Quality of higher education in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries: A review on the progress towards 2030 SDGs

Abstract

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, including Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Oman, Kuwait, Qatar, and Bahrain, have significantly progressed in higher education reform programmes. However, challenges remain, such as a lack of uniformity in assessment, different norms for degree recognition, a shortage of regionally relevant research, difficulties in recognizing online programmes, and rising financial costs. These issues may limit the progress of reforms in the region, which is crucial for achieving the SDG 4 targets by 2030. The assessment uses published data and reports from GCC countries and the United Nations Organization to quantify the country’s progress as of 2022. The paper suggests specific actions and initiatives to support progress towards achieving higher education quality SDG 4 by 2030.