Issues and challenges for the development of the knowledge economy in Sub-Saharan Africa
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Date
2019
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
IISTE
Abstract
Africa and particularly Sub-Saharan Africa has the lowest tertiary gross enrolment ratio globally, significantly
lower than South Asia. This low enrolment is happening at the time when the population of the region is growing
at unprecedented rates creating a population age structure dominated by young people under the age of 25 years.
Unfortunately, the high population growth rate is not corresponding to the level of adequate human capital
required for economic growth. For the region to gain from its youthful population, there must be concerted
efforts to enhance productivity through education and skills development. In other words, governments in the
region must ensure that the growth in the youthful population must be such that they are capable of contributing
to the economy through productive jobs. While higher education institutions in the continent, continue to fall
short in number of students they enroll and the quality and relevance of training they offer. This paper argues
that both the number, length and quality of schooling in Africa is responsible for low economic growth. The
paper proposes that unless investment in higher education is enhanced, countries in the Sub Saharan Africa will
not attain requisite economic growth commanded by knowledge in science, technology and innovation. The
paper recommends that since higher education generally has a greater effect on development outcomes, there is a
need for develop policies and strategies to ensure investment in higher education is given high priority.
Description
Journal of Education and Practice Vol.10, No.17, pp. 42-48
Keywords
Knowledge economy, Sab-Saharan Africa, Higher education