Higher Education in the Arab Region

Formed in 2021 by researchers from the Arab Region, Latin America and Sub-Saharan Africa within the context of a joint South-South research program on the Right to Education in the Global South, the Higher Education in the Arab Region Working Group includes CLACSO, the ACSS, and higher education institutions in Sub-Saharan Africa.  The working group aims to present new paradigms, perspectives and realities emerging from the Global South as well as de-colonial approaches to the study of educational rights, based on diversity, inclusion and equality. As a joint project between the ACSS and the Middle East and North Africa Program at the Social Science Research Council (SSRC) in New York, The Higher Education in the Arab Region Project (HEWG) explored the changing landscape of higher education in the region, focusing on the nature of governance of universities in response to national, regional, and global restructurings, and the degree of autonomy that these universities have from the state, as well as from powerful social classes and groups. An expanded working group, under formation, will continue to explore the profound changes that have been taking place in higher education institutions and will delineate specific areas of study and investigation.

Publications and Activities

The Right to Higher Education in the Arab World: Maghreb, Mashrek and Gulf countries by Abdelkader Djeflat

Access to Higher Education in Egypt, Jordan and Tunisia by Ray Langsten

The Right to Higher Education in the Global South:  Horizons, Debates and Challenges. Activity hosted at the International School of Maputo, Mozambique, August 21-25, 2023.