‘Time to rethink the future role of African universities’

November 18, 2025

‘Time to rethink the future role of African universities’

Universities in Africa should strive to build public trust in higher education institutions and, to achieve this, they have to rethink the role higher education institutions must play in nurturing minds that will drive the development of the continent’s ever-evolving societies.

Universities also need to move away from the traditional way of teaching and learning.

“The future of teaching and learning for the continent is really about innovation, about bringing in practical skills, and applying theory to practice. It is about trying to experiment, and to become more solution-focused. It is about being more active, rather than passive, in their learning process,” said Dr DeBrenna LaFa Agbényiga, provost and vice-president for academic affairs of the International University of Grand Bassam, Côte d’Ivoire.

Agbényiga made the call during a conference session on ‘Nurturing Minds, Building Societies’ at the International Association of Universities (IAU) Conference held from 21-23 October at the University of Rwanda in Kigali, Rwanda, hosted under the theme, ‘Building Trust in Higher Education’. She also elaborated on some of her views in an interview with University World News.

Other speakers in the session included John Nkengasong, the executive director of higher education, collaboratives and strategic initiatives at the Mastercard Foundation, Professor Marcia Barbosa, the rector of the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, and Professor Eduard Mühle, the president of the Europa-Universitat Viadrina, Germany.

The speakers were among about 200 university leaders from 56 countries gathered at the conference who were interrogating how universities can create trust in higher education and do so across all their mission areas, ranging from administrative to research practices, teaching methods and learning processes, admissions procedures and knowledge-sharing approaches as well as in interactions with the world beyond their campus boundaries. Students, in particular from the University of Rwanda, also attended.

This article is published in partnership with the International Association of Universities. University World News is solely responsible for the editorial content.

Hilligje van’t Land, the secretary-general of the IAU, who moderated the plenary session, called on higher education leaders at the gathering to look at “how we can do things better” in an age of turmoil.

In an interview with University World News about the importance of trust in higher education, she said: “There are many challenges coming to this sector and we have to analyse what these challenges are and how we can move into the future together.

“One point is that universities have to stand together and make sure that the many values of universities are conveyed better to society, that we listen to society better and that we, thus, have an opportunity together to transform the higher education system into one that will resonate even better with the expectations of students, staff, professors – and society at large.”

Agbényiga, elaborating on her call to universities to build trust in the societies they serve, said: “Trust is always a work in progress. You build trust, but you also have to maintain it, and that’s where the real challenge lies. For us in Africa, we need to take an honest, inward look at who we are, what we are doing, what we have done well, and where progress is still needed.

“We are diverse, but we also share many commonalities. So, let’s start with those commonalities in building trust and, from there, it can extend into other sectors,” she noted.

Providing context, she said Africa was projected to have the world’s largest population of young people in the future, adding that this reality was both a great opportunity and a great challenge.

“So now is the time to talk about the scalability of higher education in Africa. Not all students will have the opportunity to study abroad.

“We must continue to strengthen and ensure that our institutions flourish because the future of our students will only be as great as the strength of our higher education systems,” she told University World News.

All universities on the continent must unite

Agbényiga called on universities on the continent to join forces.

“As universities, we need to understand how we must evolve if we are going to be a part of the evolution of society.

“That really means looking at how we provide new and different programmes, [and] how we respond to the needs – be it on the continent or in our specific countries – but, really, preparing the next generation of leaders to solve the problems of Africa by Africans,” she added.

She said that, while some universities on the African continent try to do well when it comes to nurturing the minds of future leaders, others needed to up their game and do better.

Agbényiga said that the continent’s development would depend on how all universities train students for the future.

“It cannot be just one or two institutions. This needs to be a global movement on the continent, where governments, educators, employers and partners are all committed to transforming higher education to meet the needs of Africa,” she emphasised.

The question of resources

Agbényiga said universities were grappling with resource issues globally.

To secure enough financial resources and to make transformation in higher education happen, she urged governments to also transform and look at higher education differently.

“Governments need to consider restructuring how funding is allocated to better support institutional development. Partnerships, both global and local, are also key. These partnerships should support our efforts to build capacity and sustainability,” she said.

“Employers, too, should invest in higher education upfront, understanding that this investment leads to well-skilled graduates who will contribute to their industries and to the continent’s progress,” she added.

Stronger collaboration key

She also touched on the need for greater collaboration between universities on the continent, explaining how her university was working with Ashesi University in Ghana and other universities.

“Through partnership and collaborative sharing you give and receive [information about your] university’s experiences while learning from others to help scale up collectively. This kind of cooperative approach is truly what the future of higher education in Africa is about,” she noted.

‘Universities must lead’

The Mastercard Foundation’s Nkengasong said that, for universities to build trust and nurture the minds of society, there is an urgent need to continue to place universities at the forefront of development, learning and transformation.

“We know what universities have done over the years in transforming societies in a fundamental way,” he said virtually from Washington DC.

He used two examples to highlight the importance of universities and higher learning institutions – one being Singapore, and the other South Korea.

In the 1980s, he said, Singapore was largely a fishing village but, today, it is one of the richest countries, thanks to the transformation of their higher education.

In 1955, the GDP of South Korea was about US$64 per capita but, today, it is around US$37,000 per capita, he said.

“I believe strongly that the same transformation can happen in Africa, where curricula are designed in such a way that they respond to the needs of the continent. As humanity today, including Africa, we are faced with a series of challenges that universities must look at clearly … to continue to bring that relevance that they have brought over the centuries in solving society’s problems,” he said.

Nkengasong, speaking about the youth bulge – that, in the next 30 years, one in four humans in the world will be from Africa – said: “Universities must be at the forefront to train these young people, skill them so that they can become employed again, consistent with the vision and mission of the Mastercard Foundation to enable dignified jobs. If we do that, they become the pillars of development and transformation of the continent.

“We must work intentionally – or, rather, universities must be very intentional,” he added, expressing Mastercard’s commitment towards working the journey together.

Focus of conference applauded

According to Dr Didas Kayihura Muganga, the acting vice-chancellor of the University of Rwanda, the conference was a reminder that universities should intensify efforts to be generators of skilled and responsible people who address various societal issues.

Reflecting on the conference’s theme, Muganga said building trust in higher education is earned and would be achieved only when universities are transparent in governance and responsive to societal needs and inclusive in both access and impact.

“In this era, where relevance, equity, academic freedom and integrity in our research in higher education are under increasing scrutiny by all our various stakeholders – not just by our students, but also industry, communities and others – it cannot be stressed enough how this year’s theme is both critical and timely,” he said.