A number of reasons have been proposed for the poor quality of higher education in the
Arab world, including the poor incentive structures of public higher education institutions.
The expansion of private higher education has been hailed as an important part
of enhancing incentives and thus improving education quality. However, it is not clear
whether the practices of private higher education institutions differ from those of public
institutions. This article explores whether private provision improves the quality of
higher education, as measured by pedagogy, accountability, and student perceptions of
quality. The analysis focuses on commerce and information technology programs in Egypt
and Jordan. The results indicate that pedagogy, accountability, and student perceptions of
quality do not vary systematically by type of higher education institution in these countries
and that expanding the role of private institutions in higher education is therefore unlikely
to automatically improve educational processes or quality