Abstract
This research assesses the relevance of information and communication technology (ICT) in primary education quality in a panel of 49 Sub-Saharan African countries for the period 2000–2012. The empirical evidence is based on Two Stage Least Squares (2SLS) and Instrumental Quantile regressions (IQR). From the 2SLS: (i) mobile phone and internet penetration rates reduce poor quality education and enhancing internet penetration has a net negative effect of greater magnitude. From the IQR: (i) with the exception of the highest quantile for mobile phone penetration and top quantiles for internet penetration, ICT consistently has a negative effect on poor education quality with a non-monotonic pattern. (ii) Net negative effects are exclusively apparent in the median and top quantiles of internet-related regressions. It follows that enhancing internet penetration will benefit countries with above-median levels of poor education quality while enhancing internet penetration is not immediately relevant to reducing poor education quality in countries with below-median levels of poor education quality.
Similar content being viewed by others
Notes
In the light of Fosu (2013), policy syndromes are characteristics that are detrimental to economic development, inter alia: “administered redistribution”, “state breakdown”, “state controls”, and “suboptimal inter temporal resource allocation”. According to Asongu (2017), a policy syndrome is a gap in knowledge economy between two countries whereas Asongu and Nwachukwu (2017) conceive and define it as economic growth that is not pro-poor. Tchamyou et al. (2019) and Tchamyou (2019a) consider it as inequality. Within the context of this study, policy syndrome is poor educational quality.
There are four main World Bank income groups: (i) high income, $12,276 or more; (ii) upper middle income, $3976–$12,275; (iii) lower middle income, $1006–$3975 and (iv) low income, $1005 or less.
References
Abor, J. Y., Amidu, Y., & Issahaku, H. (2018). Mobile telephony, financial inclusion and inclusive growth. Journal of African Business, 18(4), 430–453.
Abugre, J. B. (2018). Institutional governance and management systems in sub-Saharan Africa higher education: developments and challenges in a Ghanaian Research University. Higher Education: The International Journal of Higher Education Research, 75(2), 323–339.
Afutu-Kotey, R. L., Gough, K. W., & Owusu, G. (2017). Young entrepreneurs in the mobile telephony sector in Ghana: from necessities to aspirations. Journal of African Business, 18(4), 476–491.
Agbor, J. A. (2015). How does colonial origin matter for economic performance in subSaharan Africa? In A. K. Fosu (Ed.), Growth and institutions in African 25 development, chapter 13 (pp. 309–327). New York: Routledge Studies in Development Economics.
Amavilah, V. H. S. (2009). Knowledge of African countries: production and value of doctoral dissertations. Applied Economics, 41(8), 977–989.
Antoninis, M., (2017). Education in sub-Saharan Africa gets a very poor report card. Business Day. https://www.businesslive.co.za/bd/world/africa/2017-10-25-education-in-sub-saharan-africa-gets-a-very-poor-report-card/. Accessed: 25/10/2018.
Asiedu, E. (2014). Does foreign aid in education promote economic growth? Evidence from sub-Saharan Africa. Journal of African Development, 16(1), 37–59.
Asongu, S. A. (2013). Fighting corruption in Africa: do existing corruption-control levels matter? International Journal of Development Issues, 12(1), 36–52.
Asongu, S. A. (2017). Knowledge economy gaps, policy syndromes and catch-up strategies: fresh south Korean lessons to Africa. Journal of the Knowledge Economy, 8(1), 211–253.
Asongu, S. A., & Boateng, A. (2018). Introduction to special issue: mobile technologies and inclusive development in Africa. Journal of African Business, 19(3), 297–301.
Asongu, S. A., & Nwachukwu, J. C. (2016a). A brief future of time in the monopoly of scientific knowledge. Comparative Economic Studies, 58(4), 638–671.
Asongu, S. A., & Nwachukwu, J. C. (2016b). The mobile phone in the diffusion of knowledge for institutional quality in sub Saharan Africa. World Development, 86(October), 133–147.
Asongu, S. A., & Nwachukwu, J. C. (2016c). The role of governance in mobile phones for inclusive human development in sub-Saharan Africa. Technovation, 55–56(September–October), 1–13.
Asongu, S. A., & Nwachukwu, J. (2016d). Revolution empirics: predicting the Arab spring. Empirical Economics, 51(2), 439–482.
Asongu, S. A., & Nwachukwu, J. C. (2017). Quality of growth empirics: comparative gaps, benchmarking and policy syndromes. Journal of Policy Modeling, 39(5), 861–882.
Asongu, S. A., & Nwachukwu, J. C. (2018a). PhD by publication as an argument for innovation and technology transfer: with emphasis on Africa. Higher Education Quarterly, 17(1), 15–28.
Asongu, S. A., & Nwachukwu, J. C. (2018b). Educational quality thresholds in the diffusion of knowledge with mobile phones for inclusive human development in sub-Saharan Africa. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 129(April), 164–172.
Asongu, S. A., & Nwachukwu, J. C. (2018c). The comparative inclusive human development of globalisation in Africa. Social Indicators Research, 134(3), 1027–1050.
Asongu, S. A., & Odhiambo, N. M. (2018). Basic formal education quality, information technology and inclusive human development in sub-Saharan Africa. Sustainable Development. https://doi.org/10.1002/sd.1914.
Asongu, S. A., & Tchamyou, S. V. (2017). Foreign aid, education and lifelong learning in Africa. Journal of the Knowledge Economy. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13132-017-0449-1.
Asongu, S. A., Nwachukwu, J. C., & Aziz, A. (2018). Determinants of mobile phone penetration: panel threshold evidence from sub-Saharan Africa. Journal of Global Information Technology Management, 21(2), 81–110.
