Breaking Even or Breaking Through : Reaching Financial Sustainability while Providing High Quality Standards in Higher Education in the Middle East and North Africa
Higher education (HE) systems worldwide are faced with three main challenges: providing young people with the skills required by the job market; improving access to high quality services; and seeking out new sources of financing to cope with the gr...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Report |
| Language: | English en_US |
| Published: |
World Bank, Washington, DC
2016
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2011/08/15329126/breaking-even-or-breaking-through-reaching-financial-sustainability-providing-high-quality-standards-higher-education-middle-east-north-africa http://hdl.handle.net/10986/23990 |
| Summary: | Higher education (HE) systems worldwide
are faced with three main challenges: providing young people
with the skills required by the job market; improving access
to high quality services; and seeking out new sources of
financing to cope with the growing student demand. This
document will provide evidence on the need to seek
sustainable financing strategies for countries in Middle
East and North Africa (MENA), whether they are high income
economies, such as the oil producing countries, or low to
middle income economies. Chapter one presents an overall
description of HE graduates and the many challenges they
face in their transition into the workforce. The different
elements that affect this transition are discussed and
special attention is given to the mismatches between labor
supply and demand. Chapter two analyses the current levels
of spending on HE, projects the future financing gaps taking
into account the need to continue expanding access and
improving quality and relevance, and provides a framework
for funding approaches linked to meeting access, equity, and
quality goals. Chapter three outlines ways of using current
funds in more effective ways, emphasizing the need to align
financing allocations with policy goals. Innovative funding
allocations that link funding to performance and demand- as
well as supply-side mechanisms are discussed. Chapter four
discusses different ways to diversify sources of funding and
presents alternative methods of cost-sharing. The chapter
emphasizes the equity measures needed for cost-sharing
mechanisms, such as student fees, and provides an overview
of student loan programs used in MENA and elsewhere. Chapter
five discusses the role of private provision of HE, and how
this can be an alternative to increase access and quality,
provided the necessary regulatory and quality controls are
in place. Chapter six describes an alternative source of
funding not yet common in MENA, namely the use of
philanthropic resources to build endowments to support HE. |
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