ISSN: 2326-8077 www.tas.africanresearch.org The African Symposium (TAS) journal Volume 16, issue 1, 2017 Copyright © The African Symposium (TAS) journal 63 HIGHER EDUCATION AND DEVELOPMENT IN EGYPT Mohamed Amira Ohio University Email: ma591912@ohio.edu ABSTRACT As higher education can play an important role in developing the underdeveloped countries, this paper highlights some of the aspects related to the influence of higher education on development in Egypt. A social and economic profile of Egypt is included in the paper, with a focus on some of the transformations that happened after the 2011 revolution. Other aspects like the history and composition of higher education in Egypt, accessibility to higher education there, and social justice in higher education in Egypt are also discussed. Keywords: Higher education, International development, Globalization, Global education Introduction Development has been always something that countries in the underdeveloped world wanted to pursue. In the era of globalization, where the world became a small village, competition prevails, and for countries to be able to compete, they have to be developed enough. Many methods, approaches, plans, and models have been suggested and implemented, yet there have been only a few successful examples. One tool that could help underdeveloped countries to pursue a successful path of development is higher education. The World Bank is one of the most important organizations concerned with the issue. In its Education Strategy 2020, it strongly recommends investing in people’s knowledge and skills so they may be able to participate effectively in their local economies, and then integrating with the greater global economy (Spring, 2009). Egypt is a developing country that has gone through tremendous political changes during the last five years. Because of the political unrest, the economic situation is worsening day after day. Egypt had developmental plans at many levels, but they were interrupted by the 2011 revolution. However, development in Egypt is more important today than ever, and higher education is believed to be capable of playing a major role in achieving the required developmental goals in underdeveloped countries, including Egypt. The Impact of Higher Education on Development Human capital is one of the most important factors in achieving a successful model for development (Milutinović & Nikolić, 2014). An indispensable tool in preparing the human capital to play an active role in development is education. As Bown (2002) explains, a lot of universities in developing countries were committed to development, and they were founded or reshaped to respond to the political demands related to developmental goals.