Higher Education in the framework of African Continental and Regional Integration

The last few decades have witnessed significant developments in the regionalization of higher education across the world. The most advanced form of regional higher education integration has taken place in Europe, but other regions of the world have also made great strides in the regionalization of their higher education systems. In Africa, the quest for regionalization of higher education has been one of the major themes of the continent’s integration agenda since the early independence days. African countries have been pursuing continental and regional higher education integration as a key strategy for socioeconomic and political development. This pursuit has produced multiple and often overlapping higher education integration initiatives. This chapter examines the legal and institutional frameworks underpinning these initiatives both at the continental and regional levels.