Burkina Faso - Higher Education

Ouagadougou University (founded in 1974) was the only institution of higher education in Burkina Faso until 1995, when the Polytechnical University, in Bobo-Dioulasso, was established. The Institut des Sciences de l'Education, now known as Ecole Normale Superieure de Koudougou, moved to Koudougou in 1996. Most departments at the universities began offering doctoral programs in 1998, with the exception of the Faculty of Health Care Sciences of Ouagadougou University, which launched the first doctoral degree program in the country in 1994. Although enrollment at higher education institutions jumped nearly 62 percent in 1999—bringing the total number of higher education students in Burkina Faso to roughly 10,000—many Bukinabe students continue to seek higher education in France, Senegal, or Côte d'Ivoire.