The Evolving Role of Higher Education in National Development Plans in Cameroon: Focus on the Period 2000 - 2030

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the consideration of Higher Education and its place in recent Cameroon National development policies. The focus was to explore the evolution of the role given to the HE sector for the country?s transformation in the main National Development Policies that have been launched in the country since 2000, covering the period 2000-2030. The study used a primary mixed method combining documents analysis and interviews to get the contents and to understand the perceptions and meanings behind the orientations given to higher education in the national development policies. The findings presented that the role of Higher Education in Cameroon?s development policies has been dynamic, from a less important to a more important role in the context of a Knowledge economy; they revealed a gradual increase of its importance (dynamism), a gradual adaptation of the sector to the global trend, an emphasis on higher education assistance to development, an emphasis on the adaptation of the sector to socio-economic needs for a more important contribution to the country's socio-economic development.