Abstract

The adoption of Fourth Industrial Revolution in education has greatly enhanced the achievement and retention of information. Although there have been greatest challenges in the implementation of Fourth Industrial Revolution within universities in emerging countries in this days and ages, hence it is necessary for higher education institutions in developing countries to adopt 4IR for amending inadequate educational infrastructure within the universities. This purpose of this article is to determine the barriers hindering the effective implementation of industry 4.0 in higher education institutions amongst developing. The findings of the study suggest that not only does the education sector in emerging countries face a number of challenges in adopting 4IR but also the need for government to invest in development of infrastructure to help enhance the education system. The data used in this research were derived from both primary and secondary sources. The secondary data was collected through a detailed review of extant literature. In contrast, the primary data was collected through a questionnaire survey distributed to Gauteng province students currently registered within the universities. Two hundred and two (202) questionnaires were received from the two hundred and fifty (250) sent out, representing an 81% response rate. In ensuring the reliability of the research questionnaire, Cronbach’s alpha coefficient reliability was conducted on the scaled research questions. Findings from the research were analysed using descriptive statistics and exploratory factor analysis (EFA). Research findings were revealed as per related categories. For the barriers hindering the effective implementation of industry 4.0, findings revealed the following categories: lack of proportion in teaching & technology, inadequate funding of universities, poor network connectivity in some areas & basic understanding of the usage of mobile devices, lack of communication between stakeholders within the university, poor political interference of SRC, poor information & communication technology application approach, inadequate information & communication technology expertise and practice and not enough staff to operate the systems in universities. Since it has been identified beyond reasonable doubt that HEIs are encompassed with challenges centered on inadequacy in educational infrastructure and, arguably, skilled personnel, 4IR is therefore required.