Private higher education and public policy are recurring themes in international higher educationdiscourse. In Africa, the field of private higher education is still in its infancy in relationto development in other regions of the world. This in turn, calls for an understanding ofits evolution and dynamics both for the benefit of African research community and internationalstakeholders. Many country-case studies in Africa are still required. This book is aresponse to this need by focusing on two African countries namely Nigeria (in West Africa)and Botswana (in Southern Africa). The book contributes to the growing stock of knowledgeon private higher education in Africa, and thereby, provides a useful basis for validatingglobal generalizations on private higher education. Among the issues discussed are thenature, growth and types of private higher education institutions, state of private highereducation in the five sub-regions of Africa, the emergence of private higher education inNigeria and Botswana, the debate over the desirability of private higher education institutionsamidst widespread poverty, ownership profile of private higher education institutions inNigeria and Botswana, their enrollment capacity and potentials, sustainability questions, effectiveness of quality assurance agencies, and lastly the issue of public policy and thefuture of private higher education in Africa.