Changes to private universities law aim to improve quality

Tunisia is working on amendments to the existing Private University Act of 2000 to ensure the law fits the needs of the academic environment as well as improving education quality and governance.

The final version of draft amendments to Law No 73 of 2000 on private higher education was examined at a 5 April meeting held at the headquarters of the Tunisian Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, according to a press release posted on the official Facebook page of the ministry.

During the meeting, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Moncef Boukthir, said: “It is imperative that the draft amendment of the law respects the provisions of the constitution, takes into account the situation of the private higher education sector and its development over the past 24 years, and preserves the credibility of diplomas.”

Amendments

The draft amendments were presented by a Tunisian liberal front in the country’s parliament.

The draft indicates that an aim of the changes is to improve the quality of private higher education institutions by giving its staff professional and social status.

It is envisaged that the move will help to reduce the unemployment of doctoral holders in the country.

The draft notes that private higher education institutions must have at least 30% permanent teaching staff with a PhD degree and must include all specialities and fields.

It also decrees that permanent teachers must provide at least half of the lessons offered under each degree awarded by the institution.

In addition, the framework for teaching in private institutions must be similar to the regulations for teachers in public institutions with regard to the minimum wage, number of teaching hours, and supervision.

Private-sector landscape

The amendments to the law have been welcomed by academics. Béchir Allouch, a technology professor at the Virtual University of Tunis, told University World News the amendment to the previous law which dates from the year 2000 was “essential”.

“It is important that the regulatory framework is in line with the significant developments that the private sector higher education institutions have experienced over nearly a quarter of a century,” Allouch said.

“The current configuration of the private sector is completely different from that of the year 2000 when some private universities mainly welcomed students from Sub-Saharan Africa and Tunisians who were unable to obtain the baccalaureate and, thus, access public universities.”

Allouch, who is also the former president of the Tunisian Association of e-Learning, said: “The private sector now occupies a relatively large place [in the sector].”

Allouch said in 2022-23, there were 80 private higher education institutions with 44,988 students, making up 14.7% of all students in Tunisia. In 2012-13, this figure was 6.5%.

Allouch said 56.4% of foreign students were enrolled in the private sector in 2022-23.

The percentage of private-sector graduates in relation to the total graduates in Tunisia almost tripled between 2012 and 2013 and 2021 and 2022: from 6.52% to 18%, Allouch said, adding that, in a speciality such as engineering, the number of students enrolled in the private sector increased by a factor of 2.3 between 2012 and 2012 and 2022 and 2023 (from 6,980 to 15,977).

Unfair competition

According to Allouch, a criticism of the private sector in the past has been the small proportion of permanent teachers in private universities, which forced the institutions to rely heavily on public-sector teachers working on a temporary basis.

“For some, this represents unfair competition with the public sector, especially since the monitoring capacities are limited and do not make it possible to ensure compliance with the maximum number of weekly hours that can be provided by teachers from the public sector in the private universities,” Allouch said.

“Private universities are somehow privileged by this ability to select their teachers from among the best in the public sector without investing in the training or skills development of these teachers.

“The amendment will make it possible to impose a minimum proportion of permanent teachers recruited for each private university,” Allouch said.

“For the state, it is also a solution,” he said, referring to the number of doctoral graduates who are currently unemployed and could be recruited by the private sector.

Not-for-profit institutions

According to Allouch, a weakness of the current regulatory framework for private higher education was that it did not cover not-for-profit universities.

“Until now, this type of university did not exist in Tunisia,” Allouch said. “However, in the case of bi-national universities, for example, which are classified as private universities under the current regulatory framework, this option may be more appropriate.

“Subjecting not-for-profit universities to the current law on private higher education and, consequently, to the implementing texts and specifications in force for private universities, exposes not-for-profit universities to challenges and rigidities in terms of their organisation and functioning,” Allouch noted.

“Law No 2000-73 of 25 July 2000, as amended in 2008, does not allow foreign participation in the capital of the promoter company to exceed 35%,” he said. “An increase in this proportion has been requested by some promoters.”

The challenge of oversight

Allouch said, beyond the law, an important challenge was that of ensuring compliance with specifications governing the private higher education sector.

“The ministry of higher education’s capacity to oversee the private sector remains limited,” Allouch said.

He said that, in December 2018, a Court of Auditors’ report on higher education for the period 2011-16 pointed out the degree of improvement required in terms of government supervision over private institutions at all stages and levels of their functioning.

He said that, in addition to the amendment of the law, the strengthening of the ministry’s capacity to monitor the private sector in line with its current configuration and size was necessary.

“This will help in improving competition in the private higher education sector and preserving the quality of diplomas awarded in Tunisia, along with strengthening Tunisia’s attractiveness in the international education market,” Allouch said.