As enrolment in higher learning institutions has been growing steadily driven by improved student progression rates and higher numbers of part-time students, governments around the world, including those in Africa, are finding ways to shift the cost burden, according to a recent United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) report.

UNESCO’s Global Education Monitoring report 2017-18 report titled Accountability in Education: Meeting our commitments was launched on 13 May at the recent Conference of African Ministers of Finance, Planning and Economic Development in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

The Global Education Monitoring Report is a mechanism for monitoring and reporting on Sustainable Development Goal Four and on education in the other Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It is premised on the view that while responsibility for education is a collective one, accountability starts with governments which are the primary duty bearers of the right to education. The report argues that a lack of accountability risks jeopardising progress and allows harmful practices to become embedded in education systems. 

Director of UNESCO International Institute for Capacity Building in Africa, Yumiko Yokozeki, said the report shows that two strategies are commonly adopted by countries in the wake of increased higher education enrolment: the introduction of or increase in tuition fees to make up for reduced government allocations to universities; and encouragement of the private sector in the provision of degree programmes. This diversified enrolment options while allowing government to concentrate on the public system.

“The global trend is towards reduced public expenditure and increased privatisation and cost-sharing in higher education,” Yokozeki told University World News.

According to the report, affordability, a concept enshrined in SDG target 4.3, follows on commitments by several countries to ensure access to higher education without discriminating against disadvantaged groups. “However, given the global trend towards cost sharing in higher education finance, it is not clear how governments can be held to account for such commitments,” the report states.

In a section specifically devoted to accountability and affordable access to higher education, the report notes that legislating for equal opportunity and against discrimination is a key strategy used by governments to foster equity and affordability in higher education systems. 

Tunisia, for example, guarantees universal access to post-secondary education in its 2008 law on higher education. Many laws and acts guaranteeing access to higher education prohibit discrimination and encourage access for minorities and disadvantaged groups, according to the report. 

However, fewer legal frameworks mention cost and affordability. Those that do deal with the issue tend to set expectations about the balance between public investment and household spending. 

The 1995 Higher Education Loans Board Act in Kenya, for example, aims to increase access for socio-economically disadvantaged students by “grant[ing] loans out of the Fund … as the Board may deem fit, to any eligible person to enable him … to meet the cost of higher education”.

The report notes that a judicious mix of fees and financial aid is needed for equitable access to higher education, although means testing is often difficult.

“Fee-free policies alone do not deliver equitable access. The need to integrate fee policies and financial need approaches is critical. Governments have to develop financial assistance policies, combining grants and loans, that are flexible and respond to student need,” the report states.

According to the report, Uganda waives fees for ‘deserving’ students in public universities according to their entrance exam score. About 7% of students benefited from this programme in 2012, but tended to be from relatively wealthy families. 

“This phenomenon was exacerbated by the growing privatisation of university education in Uganda, where the private sector accounted for 74% of institutions and 49% of enrolment … Indeed, while targeting poorer students is critical, means testing can be difficult in low and lower middle income countries with less reliable measures of income,” the report states. 

In Sub-Saharan Africa, governments use indicators such as parental education, home characteristics and family assets to gauge need. “In the absence of a robust income tax system and loan repayment collection mechanism, loan boards and education trust funds in Ghana, Kenya and the United Republic of Tanzania have instructed employers to deduct repayment from wages,” the report notes.

The report also argues that students and parents need more reliable and accessible data on higher education costs and programme choices.