To what extent can universities alone save Africa?

By george skyMD, PMI Sub-Saharan Africa and Dr Sanele W Nlabatsi, Senior Lecturer, Project Management, Unisa

African universities are facing two crises simultaneously.

The first is scale. Africa is home to the world's youngest and fastest growing population, with more than 400 million people aged 15-35 and is expected to have the world's largest workforce by 2040. Yet tertiary enrollment is around 9%, well below the global average of 38%. Despite growth in university enrolments, higher education capacity is still struggling to keep pace with demographic demand, with some projections suggesting that capacity will need to increase nearly twelvefold by 2035.

The second crisis is the crisis of hope. It is not difficult to see why many African families place such great importance on university education. A degree has long been associated with life-changing opportunities and pathways to better job prospects, higher incomes and social mobility. This belief has quietly become a burden for African youth, because when university becomes the only gateway to success, those youth who cannot get in do not simply lose their place; They feel as if they have lost their future.

Universities are recognized globally as producers of knowledge that contribute significantly to national economic development. As a result, the University's graduates are strongly connected to a range of emerging professionals, researchers and innovators who are essential to national progress. This is evident in rapidly developing countries such as China and South Korea, where knowledge, innovation and higher education policies remain central drivers of national development strategies.

Therefore, Africa certainly needs strong universities, and we must continue to invest in them. But we must also face a harsh reality: When access remains limited, a single-track mentality increases pressure, anxiety, and a sense of failure among youth who are constantly navigating a high-demand, limited-supply system that has become increasingly competitive.

Across the continent, too many young adults are competing for too few seats, and South Africa shows what this looks like in reality: for the 2026 academic year, the public university system can only offer 235,000 first-year places, while more than 245,000 candidates have achieved a graduate level pass in the 2025 National Senior Certificate examinations. That gap closed the door to the future for at least 10,000 youth.

The situation at South African private universities is even more dire, with over 100,000 applications competing for less than 10,000 prestigious places. This is before taking into account the structural and socio-economic challenges of affordability, limited student accommodation and other barriers to access.

As a result of social pressure, generations of young people have come to believe that university admission is the primary proof of their potential and anything else is second best. This belief persists and is fueling increasing appeal for higher education. This narrative does not square with where the global economy is headed.

Today, the world is shaped by instability, rapid technological change, geopolitical and geoeconomic uncertainty. The future demands flexibility, especially as advances in AI continue to reshape the nature of work. Traditional knowledge-based careers are giving way to a skills-based economy, where individuals apply their expertise across multiple projects and dynamic work environments rather than remaining in fixed, long-term roles.

The World Economic Forum's Global Risks Report 2026 reflects the mood of the moment, stating that 50% of global leaders expect turbulent or stormy scenarios in the next two years, with this expected to increase over the next decade. The report also highlights lack of economic opportunity and unemployment as key risks shaping the global outlook.

In that context, preparing youth for a future where everything depends on a single path is not only outdated but also risky. The goal cannot simply be “getting into university”. The goal should be to build employability, enabling youth to earn income, grow and adapt to changing circumstances.

Decisive career gains in the coming decade will not be based solely on higher education qualifications. This will entail the ability to repeatedly re-skill and re-enter the economy, moving between roles, industries and opportunities in a technology-driven, fundamentally changing labor market.

There are alternative, non-linear pathways to success, and Africa must begin to treat them as first-class pathways, requiring a fundamental national shift in mindset and focus. Across the continent, countries that will succeed will be those that build strong skills-based ecosystems where young people can progress through a range of credible pathways, including TVET and technical qualifications linked to jobs, apprenticeships, learnerships linked to real work experience, entrepreneurship, work-integrated learning programs and globally recognized professional certifications that signal competence and portability.

For example, in project management, young people can pursue a career through certifications straight from high school. They can start with the Foundational Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM) as an early career professional certification. Certification can open doors to employment or entrepreneurial opportunities. The pursuit of higher education qualifications can be targeted for a later stage depending on the need for a real-world knowledge base. As they gain experience, they can progress toward globally recognized advanced certifications such as Project Management Professional (PMP).

The reality is unavoidable: even the best universities cannot admit everyone. The expansion and legalization of alternative pathways has the potential to equip the continent's youth with the skills needed to spur innovation, accelerate economic growth and pursue sustainable development. Africa's future will not be shaped by a single educational pathway, but by an ecosystem of pathways that recognize skills, capabilities, adaptability and lifelong learning.

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