Introduction
Côte d’Ivoire is located in West Africa with an estimated population of 15 million.

History of Higher Education
The first Higher Education Center was created in 1958 under a French government decree and reached full university status in 1964. Now there are three universities in Côte d’Ivoire, as well as many research centers and schools.

Governance and Administration
Three central structures were created in 1966. These were the Council of Higher Education Teaching, the Standing Board of Higher Education Teaching, and the University Council. In addition to these central structures, faculty assemblies were created, presided over by the dean of each facility. University management structures included the Information and Programming University Centre (CUIP) and the University Data Processing Centre (CUTI).

Student Enrollment
In the academic year 1997-98, 100,724 students were registered. Eighty-one percent of them (8,2173 students) studied at public institutions, 6% in state schools of technology, 27% (27,388) in private schools, and 18% (18,551) in institutions not depending on the Ministry of Higher Education.
At the College of Education (ENS), enrollments have been declining since 1987, enrolling from almost 1,500 students to less than 200.

Gender
Efforts are being made to raise enrollment rate of female students which is currently around 15%. This figure is even lower in the domains of sciences and technology.

Faculty
Until 1988, an increase was observed in the number of lecturers, followed by significant decrease in 1990 when the University of Abidjan faced its first big crisis, followed by more significant progress and then a new decrease in 1996. From 1991 to 1996, progress was made in terms of recruitment of lecturers but it seems that a new decline is being observed as a consequence of lower salaries of lecturers.

In 1998, the total number of researchers working in national research institutes or centers was 219, representing 14.2% of the total R&D personnel in Côte d’Ivoire.

Research and Publishing
From independence in 1960 up to 1970, important national research centers were created, such as the Institut de Recherche Agronomique, IRAT, (Institute of Agronomy Research) and the Centre Technique Forestier d'Abidjan (CTFT). Their activities were mainly oriented toward agriculture and forest exploitation. The development of a real national research policy started in 1971. Côte d’Ivoire has set up various national research institutes and centers for development, both inside and outside the universities, under the authority the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, and several others.

Despite a lack of appropriate facilities and funds, some patents and research outputs--mainly in the field of agronomy--are published in national, regional, and international journals.

Governance and Administration
A significant number of teachers and researchers from universities are members of political parties and often hold important positions in governments. Most of the leaders of the important political parties come from the universities.

Politicians try to influence campuses. Sometimes, teachers and researchers appear as an advocacy group for the population, or are seen as masters influencing their students. After 1990, a new trade union of teachers and researchers, appeared which was seen as being very close to the PDCI party that ruled the country until 1999.

Funding and Resources
Ninety five percent of the higher education budget comes from the government. In 1997, the government contribution for the General Working Budget (BGF) of higher education was 39.2% for salaries, 25.2% for management of institutions, 24.3% student loans, and 11.3% to private schools.

Private Education
For the academic year 1996-97, 37 out of 55 private higher schools received the endorsement of the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research. The first private university should start its activities during the 2002-03 academic year.

Note: For detailed account on the state of higher education in Côte d’Ivoire, please consult: Pascal Valentin Houenou, et al, African Higher Education: An International Reference Handbook (Damtew Teferra and Philip. G. Altbach, eds., Indiana University Press, 2003), pp. 273-280.