Towards enhancing Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education: a case for higher education in Africa.

Higher education is learning that occurs at a university, college, polytechnic or institute beyond high school level. It is a phase of learning that is accomplished in colleges, universities, or academies usually after the completion of secondary education (igi-global.com, 2020). There are a wide range of courses grouped under various departments including social sciences, health sciences and humanities. As of today, the African Development Bank estimates that there are 14 million students in higher education in Africa, representing about 6.4% of global tertiary education enrolments but less than 25% of those students are in STEM fields, with the majority of students studying social sciences and humanities (Campos, 2018). Government money is spent on development and security, not research and innovation. According to the World Economic Forum, Africa produces only 1.1% of global scientific knowledge. The continent has just 79 scientists per million of inhabitants compared to countries like Brazil and United States where the ratio stands at 656 and 4,500, respectively. Worst of all, of those scientists and engineers who are trained in Africa, most work elsewhere due to the lack of infrastructure and resources (Kariuki, 2015).