Top Quality University Education will unlock Africa's Potential.

Education is one of the most important aspects of a nation's well being. And yet, there has been a raging debate on what mode of education that Africa should adopt. The World Bank and other multilateral institutions continue to insist that Africa needs basic education in order to develop. However, evidence is emerging that the continent also needs a strong higher education system. How can education policy makers in the continent merge the two?

At Africa Shine, we believe that there has been too much focus on basic education to the detriment of higher education. Almost all the donor funding is concentrated on basic education, while leaving out the higher education sector. According to statistics, there are between 3 million and 5 million college and university graduates in Africa every year. This number is comparable to the number of graduates churned by Indian and Chinese Universities. However, the quality of graduates leaves a lot of desired. Rote learning is still the order of the day, and creativity and innovation is not encouraged.

While African universities have fared better in teaching, they have not been as steadfast in research. According to the webometrics ranking of universities, few African universities rank in the top 500 in the world. These universities tend to be concentrated in South Africa and Egypt. The impact that a great university can have on a community is immeasurable. For instance, according to the kauffman foundation, a think tank that seeks to promote entrepreneurship, the value of companies created or co-created by Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) alumni is about a trillion dollars. If these companies were an isolated country, they would be the seventeenth largest economy in the world. What's more, the jobs benefit the local Massachusetts economy. The report details that fewer than ten percent of the MIT students are drawn from Massachusetts, and yet, more than 30 percent choose to remain behind in Massachusetts and start their companies.

We therefore need to create lots of first class universities in Africa, and avail them with funds to enable them compete in the 21st century. A number of schools are already attempting that. For instance, Ghanaian Patrick Awuah left Ghana as a teenager to attend Swarthmore University in the United States. He later went to work for Microsoft, becoming one of the thousands of millionaires churned out by Microsoft. He later went on to get an MBA from UC Berkely, and proceeded to establish Aseshi University in Accra, Ghana. The university draws from local and foreign students, and emphasizes a liberal Arts curriculum. Mr. Awuah believes that the university is training the next generation of African leaders.

In South Africa, there is another school, the African leadership Academy- ALA. The school is a college preparatory school that teaches African studies, Leadership, and entrepreneurship. Its students are drawn from Africa and beyond, and it has one of the lowest acceptance rates in the world. The school hopes that the students from the school will be placed in leading colleges and universities in the world, from where they will come back and help rebuild Africa.

As these examples show, there are efforts underway by various stakeholders to develop the African education system. What's needed is a full proof system that ensures that Africa's best and brightest are taught the right curriculum that will help them advance in the 21st century. What must not be forgotten is that in today's world, ideas are the new capital, and it would be important that Africa's education systems realize this.