An education system should prepare and equip persons to contribute to personal and national development and to bring about higher standards through better performances in all areas of national activity. With limited education goes low productivity and deteriorating values and attitudes.

Higher education is so critical to the development of a country that there is need to formulate “Education Plans” based on short, medium and long term strategies. An education plan should be a continuous process that outlives the current planners but remains applicable to the present and the future; yet also capable of conforming to the needs of the rapidly changing world.

Reaping the rewards of higher education requires the alignment of our education system to national goals and needs. It also requires an understanding of global needs. The more people come to view education as a dynamic force, the more it will receive the required continuous research and new developments and improvements to bring desired result. In higher education, there is room for complacency. There is no perfect education system. Every system has strengths and weaknesses. Our aim should be to turn our weaknesses into strengths.

My presentation on higher education will be from the point of view of a private provider and not from the perspective of an academic. I will discuss the befits and advantages of higher education to both individuals and society. I will also discuss the cost of higher education to the students as well as the cost of providing higher education. The problem of the lack of access to higher education will be examined as I believe that private tertiary level institutions can assist in overcoming this problem, through collaborations and affiliations.