Human Capital Flight

Stratification, Globalization and the Challenges to Tertiary Education in Africa

By Ndulu BJ
Published by: World Bank in Africa (2004)

This paper looks at the emigration of skilled Africans to industrial countries, its impact on development in the region, and the challenges faced by institutions of higher learning in helping the region deal with this problem.

The paper examines the conceptual underpinnings of human capital flows from a developmental perspective. It reviews the evolution of tertiary education in Africa and its adaptation to the changing systems of knowledge generation and sharing in the global context. It also looks at possible actions for dealing with the impact of human capital flows taking advantage of global knowledge sharing arrangements and applying measures to reduce pressures for emigration.

The authors conclude that a more market oriented approach in the delivery of tertiary education in the region is needed to meet the demand. A main recommendation for traditional public-funded universities is to be responsive to the changing needs of its clientele, fostering cost-efficiency in delivery of education and rationalising the use of the other public sector tertiary education institutions. To ensure better quality of the increasing number of institutions and products, strengthening the sector's accountability system is required.