PhD completion rates ‘as low as 5 per cent’ in Africa

Study delays and low research training capacity are “impairing” students across Africa from completing their PhDs, researchers say.

A review of studies exploring the barriers facing PhD candidates in countries including Ethiopia, Uganda, South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria and Tanzania found that a lack of funding is holding back “the depth, scope, and quality of the research produced” by academics across the continent.

The paper, published in Higher Education, says PhD programmes at many universities across Africa are characterised by high attrition and low completion rates, even as the number of programmes has grown.

Completion rates in Ethiopia have not risen consistently despite an increase in the number of programmes, one study analysed found, while institutions in Kenya report attrition rates varying between 5 per cent and 50 per cent at different institutions.

Oluwatomilayo Omoya, associate lecturer at the College of Nursing and Health Sciences at Flinders University and co-author of the report, said high attrition rates “undermine the ability to increase the number of PhD holders, which is critical for building academic knowledge, economic growth and scientific advancement in Africa”.

This leads to “lower completion rates and a waste of resources invested in the students who drop out of the programmes”, she said, warning that a low level of PhD graduates “hinders” the production of high-quality research and innovation across the continent.

“Africa currently accounts for only 2 per cent of the global research output, reflecting the continent’s limited research capacity compared to Western countries. Low PhD completion rates further impede efforts to address gaps in key sectors like education, healthcare and economic development,” Dr Omoya said.

Previous research by the Association of Commonwealth Universities found that 17 per cent of African institutions reported receiving no government funding at all for research, and John Owusu Gyapong, secretary general of the African Research Universities Alliance, has previously told Times Higher Education that a lack of government funding has left universities “shooting in the dark”.

PhD students in the continent are typically older and more likely to have family and caring responsibilities, which can “impact their ability to devote the time needed for their PhD studies”, and most of those analysed had been “left with no choice” but to seek additional work because of the economic climate, the report highlights. Women were also found to face additional challenges in completing their PhDs – especially in former apartheid countries.

Dr Omoya said universities needed to introduce scholarships, fee waivers and research grants to allow PhD candidates to complete their studies “without needing full-time employment”, adding that targeted training in grant writing alongside greater international collaboration could boost PhD provision.

“Collaboration and exchange programmes with developed countries could help in training future African researchers and to develop research capacity, thereby driving research excellence,” she said.

juliette.rowsell@timeshighereducation.com