African STEM education in the age of global S&T asymmetry

Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education has become central to Africa’s development aspirations and technological transformation. However, persistent gaps in scientific capability, technological agency, and innovation outcomes continue to widen. This article examines how global science and technology (S&T) asymmetry shapes African STEM education systems: structurally, institutionally, and epistemically. Using a conceptual analytical approach, the study analyzes how inherited institutional cultures and structures, economic constraints, epistemic hierarchies, and emerging digital dependencies converge to influence STEM education systems across the continent. The analysis is organized around four interconnected domains: systemic foundations, curriculum packages, human capital, and innovation ecosystems. Across these domains, the findings show that African STEM education systems are deeply embedded in externally shaped policy frameworks, donor-driven priorities, and global benchmarking regimes. At the policy level, reliance on imported models and weak coordination undermines long-term system building. At the practice level, fragile institutional capacity, inadequate funding and infrastructure, talent loss, and fragmented innovation systems constrain meaningful implementation. These conditions weaken the capacity of STEM education to inspire learners, support teachers, foster technological agency, and connect scientific learning to local problem-solving and development pathways. Drawing on illustrative country cases and development experiences from non-African contexts, the article argues that Africa’s STEM education challenges are primarily structural and institutional. The paper concludes by outlining general pathways for strengthening African STEM education via reclaiming policy autonomy, ecosystem-based approaches, strategic public investment, and alignment with national and continental development priorities.