Poor university rankings could stunt Africa’s growth – Jonathan

Former Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan has expressed grave concern over the subpar global rankings of African universities, warning that this could impede the continent's technological and industrial growth. Speaking at a lecture on harnessing industrial capacity for inclusive growth and regional stability in Africa, Jonathan lamented that no African university currently ranks among the world's top 100, with only the University of Cape Town featured in the top 200.

He emphasized the urgent need to strengthen the education system and establish specialised institutions that can produce skilled manpower, stating that Africa's abundant natural resources, human capital, and large market cannot guarantee prosperity without developing the capacity to transform these into high-value goods and services.

Jonathan urged African leaders to prioritize investment in education and human capital development, drawing parallels with Singapore's economic transformation driven by deliberate investment in education and capacity building. He also highlighted India's emergence as a global information technology hub, attributing its success to the establishment of specialised institutions that train highly skilled manpower.

Jonathan emphasized the importance of developing institutions capable of nurturing innovation in science, technology, engineering, and information technology, warning that Africa risks being left behind in the current technological revolution if urgent measures are not taken to develop its human capital.