In Burkina Faso, for students to earn a PhD Degree, they must manufacture something instead of writing a thesis. President Ibrahim Traore has instructed universities to stop producing PhD theses that remain purely theoretical and yield no tangible creations. In a message to young people in Yaadga, in the north of the country, Traore told […]

In Burkina Faso, for students to earn a PhD Degree, they must manufacture something instead of writing a thesis.

President Ibrahim Traore has instructed universities to stop producing PhD theses that remain purely theoretical and yield no tangible creations.

In a message to young people in Yaadga, in the north of the country, Traore told the students that if they cannot produce something that solves the problem of underdevelopment, they should copy.

To him, those studying technology must manufacture something useful, rather than writing lengthy papers only to sit in offices.

“Young people, use the Internet to seek knowledge. Copy everything you can copy except theory. We are currently putting all necessary conditions in place so that you can succeed,” he said.

“And regarding the technological universities we are opening… If you are an engineer, for your thesis, you must manufacture, copy, or build something. Otherwise, we will no longer support the writing of long papers,” he stated.

Apart from universities, he has also instructed technical high schools to do the same.

“If, at the end of the year, a student cannot produce something practical but only theory, give them something and let them copy it. Whether it is a motor part or anything else, let them copy it or create something,” he said.

“All those long papers, the theses where people come in, sit with a big book, and talk—I do not want that anymore,” he added.

He says that as technical students, they must prove themselves.

“We will provide as much necessary infrastructure as possible in high schools and universities so that you can change lives. Our elders from the past must leave with their heads held high, knowing that they left behind a deserving generation,” he added.

His message comes at a time when PhD holders mostly find employment only within universities. Some are jobless, while others protest in front of ministries demanding jobs—yet they are supposed to be the job creators.

.His instructions to universities and high schools resets a problem that has affected not only Burkina Faso but the entire continent.”