South Africa as a hub for doctorates from the rest of Africa

The production and reproduction of knowledge are important components of national development (Castells 2017). As student mobility globally and within Africa increases, so does the national diversity of students, including doctoral students, as they seek opportunity to further their studies at the limited number of research universities on the continent (Cloete et al. 2015, 2018). Knowledge migration is inevitably a relationship between nation states because the impetus for migrating is a factor on conditions in the host country while the rules of participation and the possibility of post-study residency are the prerogative of the host nation. In other words, migration and development must be understood in comparative terms (Rodney). The brain drain perspective on migration and development takes mainly the perspective of the origin country into consideration. Migration is seen as detrimental to the development prospects of the country of origin. The brain circulation perspective (Saxenian 2007) moves the discussion forward by suggesting that there are residual returns to the country of origin. However, little attention has been given to the impact of knowledge migrants on the host nation when that host is facing its own post-colonial development challenges. This is the dilemma facing South Africa: attract top doctoral students from the rest of Africa to contribute the country’s knowledge capacity but at the expense of developing local talent, thereby setting up a complex tension between underdevelopment and development. In this paper we focus on four areas, each providing important perspectives on these tensions. First, we examine government policy in South Africa to see how it is responding. This against the backdrop of increasing xenophobia in society and moves towards protectionism in higher education funding. Second, we present the economic and social conditions prevailing in four ‘feeder’ Africa countries relative to conditions in South Africa. Third, we analyse university data to determine what trends are apparent in the migration of doctoral students to South Africa from the four African countries. We complement our analysis with insights from a focus group discussion with several doctoral students from Africa who completed their studies in South Africa. We conclude that there is a need to develop research universities across Africa to mitigate against the loss of postgraduate students to other more developed countries. In South Africa, protectionism will thwart development. Instead of closing off opportunities for doctoral students from the rest of Africa, South Africa should focus on both the expansion and the shape of its higher education system to absorb and nurture local talent for the development of the country