Private higher education

In a growing number of countries, the private higher education sector is increasingly diverse and influential. This has not always been the case—public (state) financing and control over higher education was, with some notable exceptions, the global norm.

This article looks at the evolution of the role of private higher education institutions in Egypt, where the higher education landscape has been predominantly public.

A central question raised worldwide by the astonishing growth of private higher education (PHE) is how private is “too private”?

Although remaining a decided second to the public sector globally and in most countries, private higher education has been rapidly expanding and now holds a third of the world’s enrollment—and continues to grow and diversify.