1 March 2020  Issue No: 587

After years of pushing Chinese researchers to publish in prestigious international journals, China’s Ministry of Education and Ministry of Science and Technology have jointly released a document aimed at reducing “excessive reliance” on Science Citation Index papers for academic promotions, job offers and allocation of research funding.

Extended school closures due to the COVID-19 novel coronavirus outbreak are raising concerns that high-stakes university entrance exam schedules in some Asian countries will be disrupted, and that delays and disruptions could have knock-on effects for the coming intake later this year.

The United Kingdom government has cast doubt on UK commitment to full participation post 2020 in Erasmus+, the European Union’s student and staff study abroad, training and exchange scheme, prior to negotiations over the future relationship with the EU. But renewed risk of a no-deal Brexit threatens both Erasmus+ and Horizon Europe participation.

A social media post by a chair of department at one of Ukraine’s state universities shows that anti-Semitic sentiment and anti-Jewish conspiracy theories are present in the country’s higher education system. What is most shocking, however, is how the government has failed to respond.

An administrative change last year for international students wanting to study in the United States shows how the Trump administration is blinkered in its approach to international higher education and doesn’t understand the potential pitfalls created by not taking into account how other countries operate.

The United States is reaching out to empower Africa’s youth and build partnerships with African universities to enhance their role as instruments of national development. Should Africans be worried about the motives behind such overtures and their longer-term implications?