15 December 2019  Issue No: 579

Social sciences research in China, not as well funded in the past as the hard sciences, is undergoing an even further narrowing so that research more closely serves the purposes of the state, experts have said, with some going as far as to say social sciences in China have undergone political rectification under Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

A United States Department of Education investigation into six universities found that they had failed to report in excess of US$1.3 billion from foreign sources, including China, Qatar and Russia, over the past seven years, despite a clear legal duty to do so, Senate correspondence reveals.

Access to education is a fundamental right that must be achieved by all refugees and displaced people. Therefore, planners, whether at a state or institutional level, should adopt a sensitive approach and promote an environment that eases access, provides guidance and fosters lifelong learning.

The adoption of the Global Convention on the Recognition of Higher Education Qualifications shifts the burden of proof with regard to recognising qualifications from the applicant to the recognition authority and has the potential to substantially change academic mobility and help employment mobility.

Africa should end the lip service it pays to South-South cooperation and collaboration in higher education, and African universities should enter into reciprocal partnerships in order to harness scarce human resources.