Assessment of Female University Students’ Digital Competence: Potential Implications for Higher Education in Africa

Abstract

This study assessed the digital skills of female university students and the implications for higher education in Africa. A descriptive survey was used to sample 100 female university students from four African countries (Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, and Uganda). The instrument used was the digital competence survey. Two research questions and two hypotheses were postulated and tested. According to the study's findings, most female university students in Nigeria and South Africa have expert and advanced levels of information and digital literacy, communication and collaboration, digital content creation, and safety.
On the other hand, Uganda was mainly found at the basic or no levels, whereas Rwanda was mostly found at the intermediate levels. The chi-square analysis reveals a significant difference between the ages of female university students and their DC levels (χ2 =.000; p < 0.05). A significant difference exists between female university students’ program of study and their levels of DC (χ2 = .000; p < 0.05). Students also faced challenges such as a lack of ICT tools, insufficient knowledge and skills, data issues, and poor internet connectivity. The implications of these findings for African higher education institutions suggest that female students, particularly in Rwanda and Uganda, require training to be digitally competent and compete globally with their peers. As a result, we recommend that students from different programs of study with less demand in technology be allowed to take compulsory electives in technology courses while older female students are given adequate support.