The purpose of this study was to identify factors of leadership and governance in Ethiopian private Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) that result in a poor or decaying quality of education in those institutions. The study explored how key governance or leadership factors in private HEIs may contribute to a poor or declining quality of education and the extent to which leaders of private HEIs agree that appropriate governance can reverse poor or declining quality in the country's HEIs. Results indicate that leaders of private HEIs are continuously challenged to balance government requirements and stakeholder demands in an environment where under-funding, scarcities of qualified instructors, poor infrastructure, less-qualified students, and a challenging regulatory environment are facts of life. Based on these results, recommendations for leaders, policy makers, and regulators of HEIs include ensuring availability and proper utilization of qualified instructors, adequate infrastructure, autonomous quality assurance units, and more equitable regulation and enforcement provisions across the higher education sector. For quality to have sufficient roots, it requires long term plan, adequate time, persistent follow-up and proper evaluation of success or failure. To adhere to this and participate in the delivery of quality education - that produces knowledge as public goods, requires the governance of HEIs with greater access to higher education and modification actions be accomplished without compromising the one and only one key element, i.e. QUALITY.