This is the 22nd post in a blog series to be published in 2021 by the Secretariat on behalf of the AU High-Level Panel on Emerging Technologies (APET) and the Calestous Juma Executive Dialogues (CJED)

The African Union’s (AU) Agenda 2063 aspires that the continent should have well-educated and skilled citizens, and this should be underpinned by science, technology, and innovation (STI). Further to Agenda 2063, Member States have adopted the Science, Technology, and Innovation Strategy for Africa (STISA-2024) that promotes STI-enabled socio-economic development in 10-year phases. However, to make these frameworks’ aspirations be successfully adopted, adapted, and implemented, STI skilled human resources and accompanying infrastructure remains imperative. To enhance such STI skills and talents within the continent, African countries have progressively been focused on improving the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) skills outputs within the education system.

Notably, African countries need to advance technology and innovation outputs and promote an STI-driven African society. There is a need for African countries to enhance the continent’s STEM capacity and capabilities. STEM skills and talents can enable the African continent to globally compete in STI-enabled socio-economic development and provide African based solutions. Unfortunately, African countries are currently falling behind in STEM education outputs compared to the rest of the world. Furthermore, the least STI skills being generated within the continent leave their country of origin, and some the continent altogether, to seek better job opportunities in Europe, the Americas, and Asia. The increased brain drain limits STEM and STI growth within the African continent. This is demonstrated by the limited infrastructure suitable for STI-based secondary and tertiary institutions and the lack of the culture of science in solving Africa’s societal challenges.

African countries are currently graduating between 4% and 12% of students with STEM-related degrees.[1] Furthermore, some African countries have limited capacity and output of technical skills training that is imperative for technicians needed to support STI-based economic activities. Such low STEM skill output negatively impacts STI-enabled and knowledge-based socio-economic development. This is because STEM graduate programmes can lay a solid foundation for critical thinking and science and technology innovation outputs. This means at present, African countries are disadvantaged towards adopting and navigating the knowledge-based 21st-century economy against the rest of the world.

Enhanced STEM education and STI-related outputs can drive the economic performance for the African continent, as this has been observed in other continents such as Asia, Europe, and the Americas.[2] Skilled human resources in STEM can add value to products and technologies suitable for manufacturing, agriculture, trade, mining, healthcare, and communication, among other socio-economic activities. These economic sectors are essential for enhancing and developing African economies so they can compete in the global market. Effectively, such STI-enabled economies can sustainably create rewarding jobs and businesses and subsequently improve wealth for the African people.

Countries that have invested considerably in robust STEM education have experienced global prominence. For example, the United States of America’s (USA) GDP growth ranging between 50% and 85% in the past 50 years can be attributed to advancements and growth of science, technology, and engineering products.[3] Countries such as the USA, China, and Germany have significantly invested up to 4% of their GDP into scientific and technological research and development, as well as innovation (RD&I). As a result, these economies have observed significant economic growth compared to countries with limited investments in RD&I activities. In contrast, African countries have allocated limited funding towards science and technology. Consequently, this has further exacerbated the economic development gap between Africa and other countries.

In response to these STI-related challenges and opportunities, the African Union High Level Panel on Innovation and Emerging Technologies (APET) encourages African countries to mainstream STEM into their educational curricula. This can be accomplished by making STEM education more practical, learner-centred, and structured to suit Africa’s societal context, challenges, and opportunities.[4] Furthermore, African countries should adequately train qualified STEM teachers with strong STEM knowledge and pedagogical skills.

More strategic investment and funding mechanisms towards Africa’s STEM education at basic, secondary, and tertiary levels, as well as research and development at the tertiary level, should be pursued. This includes increasing STEM-based laboratory infrastructure across all levels of education to bolster STI-related activities within primary, secondary, and tertiary institutions. African countries are also encouraged to enable e-learning programmes across the African continent by availing the necessary infrastructure for e-learning programmes. Notably, e-learning platforms enable students to access high-quality learning material irrespective of their geographic location.

There is also a need to address attitudinal perceptions and interest in pursuing STEM education and related career choices. It has been reported that learners are usually discouraged against pursuing STEM subjects, either instigated by teachers, communities, and/or family members. As such, the culture of science is lacking within African communities. Consequently, because of the lack of science culture in numerous family settings, potentially capable STEM students end up pursuing alternative subjects other than STEM subjects or none at all. This is particularly observed prominently among young girls and women.

Making STEM education more practical and domesticated and deliberately promoting the culture of science can potentially encourage African students to pursue STEM education and related career paths. Hands-on STEM training, as well as relevant and localised curriculum content that is more relatable to Africa’s societal challenges and opportunities, can improve learners’ interest in science and technology.

In addition, African countries are encouraged to improve STEM Centres of Excellence to improve their research, development, and innovation outputs. Centres of Excellence can provide leadership and best practices on STI-RD&I activities. Consequently, this can allow higher education and research institutions to streamline their limited resources towards training skilled human resource, infrastructure, and funding on thematic STI-related socio-economic thematic areas addressing specific societal challenges.[5] For example, the Institute of Mathematics and Physics at the University of Abomey-Calavi, Benin, is a Centre of Excellence that focuses on equipping and empowering Africa’s young scientists in innovation, promoting cooperation and partnerships in research and development, and improving STI-related training across the continent.

In conclusion, African countries are encouraged by APET to implement the above-mentioned recommendations within their context and realities. In this way, African countries can best improve national STEM education, research and development, and innovation through domesticated STISA-2024. Furthermore, by improving STEM education, African countries can educate citizens in STEM and produce a highly-skilled workforce. These highly skilled workforces can effectively transform the socio-economic development of the continent. Thus, no one will be left behind in Africa’s STEM education opportunities and benefits.

Featured Bloggers – APET Secretariat

Justina Dugbazah

Barbara Glover

Bhekani Mbuli

Chifundo Kungade

[1] https://ja-africa.org/our-work-in-stem/.

[2] Sub-Saharan African Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Research xv. http://dx.doi.org/10.1596/978-1-4648-0700-8.

[3] https://thestempedia.com/blog/stem-education-in-africa-the-past-present-and-future/

[4]https://www.researchgate.net/publication/287545425_Barriers_To_Successful_Implementation_of_STEM_Education/link/5677849308ae502c99d2fc15/download.

[5] https://www.scidev.net/sub-saharan-africa/opinions/ways-to-improve-africa-s-stem-education/?gclid=CjwKCAjwtdeFBhBAEiwAKOIy53c7wtEPJXk2fIWc_QHn0D66J7qQrfh4V8aLeo7_YoijZ28uLHfLSBoCX_IQAvD_BwE.