Globalisation and Higher Education: Higher Education in the Arab Region: Globalization, Privatization and Prospects

Impacted by both globalisation and recurrent political and social instability over the last two decades, higher education in the Arab world is currently at a crossroad. Without substantial reforms, higher education in the Arab world will become deadlocked. In the first part of this paper, we highlight the “youth challenge” in the Arab region and its implications for the higher education sector. We have examined why the massification of higher education in the MENA region has failed to enhance the upward social mobility of the youth. In the second part, we have analyzed the increased privatization of higher education and reflect on the role of Arab states in this evolution. We have concluded that by identifying the challenges posed in terms of governance of higher education, there is an urgent need to rethink the current socio-economic development models in the Arab world.