^aAssociation of African Universities, Accra, Ghana. E-mail: oyewoleb@yahoo.com

Abstract

African countries and other least developed countries could use knowledge to narrow the income gap between them and the developed world economies. Higher education (HE) is an important institution that these countries will need to develop and improve in order to meet this challenge. The world of HE is however changing everyday, and one of the major forces imparting and shaping HE at this time is internationalization. The author identifies the various manifestations of the process of internationalization and the rationales driving it in some selected African countries. A hypothetical evaluation of the implication of internationalization for quality in the African higher educational systems is presented. Internationalization has the potential for improving the quality of curriculum, students, programs, staff and facilities in HE systems. However, in some regions of Africa, where there are no appropriate regulatory mechanisms in place, internationalization can become a threat to the quality of HE through the activities of dubious international providers, dubious learners and commercial and internet degree mills.