The growth of private higher education in North Africa [Ressource électronique] : a comparative analysis of Morocco and Tunisia / Elizabeth Buckner

Bibliogr. p. 11-12

This article examines the growth of private higher education (PHE) in two North African nations: Morocco and Tunisia. It draws on interviews with policy-makers and university officials to understand similarities and differences in the nations' experiences with PHE. It argues that both nations' official embrace of privatization was in part because PHE was packaged as part of World Bank loans and supported by local entrepreneurs who viewed PHE a lucrative market. Yet, it also finds that the commitment to universal and free university enrollment and strong support for public higher education, a legacy of French colonial rule in both nations, has, thus far, resulted in low demand for PHE and has also led to stalled implementation of PHE policies. Secondly, the article points to the importance of initial models of private universities in each nation as important in explaining differences in the status of PHE in each nation