Research pick: Funding higher education in SSA - "Diversifying income streams in public higher education institutions in Botswana"

The role of higher education in driving economic growth and development is recognised the world over. The existence of a skilled workforce drives innovation and economic growth, while educated citizens can contribute to the development of society. In addition, higher education can help to produce the critical mass of skilled workers required for sustained economic growth.

However, recent economic challenges have widened funding gaps in higher education, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), where higher education is largely funded by the government, with minimal contribution from the learners themselves or their parents. The recognition of this underscores the need for higher education establishments to diversify their income streams to support their work.

Emmanuel Botlhale of the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Botswana in Gaborone suggests that addressing the chronic funding gaps in Botswana’s higher education sector needs a deep exploration of alternative income-generation options. Writing in the International Journal of Higher Education and Sustainability, he discusses the many approaches that might be implemented to boost income sources. This might include rebranding of courses to make them more appealing to prospective students, collaborations between town and gown (the non-academic locals and businesses and the academics), the sale of university bonds, public-private partnerships in education, and the development of entrepreneurial universities that nurture spin-off companies the intellectual property, products, and services of which, can generate revenue for the institution.

Income stream diversification could fill the chronic funding gaps in higher education in Botswana and other SSA countries that have grown since 2007 and in particular because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Diversification and the development of third-stream incomes beyond tuition fees should reduce an institution’s dependence on public resources and provide a more sustainable future. The policy suggestions made by Botlhale are perhaps tailored to higher education in Botswana, but he suggests that the suggestions if adopted elsewhere will need fine-tuning to the particular national context in other SSA nations.

Botlhale, E. (2022) ‘Diversifying income streams in public higher education institutions in Botswana’, Int. J. Higher Education and Sustainability, Vol. 4, No. 2, pp.97–114.