Get Africa's educational heart to beat once more

Long-term investment in African higher education is key to solving its problems, says Bill Rammell

Africa's universities are at the heart of Africa's future. Good universities build human and institutional capacity. They create the leaders of tomorrow who will help front an African-led future. They are key to economic growth and promote good governance vital for sustainable development.

Africa has enjoyed glorious ages in higher learning. As Thabo Mbeki, South Africa's President, observed, the intellectual traditions of the Nubian civilisation, the ancient Egyptians and the great centre of learning in Timbuktu are all part of the continent's rich history.

Higher education in Africa has suffered greatly, and the results are manifold. Weakened by slow economic growth, brain drain, HIV/Aids, conflict and underinvestment, Africa's higher education systems are in crisis. One consequence is that Africa spends some $4 billion (£2.1 billion) each year recruiting 100,000 skilled expatriates to replace the African professionals or managers who have emigrated. It is right that the world now looks to a reinvigoration of higher education in Africa.

The desire for higher learning is there. There has been an explosion in the number of enrolments in Africa's higher education institutions, but there `are not enough places. Although there has been an increase in the number of institutes, they are stretched to breaking point by severe shortages in information and communication technology, education materials and curriculum, libraries and books and the systems of management that help universities to run properly.

Not only are there not enough places, but research programmes are also in decline. Unesco data show that the proportion of world patents and academic publications in internationally referred journals in the name of Africans is below 1 per cent.

Like all solutions to problems of this scale, the answers are not easy. But there are opportunities for change. Successful institutions such as the Kigali Institute of Science, Technology and Management, which is helping Rwanda build its desperately needed human resource base, show what can be achieved.

The year 2005 presents an important opportunity. The Commission for Africa report recommends $500 million a year over ten years to revitalise Africa's institutions of higher education and up to $3 billion over ten years to develop centres of excellence in science and technology, including African institutes of technology.

The Department for Education and Skills is committed to helping where we can. We back the commission's recommendation and hope it influences decisions at the G8 summit. We want to ensure that the expertise in this country can be brought to bear on revitalising African higher education and, in doing so, enrich our own understanding of African issues. Developing long-term collaborations will offer benefits in both directions.

What is needed is a comprehensive and strategic programme of long-term investment building on the greatness of the African tradition for higher learning - and tackling the crumbling weaknesses of a system not coping.

Solutions will not be straightforward. Governments, businesses and universities need to work together. Partnerships such as that of the Association of Commonwealth Universities and the Association of African Universities and their ten-year revitalisation plan are important.

Creating centres of excellence in science, engineering and technology would stimulate the growth of education in this vital sector. Africa needs scientists, engineers and technicians who can think and plan their way through myriad problems - to generate wealth and reduce poverty. Major challenges of water, energy, sanitation and urban environments need intelligent African solutions. Health is, perhaps, an area of greatest need where an educated and skilled workforce is essential.

Centres of excellence are a proven model for sharing know-ledge and boosting capacity when resources are limited. They raise standards by aiming high and leading the way, and they have proven their success in India and other areas.

Support in the form of training for the heads of African universities and institutions is also important - but we need an African culture of higher learning, not an imposed model.

Importantly, higher education will ensure that Africa is part of the global knowledge economy and that it will bridge the gap between Africa and the rest of the world. The investment needed in higher education is a long-term commitment with a long-term payoff.

Bill Rammell is Minister of State for Higher Education and Lifelong Learning.