Issues and Snags in the Provision of Cross-Border Higher Education: Reflecting on Experiences from East Africa

There is a global paradigm shift in higher education such that many nations consider cross-border higher education (CBHE) as an effective strategy for providing higher education opportunities to all, irrespective of national boundaries, at a relatively low cost and without irrationally compromising quality. Despite the nations being aware of the benefits of CBHE, there is still little evidence of significant collaborations among East African countries in this aspect. Consequently, this paper analyses various issues and challenges in CBHE in East Africa and their implications for sustainable regional higher education. Besides the differences existing among East African countries, the paper suggests that governments and higher education institutions, in particular, should, among other things, promote regional synergistic approaches for the provision and regulation of CBHE to gain a prerequisite momentum for global competition.