Foreigners: needed

Yet, judging by national data, South Africa’s goal of becoming a knowledge economy will depend on its continued ability to attract staff and students — particularly at graduate level — from the rest of Africa. If these people no longer want to come, the repercussions will be heavy for South African universities, and possibly also harm the country’s economic growth.

South Africa’s government has, as part of its National Development Plan, set a target of increasing the number of PhD students graduating annually in the country from the current number of around 1,500 to 5,000 by the year 2030.

This will be a tough ask, and might prove impossible if there is a reversal in the recent upswing of foreign Africans coming to South Africa’s universities. Because, as data published last month shows, the fastest growing group of PhD candidates in South Africa hails from the rest of the continent.

Africa Analysis: Xenophobia and knowledge economy
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