The Importance of Higher Education for International Development – A Post-2015 Development Priority

Higher education is recognized as vital to any balanced development strategy. However, for several decades higher education was an afterthought in development policy, it being seen as a poor use of scarce resources. Two trends have changed this – recognition of the public goods character of higher education and the importance of knowledge economies, and higher education’s contribution in creating them. Higher education is now understood to provide a range of economic and social benefits as an integral part of an education system. The challenge is to establish it as a post-2015 development priority.