Tunisia to receive 20,000 African students by 2020

Tunisia plans to double the number of African students the country receives in its private higher education and vocational training to reach 20,000 by 2020, Anadolu Agency reported.

The president of the Tunisia Africa Business Council (TABC), Bassem Loukil, said in his speech during the Tunisian African Empowerment Forum held today that the government plan to increase the number of African students in Tunisia I is one of the council’s main objectives.

Loukil added that the move aims at promoting for Tunisia’s higher education sector.

During the forum, Tunisia’s Prime Minister, Yousuf Chahed, pledged to provide all the support to the African students who chose to complete their higher education in Tunisia.

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The forum was launched early today in Tunisia, with the participation of delegations from 19 countries. The event will last until Wednesday 22 August. Over 11 sub-Saharan African countries, including Cameroon, Mali, Mauritania, Côte d’Ivoire, Gabon, Tchad, Niger, Senegal, Burkina Faso, Djibouti, Togo, Benin, Guinea Conakry, the Republic of Central Africa, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Sudan are participating in the forum.

Tunisia’s higher education system operates through 200 university institutions, 20,000 university professors, 25 technology institutes and 70 private universities. The country receives 300,000 students, each year, 8,000 of whom are Africans.