African universities urged to link education more closely to jobs, research and public health

African governments need to reshape universities around local economic and public-health priorities if the continent is to benefit from its rapidly growing pool of young people, public-health specialist John Nkengasong has said.

In an interview published by The Guardian on September 25, 2026, Nkengasong argued that many higher-education systems remain disconnected from employers, research needs and the policy challenges facing African countries. He called for stronger investment, updated curricula and universities that prepare students not only for examinations, but also for employment, innovation and public leadership. (theguardian.com)

From theory to practical skills

Nkengasong’s central argument is that degrees should be more closely linked to the problems graduates will encounter after leaving university. He said science students, including those entering public health, should also be trained to communicate with governments, shape policy and understand the political and economic conditions in which decisions are made.

The proposal addresses a reported gap between university training and the labour market. The Guardian cited the Africa Workforce Readiness Survey 2025, which found that only about half of employers rated recent graduates’ employability as very good or excellent. It also reported on a South African Human Sciences Research Council study in which 16% of more than 500 African tertiary-education graduates moved smoothly into work and retained employment during the five-year study period. (theguardian.com)

Those figures do not establish that all African universities perform in the same way. They do, however, point to a continent-wide policy question: whether expanding access to higher education is being matched by the skills, research capacity and employment pathways needed by students and employers.

A new university investment initiative

One current example of an attempt to support institutional change is the Africa Higher Education for Transformation Prize, launched by the Mastercard Foundation in 2026. The foundation says the programme is backed by a $500 million commitment over its first decade and aims to recognise at least 150 higher-education institutions across Africa.

Its inaugural five laureates are Addis Ababa University in Ethiopia, the International Institute for Water and Environmental Engineering in Burkina Faso, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Ghana, Muni University in Uganda and the University of Rwanda. Each institution is to receive $3 million to expand the work for which it was recognised. (mastercardfdn.org)

The initiative is significant because its stated focus goes beyond conventional rankings. The foundation identifies teaching and learning, transitions to employment, research and innovation, entrepreneurship, health, agriculture, climate and digital technology among the areas covered by the prize. (mastercardfdn.org)

Why public health is part of the university debate

Nkengasong has argued that stronger African universities are essential to health security. He supports the development of research and development hubs capable of producing vaccines, diagnostic tools and other technologies for diseases affecting the continent.

His current role is listed by the Mastercard Foundation as executive director for higher education, collaboratives and strategic initiatives. The foundation’s biography also identifies him as a virologist and former director of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention. (mastercardfdn.org)

The practical test will be whether governments and institutions can convert the diagnosis into durable reforms. The prize provides funding and recognition for selected universities, but it does not by itself establish that national curricula, public financing, employer partnerships or research systems have changed across the continent.

What readers should watch next is the implementation of the winning universities’ plans, the expansion of the prize beyond its initial cohort, and whether governments commit additional funding and policy changes that connect higher education to jobs, research and public services.

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