, Ishaq Oloyede, has stressed the need to build bridges as a way of changing the narrative of higher education in Africa through what he called profound bottom-up approach.
The JAMB boss identified inadequate funding, limited access to quality education, brain drain and outdated curricula as some of the challenges and barriers affecting higher education in Africa. To get out of the barriers, he recommended the expansion of capacity of existing institutions, creation of new institutions, provision of scholarships and bursaries and the leveraging technology to reach remote and marginalised communities.
The professor, who is the former Chairman of Association of African Universities from 2009 to 2011, lamented that African Universities often operate in isolation, which limits their ability to benefit from the expertise and resource of international universities. He said there is also urgent need to identify priority areas that need attention in African higher education and establish partnerships with international institutions.