

Evolution of higher education in figures

By Mamadou Amat PANA Correspondent Dakar, Senegal (PANA) - Sub-Saharan African has made more efforts than any other developing region in the area of education, according to UNESCO.

Figures from the agency show that in 1991 Africa south of the Sahara spent 5.7 per cent of its GNP on education, as against 3.7 per cent in Southeast Asia, which has a higher development rate.

During the same period, sub-Saharan Africa spent 0.9 per cent of its GNP on higher education, which is significant when compared even to several developed countries.

Germany, for instance, only spends 0.6 per cent of its GNP on education, and France 0.5 per cent. At global level, an increasing number of youths are going to university, with the number rising from 13 million in 1960 to 82 million in 1985. It is expected to rise to 100 million in 2025.

In Europe, student numbers increased 11-fold in 40 years, and the rate of access to higher education exceeds 50 percent in several developing countries (52 per cent in France), as against 72 per cent in Australia and 81 per cent in the United States.

However, higher education has been the fastest growing sector of education in the developing world over the past two decades.

In 1993, the enrolment rate of people aged between 18 and 23 was 2.4 per cent in sub-Saharan Africa, as against 18 per cent in Latin America, 13.2 per cent in Arab countries, 8.2 per cent in Southeast Asia and 5.1 per cent in developed countries. In 1991, the number of students exceeded 5,000 per 100,000 people in North America and 2,500 per 100,000 people in virtually all developed countries.

In sub-Saharan Africa, the figure was 100 students per 100,000 people, which means that youths of the region had 25 times less chances of making it to higher education than those of the developed world.

Meanwhile, the rise in student numbers did not occur at the same rate in the various regions of sub-Saharan Africa. It was much faster in Francophone countries.

Between 1960 and 1983, student numbers multiplied 40-fold in Francophone Africa, and only 16-fold in anglophone Africa, according to a World Bank report.

The most significant growth in Francophone Africa stemmed from various factors such as the rapid increase of secondary school graduates, lack of selection to enter university and low internal efficiency.

Another factor was the generous policy of student grants, which led many students to extend their stay on campus, especially due to the uncertainty of the job market.

Dakar - 11/06/2001