**9. Rising social demand and sustainable financing**

International aid to support higher education averages USD600 to USD800 million a year, representing a quarter of all international aid to the education sector in sub-Saharan Africa. This relatively low percentage reflects that most donors are now emphasizing the educational achievements of basic education development. In addition to a small amount of aid, two main factors limit the impact of aid. First, only 26% of support for higher education is transferred directly to African universities and research centers. The remainder will be paid through scholarships abroad or transferred directly to the donor students' universities. Second, the lack of donor coordination is also very detailed. At the same time, aid further supports the entire education sector and is provided in the form of general or departmental budget support. This gives the government more flexibility in how it allocates its budget for education. However, in the event of economic or financial difficulties, aid to higher education may conflict with other priorities, be it poverty alleviation, food subsidies, or energy [28].

Cost-sharing is increasingly being incorporated into the financing strategy of the higher education sector and should include specific scholarships or loans to maintain or increase the chances of enrolling students from poor families. Effective student loan programs are possible in sub-Saharan Africa, but they require proper design and proper implementation. African student loans must be accompanied by other forms of financial assistance, including careful use of grants and tolerance for repayment and eventual forgiveness in the case of low lifetime income or other conditions, especially if there is real evidence that some people hate debt students.

#### **9.1 Investment budget allocation practices**

According to budgeting modalities the decision to allocate investment budgets for higher education institutions is considered to be made through a fairly transparent and reasonable process. University campus construction is usually planned, prioritized, and expensive within the scope of the physical development plan approved by the educational institution. The following system monitoring agencies have compiled their own sub-sector investment key lists. However, investment allocation decisions may be subject to external influences and negotiations on behalf of the university authorities, because investment projects will not be affected by the pressure of the operating budget of the stakeholder group. For example,


**Table 1.**

*Budgeting modalities.*

the problem is unlikely to occur when quietly and administratively replacing a highway resurfacing project with a university classroom construction project. Three relatively new investment fund allocation mechanisms (designated financing, performance contracts, and competitive funds) solve this problem by incorporating clearer and more transparent decision-making criteria (**Table 1**) [29].
