Skills at Scale: Transferable Skills in Secondary and Vocational Education in Africa
Higher education is a cornerstone for sustainable development, but a new paper written by the GEM Report and the International institute for Education Planning (IIEP) at UNESCO shows this is being challenged by sheer numbers of students now hoping to enroll.
Since 2000, the number of students has doubled to 207 million, and the demand for higher education is only going to continue rising. But this growth is out-pacing available resources, which often results in the cost of higher education falling to households, many of whom cannot afford it. We urgently call on governments to make sure student loan repayments never rise above 15% of their monthly incomes so that further expansion does not leave the disadvantaged behind.
Analysing global trends, the new paper, six ways to ensure higher education leaves no one behind, shows that the fast expansion of higher education is mostly happening in countries with an expanding middle class: growth over the past 20 years has risen 7% in upper middle income countries, but only 4% in low-income countries.