The Conversation
Over the past 15 years there’s been an increasing demand from within and outside the higher education sector for African countries to produce more PhD graduates. For this to happen, it’s important to know what’s holding people back from pursuing or completing their doctoral degrees.
The authors of a new review article did just that, with a focus on South Africa, Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda and Nigeria. Five themes emerged from their work: PhD candidates’ sociodemographic profiles, access to funding, the availability of resources and training, experiences with PhD supervisors, and personal coping mechanisms.
The Conversation Africa spoke with the paper’s authors, Oluwatomilayo Omoya, Udeme Samuel Jacob, Olumide A. Odeyemi and Omowale A. Odeyemi, to learn more about their findings.
Why is it important for African countries to produce PhD graduates?
PhD programmes have been shown to play a crucial role in advancing research, innovation, and economic and scientific progress.
That’s because the more research capacity a country has, the more likely it will be able to address gaps in healthcare, economic barriers and food insecurity. This point has been emphasised by, among others, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the African Union.
Doctoral education builds academic expertise. This drives growth across multiple sectors, such as health, education and technology. It also fosters an environment where creative and practical solutions to local challenges can thrive.
What are some of the main obstacles PhD students faced in the countries you studied?
Our study was a scoping review. This research method allowed us to broadly survey existing studies and identify key concepts, evidence types and knowledge gaps. The review included articles from different African countries, among them South Africa, Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda and Nigeria.
One of the biggest hurdles we identified for PhD students is a lack of resources. Many of the continent’s universities are underfunded. They struggle to offer their staff and students adequate research facilities, libraries and even internet access.
Another major challenge is the shortage of quality doctoral supervision. In many African universities, the number of qualified supervisors is far lower than the number of doctoral candidates. This imbalance means that some students receive little attention. Their progress may suffer as a result.
A PhD is, by nature, a solitary pursuit. But without the proper support, students can feel disconnected from the academic community. This sense of isolation can increase dropout rates and hinder the completion of research projects.
Supervisors are frequently overwhelmed with other responsibilities – their own research, administrative duties, or teaching large undergraduate classes. This leaves them with limited time to mentor PhD students. The students they’re tasked with supervising can end up feeling isolated.
Personal funding is also hard to come by. Scholarships are rare and, when they are available, they don’t always cover all the student’s expenses over the course of their research. Many students must work full-time jobs to support themselves while pursuing their doctorate. This can severely affect their ability to dedicate time to their studies.
Even in cases where funding is available, it’s often linked to short-term projects or grants that don’t allow students to finish their research without interruption. This leads to long delays in graduation rates, which creates a bottleneck effect: students remain stuck in the system for years, clogging the flow of new researchers entering academia.
Another challenge is that African doctoral students who do succeed may leave their home countries for better opportunities abroad. The so-called “brain drain” phenomenon has a profound effect on Africa’s ability to build a strong academic community. While many African PhD students go on to do groundbreaking research in Europe, North America or Asia, their departure means their home institutions – and countries – lose valuable knowledge and experience.
Brain drain is not just about better salaries or living conditions; it’s also about the availability of cutting-edge research opportunities. Once abroad, many students are able to access better resources and then choose to stay in environments that allow them to thrive professionally.
What role does gender play in the likelihood of completing a PhD?
Women pursuing PhDs face additional challenges that their male peers do not. We found that women PhD students frequently face gender biases, both socially and professionally, that make it harder to fulfil their academic goals.
Over the past decade, the number of women enrolling in PhD training in some countries, such as Ethiopia and South Africa, has increased.
However, women are less likely than men to complete their doctoral studies, partly because of the cultural expectations and responsibilities they bear. Female students who are married or have children must often balance managing their households and care-giving responsibilities with pursuing their studies.
In regions where family is traditionally prioritised over career aspirations, women may feel an added layer of guilt or societal pressure, which can lessen the time they have to focus on research.
Moreover, in areas where colonial or apartheid legacies still influence societal structures, Black women in particular report additional barriers. They say they feel overlooked or underestimated in academic spaces.
There has been some progress. Organisations like the Consortium for Advanced Research Training in Africa (Carta) offer programmes that support women throughout their academic journeys. However, a greater, gender-responsive approach is needed to ensure that women have access to resources, mentorship and flexible support systems that address these unique challenges.
Increasing support for women in PhD programmes isn’t just about numbers. It means institutions and the wider society must address the structural and cultural barriers that hold women back.
Are there solutions to the issues you’ve identified?
The challenges facing doctoral students in Africa are complex, but not impossible to overcome.
With the right investments and a commitment to reform, universities on the continent can grow into global centres of excellence in research and development. It’s vital for societies not to lose sight of the importance of higher education. As we’ve said, and as a large body of evidence shows, strong doctoral training programmes and investing in research and innovation to address the challenges faced by the African continent are key to ensuring that the next generation of researchers and innovators can lead the way in solving some of the world’s most pressing problems.
Governments, universities and funding organisations can collaborate by providing scholarships and research grants, creating gender equality policies, and introducing mentorship programmes or improving those that already exist.
Oluwatomilayo Omoya is Lecturer in Nursing (Teaching and Reseach), Flinders University, Olumide A Odeyemi is HDR Candidate, Flinders University, Omowale A Odeyemi is Lecturer, College of Nursing Sciences, Obafemi Awolowo University, and Udeme Samuel Jacob Lecturer, University of Ibadan.
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