Understanding higher education infrastructure financing: a systematic review

Infrastructure is essential to Higher Education (HE) in fulfilling its role in national development since accessibility, quality, and productive outcomes fundamentally depend on its availability, which requires massive financial investment. Nevertheless, in numerous African contexts, the provision, maintenance and financing of HE infrastructure remain underexplored. Guided by the PRISMA-P framework and the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) critical appraisal tool, this systematic review addresses this gap by examining existing financing mechanisms, associated challenges, and strategies for improvement through the analytical lenses of the African Political Economy (APE) model and the Resource Dependency Theory (RDT). The major findings highlight Public Private Partnership as a primary funding model and the absence of comprehensive policy frameworks for infrastructure financing as a major setback. The review concludes with proposed strategies to enhance HE infrastructure financing, offering valuable insights for educational policies, policy makers, and educators within the historical and economic landscape of Africa.