The challenges of massification in higher education in Africa

Like many developing countries, Togo faces the challenge of massification in higher education resulting from a large increase in the number of students enrolled in its public universities. Encouraged by the public authorities, with the support of the United Nations and Unesco, the number of students to be trained continues to grow to provide the country with qualified professionals and meet its socioeconomic needs. The number of students in large groups (over 3,000 in some courses) raises issues of training quality and equity (availability of resources, reproducibility of content, study conditions, access to digital solutions, etc.). Access to this type of training requires special training conditions and infrastructures that are not always available in developing countries. This article presents a qualitative study carried out with undergraduate students and teachers at the University of Lom{é} concerning teaching and learning conditions in large groups and a critical analysis of the solutions implemented by the university. This work can be transposed to other African countries with similar needs and will open the way to a solution analogous to intelligent classrooms for face-to-face courses.