? Alessandro Biascioli/Adobe Stock
By Rumbidzai Adebayo
In 1963, Kwame Nkrumah, the late former President of Ghana, envisioned that “It is within the possibility of science and technology to make even the Sahara bloom into a vast field with verdant vegetation for agricultural and industrial developments.” His call for African n to harness the power of science and technology to realize the vision of a free and empowered Africa is as relevant today as it was then. African leaders have since recognized the importance of investing in human capital by promoting Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education and prioritizing Science, Technology, and Innovation (STI), to advance both the African Union's (AU) Agenda 2063 and the United Nations 2030 Agenda.
To demonstrate this commitment, African countries have developed national policies that promote STEM education as well as through the continental Science Technology and Innovation Strategy for Africa (STISA). Though educational policies that promote STEM education are coherent with national development visions and plans, there is often a gap between policy and implementation.
Investment in STEM education may be seen as an expensive endeavour. However, it is indispensable in the context of redefining Africa’s economic model—allowing the continent to move away from the extraction of resources for export and develop sustainable value chains that allow Africa to truly leverage its potential demographic dividend and fully benefit from its resources.
The challenge is further compounded by the limited Domestic Resource Mobilization (DRM) capacity on the continent, coupled with reductions in the availability of development finance. This is demonstrated by the limited allocation of funding to STEM programmes. Therefore, the funds mobilization for investing in education is paramount.
Public policies, such as those for education, remain insufficiently financed for their actual implementation despite increased public spending on education. On average, an African Government spends 4.1 per cent of its country's gross domestic product (GDP) on education- however, . Failure by African Governments to allocate sufficient funds to education systems has led to two of the most significant constraints to STEM education: inadequate facilities and sub-optimal teacher-classroom practices.
The lack of investment in STEM education has caused African countries to fall behind the rest of the world in STEM education outputs. For instance, when it comes to research and innovation, Africa only contributes 2 per cent of world research output, accounts for barely , and produces a mere . Africa has approximately 79 scientists per million people, compared to 4,500 per million people in the United States of America, for example. Most African countries heavily instead of developing their own technologies. Also, based on the World Economic Forum statistics, complete school with basic STEM skills. Also, among African university students, only for career opportunities.
The importance of prioritizing STEM education in allocating funds is paramount as the rate of return is high. This is evident from the experiences of some Asian countries such as China, Singapore, and South Korea, which have achieved phenomenal economic transformation partly due to massive investment in STEM education.
Over the past decade, there has been a growing urgency in China, Singapore, and South Korea to develop their STEM capabilities to enhance STI, which has resulted in the diversification of economies and increased creation of STEM jobs. These countries are excelling in the fields of STEM by developing and implementing policies and strategies aimed at promoting STEM education across all levels of education. For instance, in the past 70 years, China has considerably expanded its education system, from about 20 per cent in 1949 to nearly 100 per cent today and has emerged as, with more than $1.8 trillion in exports annually. The South Korean economy accounts for thanks to the transformation of its economy from a predominantly agrarian economy to a high technology information-driven economy underpinned by STEM and Research and Development investments. Through STEM education, the technological innovations developed and produced in these countries have positioned them to be highly competitive in the global economy.
In light of the best practices from the Asian countries, what can African Governments and other stakeholders in education do to increase the allocation of education funds/budget to STEM education?
The AU is suggesting that member countries on developing STEM skills at the secondary and post-secondary levels.
Recent studies ( and 2022) suggest that schools can provide minimum STEM education and facilities if African Governments can allocate at least .
African countries should strengthen domestic resource mobilization to ensure dedicated funding for STEM education programmes and long-term sustainability. This could be complemented by measures to reduce wastage and improve efficiency in government spending, which could result in reallocating funds to priority expenditures such as STEM programmes.
Through public-private partnerships (PPPs), the private sector can participate in the in line with the economic demand of countries, thus enabling them to meet their own labour needs.
The international community should increase its efforts to achieve the Education 2030 Agenda, which was adopted in 2015 by the UN to “ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all” by 2030 with a series of targets set out to realize this. African countries (excluding North Africa) , even though their needs are greatest. Sponsors of STEM education in Africa, including USAID, the International Labour Organization (ILO), the Government of Japan, the European Union, the World Bank, and Norway, should further enhance their existing financial support.
Most critically, African governments need to enhance their capacity to mobilize their own predictable resources to be invested in this transformation through STI and STEM education.
STI holds the key to Africa's future. By investing in STEM education to close the STI skills gap, African countries will be able to turn the demographic into a dividend and realize Nkrumah's vision of a peaceful and prosperous Africa. Investment in STEM education will require adequate funds to implement policies and programmes. It is, therefore, necessary to make better use of available resources and mobilize resources earmarked for STEM education, notably by improving PPPs and fiscal innovations.