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by Abdoulaye Niandou Souley

Introduction
A landlocked country of 11 million people located in west Africa, Niger, neighbors eight countries.

History of Higher Education
The Niamey Higher Education Center (Centre d’Enseignement Supérieur, CES), which was created in 1971, became a university in 1973. In 1985, however, a major development occurred with the advanced schools becoming full-fledged schools of the university, and in 1993 Niamey University changed its name to Abdou Moumouni University (AMU).

Enrollment
Student enrollment in Niger underwent significant increases with the creation of the higher education center in 1971, and its conversion into a university in 1973. This meant that high school graduates were no longer obliged to leave for countries of the sub-region to resume their university studies.

Enrollment in University Abdou Moumouni
School	Male	Female	Total
Humanities	2,171	687	2,858
Law and Economics	1,892	478	2,370
Sciences	1,083	112	1,195
Health Sciences	774	345	1,119
Agronomy	201	49	250
Teacher Training	142	14	156
Total	6,263	1,685	7,948

Governance and Administration
The university president is elected by the faculty for a three-year renewable term. A vice-president and an elected vice-president assist the president in managing the university’s affairs. Deans act as chairs for the schools through a one-time renewable term of three years. In the absence of vice-deans, department heads and their faculty assist the deans in their duties. Heads of departments are elected by their peers for a two-year once-renewable term.

Privatization
Privatization is not part of the plan for universities for the time being. The university community has been debating the possibility of non-public means of funding, but without making reference to privatization. A "reflection committee" has been established to brainstorm on new ways to tap non-public funding for Abdou Moumouni University.

Research and Publication
Research and publication are not well supported at UAM, although research professors, in collaboration with other partners, attempt to establish working teams. Research-professor teams are active in the Agronomy School and the School of Health Sciences. The essential problem remains the lack of a communication network through which research results could be disseminated.

Note: For detailed account on the state of higher education in Niger, please consult: Abdoulaye Niandou Souley, African Higher Education: An International Reference Handbook (Damtew Teferra and Philip. G. Altbach, eds., Indiana University Press, 2003), pp. 487-491.

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