African Higher Education - Left out of the loop (BBC)

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By Sean Coughlan
BBC News education correspondent
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Thandika Mkandawire, professor of African Development at the London School of Economics, says African universities are still trying to recover from a loss of funding that began in the 1980s, when resources were switched to primary education.

In the post-colonial eras of the 1960s and 1970s universities grew across Africa, he says. But that came to an abrupt halt. And while other parts of the world invested in higher education, African universities missed out on an entire cycle of growth.

"Once you destroy a university, it's very difficult to rebuild," he says.

It might be difficult to play catch-up after so many "lost years", but Professor Mkandawire says that a new middle class in Africa is putting the demand for better universities back on the political agenda.
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"There is a huge appetite for learning," she says. But there is a "heartbreaking" uphill struggle for students wanting to go to university in some poorer parts of Africa.
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more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-12671197