Nigeria’s National Economic Council recently made several far-reaching decisions on the future of tertiary education in the country, including the creation of ‘mega-universities’ in six geo-political zones, each with the capacity to admit up to 150,000 students.

Recently University World News published a call by the European Students' Union to scrap the proposed new European study loan guarantees. But by underwriting loans, the EU will support thousands more to study abroad.

Universities need to encourage students to think more critically about where their worldviews come from. In an increasingly global higher education world, not to do so will only encourage the exclusion of international students from important social activities.

The East African Community has slashed its budget for harmonising education systems and curricula in the five member countries in the coming fiscal year, further slowing a process that has nearly flopped due to financial constraints.

Universities in Madagascar must announce individually when they will start their new academic year, following disruption caused by strikes that has resulted in the University of Antananarivo only now completing its 2011-12 year.

Delhi University, regarded as India’s top university, is in turmoil amid an increasingly politicised battle over its plans to switch to a four-year undergraduate programme from the next academic session, beginning in July.

In a flurry of recent international meetings of education policy-makers and university leaders, China is deepening its higher education links with Europe. A more in-depth relationship would include a stronger focus on understanding the management and governance of public universities to enable increased international collaboration.