Management of Facilities at Public Universities in Africa: Current Challenges and the Way Forward

This paper provides an overview of the challenges of management of facilities at public universities in Africa. Results reveal that: poor condition and the overcrowding of facilities, limited skills and capabilities of facility management departments, and lack of financial resources are the main challenges which the management of facilities at public universities in Africa faces. In worse situations, these problems have adversely affected the quality of the learning and teaching environment at the institutions and also threatened their existence. Prioritization of funding for the provision and improvement of quality facilities at public universities by governments, employment of well qualified and trained staff in the facility management departments at the public universities, and creation of innovative and smarter public-private partnerships aimed at the improvement of existing facilities and provision of new ones were identified as the key solutions that can be implemented to address the challenges that public universities in Africa are facing in relation to facilities. Findings will support public universities in Africa to address challenges of management of their facilities so that they can continue to achieve their intended objectives of offering high quality higher education, research and community engagement in order to accelerate socio-economic development of their countries on the continent in the future.