A recent report published by the African Union (AU), UNESCO and UNICEF assessing education in Africa revealed some alarming trends.
In terms of learning outcomes, the report says, available evidence suggests that learning levels are very low and are decreasing rather than increasing. Existing data estimates that four out of five 10-year-old children in Africa are unable to read and understand simple texts.
The report, titled ‘Transforming learning and skills development in Africa’ and released in early April, is the second report monitoring the AU’s Continental Education Strategy for Africa (CESA) and the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG 4), which aims to ensure inclusive, equitable and quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all individuals.
Improving educational outcomes is not easy everywhere, but it is particularly difficult in Africa, according to the CESA 2026-35 report. The lack of investment in education commensurate with population growth and the need for improved quality have resulted in significant disparities in the provision of education to children, young people and adults.
“Unless Africa embraces its talent, Africa will fail to develop,” says Professor Khumbulani Mpofu, vice-chancellor and president of Solusi University in Zimbabwe.
A member of the ConstructAfrica Industry Advisory Board (CIAB), he is keenly aware of the educational challenges facing the continent and has been instrumental in fostering industry-led engagement with academia to drive innovation and sustainable development in Africa’s knowledge economy, engineering and education sectors.
According to the continental report, educators, parents and community stakeholders play a key role in ensuring that education systems more effectively consider local realities and needs, and Professor Mpofu is deeply committed to this.
“[Solsi University’s]educational philosophy prepares learners intellectually, spiritually and practically,” he says. “Intellectual training is knowledge gained from academic materials, spiritual aspects focus on Biblical values and worldview, and (practical) training…focuses on training for usefulness beyond white-collar occupations.”
The continental report points to an alarming lack of progress in improving the quality of education, stating that the average African school pupil today is about as likely to have a qualified teacher and access to basic facilities such as water and electricity than a student in school 10 years ago.
Professor Mpofu says industry, academia and the media should work together to educate the whole continent while providing state-of-the-art infrastructure on campuses.
Professor Mpofu, a world leader in industrial engineering with expertise in advanced manufacturing, robotics, mechatronics and artificial intelligence (AI) applications, says manufacturing plays an important role in supporting Africa’s construction industry, but is often sidelined.
“Every machine in the value chain needs to be manufactured, including the transportation system that brings the materials to the region,” he says. “Conversations about construction often forget the manufacturing value chain, which has the potential to create many higher-paying jobs.
“Currently, I’m delivering the Future of Work Game to help leaders and their teams understand how they can use evolving technologies holistically to (improve) productivity and identify future relevant technologies to revolutionize the value proposition of construction businesses. Additively printed buildings are a technology that serves as a good example.”
Technologies such as AI, robotics and mechatronics can go a long way in supporting Africa’s construction industry, from design to automating the actual construction process found in 3D printed construction, the professor said. “As the continent develops rapidly, the only way to[sustainably develop]will be to automate, reduce waste, and open up new career possibilities.”
Professor Mpofu says training and skills in the construction industry need to focus on traditional procedures while moving forward with the introduction of technology. “The future works mentioned above (the games mentioned) are typical products, (and) 3D printed buildings are also a good example, as is robotics in construction. Equally important is the use of blockchain to track the origin of materials and their reliability in case of premature failure.”
“I intentionally strive to innovate and industrialize knowledge while teaching, researching, and engaging the community,” says the professor.
As a case in point, he advocates the use of crowdsourcing, a method of gathering ideas and insights from large, dispersed groups of people, to drive development in Africa. A conference paper he co-authored on the use of crowdsourcing techniques to increase production efficiency for South African rail manufacturers describes how the method can be used to revitalize these transport systems.
“Crowdsourcing emphasizes a well-defined manufacturing process and collaborative aspects,” says Professor Mpofu. “There is a huge amount of work to be done on this continent, so we need an approach that is accepted from the grassroots to the whole continent to move the continent forward quickly.”
When asked what African governments should prioritize today in terms of infrastructure development and construction, Professor Mpofu emphasized the importance of the continent’s transport system.
“As transportation experts, we feel that moving our country forward requires paying close attention to local, regional and continental (transport) inefficiencies. A strategy that starts intentionally here will quickly have a compounding effect, as construction work focused on enabling mobility will revitalize the entire economy.”
Top photo: Professor Khumbulani Mpofu (Source: Sorsi University)
