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Toward 2030: Inequities in Higher Education Access in Southeast Asia

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  • Lin Wai Phyo

    (Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 8PQ, UK)

  • Sonia Ilie

    (Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 8PQ, UK)

Abstract

The Sustainable Development Goals have galvanized efforts to improve access to higher education globally. While higher education has expanded over the last decade, access inequities endure, with economic deprivation, gender, and other dimensions of marginalization shaping individual opportunities to engage with higher education. Regional differences have also emerged, with some higher education systems growing at a rapid pace, driven by a variety of policy initiatives. This paper explores higher education access inequities in the Southeast Asian context, where a period of rapid higher education expansion has recently given way to complex patterns of access, against diverging national directions for higher education development. Using large-scale nationally representative data from the Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) and the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS), this paper traces patterns of inequitable higher education access in eight Southeast Asian countries over time. This paper then discusses country-specific policy initiatives, and the levers they deploy in trying to lower higher education inequities. It explores how these country-specific policy initiatives aiming at equality or equity in higher education access sit alongside periods of sector expansion and wealth-based gaps in higher education access, to conclude about potential policy shifts which may support work towards more equitable systems.

Suggested Citation

  • Lin Wai Phyo & Sonia Ilie, 2025. "Toward 2030: Inequities in Higher Education Access in Southeast Asia," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 14(10), pages 1-22, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jscscx:v:14:y:2025:i:10:p:592-:d:1764924
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    2. Liu, Wan-Hsin & Ma, Ru, 2018. "Regional Inequality of Higher Education Resources in China," Open Access Publications from Kiel Institute for the World Economy 235203, Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel).
    3. Mulyaningsih, Tri & Dong, Sarah & Miranti, Riyana & Daly, Anne & Purwaningsih, Yunastiti, 2022. "Targeted scholarship for higher education and academic performance: Evidence from Indonesia," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    4. United Nations UN, 2015. "Transforming our World: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development," Working Papers id:7559, eSocialSciences.
    5. Gu, Xiang & Hua, Sheng & McKenzie, Tom & Zheng, Yanqiao, 2022. "Like father, like son? Parental input, access to higher education, and social mobility in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
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