A parent’s reflection on the occasion of the convocation of the African Leadership University, Mauritius, on 12th June 2019.
That the African Leadership University (ALU) is repositioning tertiary education in Africa is no longer news. What we need to look out for is how governments in Africa will rise to support this great institution and get existing universities on the continent to run on the ALU template through a symbiosis that can be negotiated by the African Union (AU).
ALU’s practical, entrepreneurial education which exposes students to real work environment four months every year as a core integration in the curricula, offers students the prerequisite exposure that sustains them for a lifetime. This system should be the new direction of education in Africa.
With this kind of curricula, ALU graduates are subsequently expected not only to be highly employable but also capable of offering employment. For sure, never would they be perennial job seekers.
Already, Africa is in the midst of a population boom, which is expected to rise to 2.5 billion by 2050. But Africa can turn demographic challenges to demographic dividends like China, for instance, if certain investments in education are made.
I, therefore, expect that African nations will seek to reposition their development strategy, anchoring it on education as the critical way of the future. That will change the tide of the continent. I note with pride the spread of the university to some other African countries, for instance, Rwanda where I have two sons.
The maiden graduation ceremony at this innovative institution was a very proud moment for me as a father whose daughter just graduated as part of the inaugural class.
We doff our hats for the indefatigable disposition of the founder, Fred Swaniker, the academia and other stakeholders.
