Introduction of its current public expenditure on education to this sector. However, during this
period, the total number of students pursuing higher education tripled, climbing from 2.7
million in 1991 to 9.3 million in 2006 (an annual average rate of 16 percent), while public
resources allocated to current expenditure in that sector only doubled (an annual average
rate of 6 percent). The situation is even more dire in the poorest countries in Africa, which
allocate approximately 0.63 percent of their GDP to higher education and where during the …

Public universities had a near monopoly in providing higher education in countries of Africa
until recently. The market-friendly reforms initiated under the structural adjustment
programmes, the deregulation policies, and the financial crisis of the state created an
encouraging environment for the emergence of the private higher education sector in Africa.
The legislative measures initiated to establish private institutions of higher education also
helped the entry of cross-border education, which is offered mainly through private …