Higher education in Latin America: Challenges and opportunities

Higher education is one of the main drivers of economic and social development and therefore is crucial for a sustainable and inclusive development path in Latin America. However, the region performs badly in many higher education dimensions and various challenges remain. Access is low and still very unequal across socio-economic groups. The quality of the higher education system is low when compared with that of OECD countries and other emerging regions. The link with the labour market is not very strong and there are important skill mismatches that lock the potential for growth. Finally, the higher education system is subject to increasing financial pressures and competition from abroad. The incorporation of ICTs in higher education presents an opportunity to overcome these deficiencies.