Students in the driving seat: young people's voices on higher education in Africa

This report is one of a series of three from the 'Universities, employability and inclusive development' project (2013-16), commissioned by the British Council. The project involved five countries - Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa - and for comparative purposes, the UK. The research was led by the UCL Institute of Education, London, in partnership with Kenyatta University, Kenya, University of Education, Winneba, Ghana, University of the Free State, South Africa, and University of Ibadan, Nigeria. The project sought to identify the changes that need to be made in universities so as to make them more effective in enhancing the employability of their graduates.

The report notes that higher education systems in Africa have been allowed to expand without corresponding resources, leading to a catastrophic drop in quality and the churning out of increasing numbers of poorly equipped graduates onto an already congested job market. This report looks for answers to this pressing issue in a place that has had far too little attention: the views of students themselves. Key findings are that: (1) students no longer see their future in conventional salaried employment; (2) giving back to their communities is an important goal for students; (3) careers services and skills development programmes are under-utilised; (4) students from disadvantaged backgrounds face an uphill struggle; (5) universities are still characterised by rote learning; and (6) despite the problems, students are unwilling to speak out about the problems their universities face.

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