Asongu, S. A., le Roux, S., Nwachukwu, J. C., & Pyke, C. (2019). The mobile phone as an argument for good governance in sub-Saharan Africa. Information Technology & People. https://doi.org/10.1108/ITP-01-2018-0011.
Bongomin, G. O. C., Ntayi, J. M., Munene, J. C., & Malinga, C. A. (2018). Mobile money and financial inclusion in sub-Saharan Africa: the moderating role of social networks. Journal of African Business, 18(4), 361–384.
Chapman, D. W., & Lindner, S. (2016). Degrees of integrity: the threat of corruption in higher education. Studies in Higher Education, 41(2), 247–268.
Conn, K. M. (2017). Identifying effective education interventions in sub-Saharan Africa: a meta-analysis of impact evaluations. Review of Education Research, 87(5), 863–898.
Costantini, M., & Lupi, C. (2005). Stochastic convergence among EuropeanEconomies. Economics Bulletin, 3(38), 1–17.
Efobi, U. R., Tanaken, B. V., & Asongu, S. A. (2018). Female economic participation with information and communication technology advancement: evidence from sub- Saharan Africa. South African Journal of Economics, 86(2), 231–246.
Fosu, A. (2013). Growth of African economies: productivity, policy syndromes and the importance of institutions. Journal of African Economies, 22(4), 523–551.
Gosavi, A. (2018). Can mobile money help firms mitigate the problem of access to finance in eastern sub-Saharan Africa. Journal of African Business, 18(4), 343–360.
Gyimah-Brempong, K., & Asiedu, E. (2015). Remittances and investment in education: evidence from Ghana. The Journal of International Trade and Economic Development, 24(2), 173–200.
Hao, L., & Naiman, D. (2007). Quantile Regression. London, UK: Sage.
Humbani, M., & Wiese, M. (2018). A cashless society for all: determining consumers’ readiness to adopt mobile payment services. Journal of African Business, 18(4), 409–429.
Issahaku, H., Abu, B. M., & Nkegbe, P. K. (2018). Does the use of mobile phones by smallholder maize farmers affect productivity in Ghana? Journal of African Business, 19(3), 302–322.
Joyce-Gibbons, A., Galloway, D., Mollel, Mgoma, S., Pima, M., & Deogratias, D. (2018). Mobile phone use in two secondary schools in Tanzania. Education and Information Technologies, 23(1), 73–92.
Koenker, R. (2005). Quantile regression. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Koenker, R., & Bassett, G., Jr. (1978). Regression quantiles. Econometrica, 46(1), 33–50.
MinkouaNzie, J. R., Bidogeza, J. C., & Ngum, N. A. (2018). Mobile phone use, transaction costs, and price: evidence from rural vegetable farmers in Cameroon. Journal of African Business, 19(3), 323–342.
Mosha, H. (2018). The state and quality of education in Tanzania: a reflection. Dar es Salaam: Department of Educational Foundations, Management and Life-long Learning School of Education, University of Dar es Salaam.
Muthinja, M. M., & Chipeta, C. (2018). What drives financial innovations in Kenya’s commercial banks? An empirical study on firm and macro-level drivers of branchless banking. Journal of African Business, 18(4), 385–408.
Narayan, P. K., Mishra, S., & Narayan, S. (2011). Do market capitalization and stocks traded converge? New global evidence. Journal of Banking and Finance, 35(10), 2771–2781.
Okada, K., & Samreth, S. (2012). The effect of foreign aid on corruption: a quantileregression approach. Economic Letters, 115(2), 240–243.
Penard, T., Poussing, N., Yebe, G. Z., & Ella, P. N. (2012). Comparing the determinants of internet and cell phone use in Africa: evidence from Gabon. Communications and Strategies, 86(2), 65–83.
La Porta, R., Lopez-de-Silanes, F., & Shleifer, A. (2008). The economic consequences of legal origin. Journal of Economic Literature, 46(2), 285–332.
Sun, M., & He, Q. (2014). Does foreign direct investment promote human capital accumulation? The role of gradual financial liberalization. Emerging Market Finance and Trade, 50(4), 163–175.
Tchamyou, V. S. (2017). The role of knowledge economy in African business. Journal of the Knowledge Economy, 8(4), 1189–1228.
Tchamyou, V. S. (2019a).The role of information sharing in modulating the effect of financial access on inequality. Journal of African Business. https://doi.org/10.1080/15228916.2019.1584262.
Tchamyou, V. S. (2019b). Education, lifelong learning, inequality and financial access: evidence from African countries. Contemporary Social Science, 1–19. https://doi.org/10.1080/21582041.2018.1433314.
Tchamyou, V. S., & Asongu, S. A. (2018). Conditional market timing in the mutual fund industry. Research in International Business and Finance, 42(December), 1355–1366.
Tchamyou, V. S., Erreygers, G., & Cassimon, D. (2019). Inequality, ICT and financial access in Africa. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 139(February), 169–184.
Uduji, J. I., & Okolo-Obasi, E. N. (2018a). Adoption of improved crop varieties by involving farmers in the e-wallet programme in Nigeria. Journal of Crop Improvement, 32(5), 717–737.
Uduji, J. I., & Okolo-Obasi, E. N. (2018b). Young rural women’s participation in the e-wallet programme and usage intensity of modern agricultural inputs in Nigeria. Gender, Technology and Development, 22(1), 59–81.
Acknowledgements
The authors are indebted to the editor and reviewers for constructive comments.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Publisher’s note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Appendix
Appendix
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Asongu, S.A., Odhiambo, N.M. Enhancing ICT for quality education in sub-Saharan Africa. Educ Inf Technol 24, 2823–2839 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-019-09880-9
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-019-09880-9