Quality Assurance in Africa: Towards a Continental Higher Education and Research Space Juma Shabani, Peter Okebukola, and Olusola Oyewole Abstract This article is a critical review of quality assurance in higher education in Africa with the purpose of identifying recent results, challenges still to be faced, and actions required to forcefully move towards the con- struction of an African higher education and research space (AHERS). The article identifies factors responsible for the decline in quality and proposes an integrated and holistic conceptual framework for analys- ing quality assurance. It reviews the various initiatives implemented in recent years and identifies, among the results, the establishment of new quality assurance agencies, the creation of a regional quality assurance system in East Africa, the strengthening of institutional development capacities, and capacity building in competencies-based curriculum reform. Challenges include the limited human capacity of quality assurance agencies, ineffectiveness in implementing harmonisation strategies, and the lack of tools required to compare qualifications. The article concludes with recommendations on promoting student and staff mobility to help realise the creation of AHERS. Cet article est une critique de l’assurance qualité de l’enseignement supérieur en Afrique. Il a pour objectif d’identifier les récentes études, about the authors: juma shabani is Chargé de mission for Higher Education, United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Division of Teacher Development and Higher Education. Address queries to him at
[email protected]. peter okebukola is President of the Global University Network for Innovation (GUNI)-Africa. Address queries to him at pokebukola@ yahoo.com. olusola oyewole is Vice Chancellor at the Federal University of Agri- culture, Abeokuta, Nigeria.