in at least some African countries.

However, the challenge is to improve the type and intensity of skills of young Africans to enable them to compete in a more integrated, digital, and technologically savvy world, while continuing to make education more inclusive and increase participation by reaching rural and other less-served areas.

How does higher education and training impact the chance of reaping the demographic dividend?

The link between skills and employability is straightforward.

The level and quality of education directly impact the likelihood of being hired or, to some extent, becoming an entrepreneur.

Because new generations of Africans will increasingly be more exposed to international competition and the effects of digitalisation, their employment possibilities will crucially depend on the level, type, and quality of their skills.