Booming numbers of young people and a shortage of university places are likely to turn Africa into a key market for internationally mobile students over the next 30 years, a conference has heard.

There are currently about 200 million people aged between 15 and 24 in Africa ¨C a total set to double by 2045, according to the United Nations, explained Chika Sehoole, head of the University of Pretoria¡¯s department of education management and policy studies, at the European Association for International Education¡¯s annual conference, which took place in Glasgow from 15 to 18 September.

Rapid urbanisation ¨C a key driver of participation in higher education ¨C is also likely to push up student numbers, added Professor Sehoole, who said that it won¡¯t be long before Africa will have 80 cities with more than 1 million people, as well as four ¡°megacities¡± of more than 10 million people (Kinshasa, Lagos, Cairo and Johannesburg).

With the continent¡¯s 2,450 post-secondary education institutions already struggling to find enough places for applicants, students would become increasingly mobile in search of a degree, he said.

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¡°African students are already the most mobile students in the world, with 6 per cent studying outside their home country, although 50 per cent do so intra-regionally,¡± he said.

Olufemi Bamiro, former vice-chancellor of the University of Ibadan, in Nigeria, said that his country saw many well-qualified students go abroad.

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¡°For every 10 students who pass the national entrance exam, five have to go elsewhere,¡± he said.

Both scholars agreed that Africa should develop a clearer internalisation strategy for education ¨C an agenda largely overlooked by the UN, which published its 17 sustainable development goals in September.

jack.grove@tesglobal.com