Africa Universities, Colleges, and Polytechnics

Overview

Africa is a continent known for its wild animal safaris, unique artwork and rich traditional cultures but is also known for its ongoing struggles with poverty, disease and ineffective governments. Most of Africa was under European rule in the late nineteenth century until after World War II when countries began to gain independence. It now consists of 54 autonomous countries with a population of over one billion.

The northern half of the continent is primarily desert or arid while other parts include dense jungles. Nigeria, Ethiopia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and South Africa are the countries with the largest populations. Over a thousand languages are spoken in Africa but English and French are the most commonly spoken with Arabic, Portuguese, Afrikaans and Malagasy also in use by significant parts of the population.

Africa is the world's poorest and least developed continent and suffers from numerous challenges such as high rates of disease, low literacy rates, corrupt governments, malnutrition, inadequate water supplies and political conflicts. Some countries such as South Africa and the North African countries of Egypt, Libya, Algeria and Tunisia have relatively strong economies while countries that have been affected by violent conflicts in recent years have remained some of the poorest in the world. Overall, economic growth has quickened in recent years with the continent seeing a 4.9 percent yearly growth in GDP between 2000 and 2008.

All African countries except Morocco are members of the African Union which is an organization that aims to improve the political and socio-economic integration of African countries. They also strive to achieve peace and security and to promote democratic institutions and human rights.

Higher Education

Higher Education institutions in Africa face many challenges including fast-growing enrollments, lack of qualified staff and lack of management capacity. The leaders of many African countries are committed to addressing these issues and improving higher education as a means to improving the overall economic development of their countries.

The Association of African Universities is an organization of higher education leaders from over 40 African countries that aims to improve the quality of higher education and strengthen its contribution to African development. It has put in place programs to move higher education in a positive direction and recognizes the need for support and partnerships with organizations outside of Africa. Through conferences, training, collaboration efforts and support services, this organization helps higher education institutions improve the quality of the education they provide.

While the majority of higher education institutions in Africa lag behind those in western nations, a number of universities in South Africa and are highly regarded. The University of Cape Town in South Africa is the most highly regarded African university with a ranking of 146 on the QS Global 200 in 2009. Outside of South Africa, the University of Cairo in Egypt is also well-regarded internationally.

Resources

African Union

Association of African Universities

Association for the Development of Education in Africa