What is it about?
This article examines how quality assurance in African universities can be rethought through UNESCO’s Futures of Education 2050 vision. Quality assurance is usually associated with accreditation, audits, standards, and compliance. While these are important, the article argues that they are not enough for the future of African higher education. Universities also need quality systems that support equity, digital inclusion, sustainability, student participation, institutional learning, and social responsibility. Using critical policy analysis, the study reviews selected quality assurance documents from Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya, and pan-African frameworks. It finds that many quality assurance systems still focus mainly on regulation and documentation, while broader issues such as ethical digital transformation, student voice, community relevance, and institutional reflection remain less developed. The article proposes a transformative quality assurance model that can help African universities move from compliance-based quality assurance toward more inclusive, future-oriented, and socially responsive systems. This model can guide policymakers, university leaders, and quality assurance agencies in aligning higher education quality with Africa’s development needs and UNESCO’s vision for education beyond 2050.
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Why is it important?
Quality assurance in African universities frequently prioritises accreditation, regulatory compliance, and institutional accountability without sufficiently addressing educational equity, innovation, and societal transformation. This research offers policymakers, university administrators, and quality assurance agencies a framework for rethinking how educational quality is defined, evaluated, and improved. It contributes to debates on the future of African higher education by connecting institutional accountability with inclusive learning, digital transformation, and sustainable development.
Perspectives
My interest in this research emerges from the need to rethink quality assurance in African higher education beyond conventional accreditation and compliance mechanisms. I believe universities should be evaluated not only by their adherence to regulatory standards but also by their capacity to advance equity, meaningful learning, institutional innovation, and social transformation. Through this study, we seek to contribute to a more context-responsive and future-oriented approach to quality assurance across African universities.
Stella Apata
Adekunle Ajasin University
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Reimagining quality assurance in African universities through UNESCO’s Futures of Education 2050: a critical policy analysis, Quality Assurance in Education, September 2026, Emerald,
DOI: 10.1108/qae-05-2026-0182.
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