15 March 2020  Issue No: 589

The coronavirus crisis is undoubtedly a serious problem for societies, individuals and for higher education. But the crisis will eventually pass for international higher education and the status quo will largely prevail. However, there are bigger lessons to be learnt about planning for such events.

France, Ireland and Norway on Thursday joined a quickly lengthening list of European countries announcing mass closures of universities as part of a wider effort to halt the communal spread of the coronavirus, but the United Kingdom is so far holding out, saying it is too early.

The British Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, announced the ‘largest and fastest increase in spend ever’ in research and development in his budget speech on Wednesday, a surprise move that has been described as a ‘game changer’ for science by the Russell Group of leading research universities.

For any education system to be successful, there must be good teachers and to have good teachers requires the political will to invest in effective teacher training. This is where change starts and the potential impact on sustainable development and social well-being is huge.

Despite the uncertainty created by Brexit, both the United Kingdom and the European Union know that to tackle the great challenges of the 21st century, from climate change to the rise of artificial intelligence, academics will need to continue to collaborate across disciplines and across borders.

English has been the medium of instruction in Rwandan universities for over 10 years, but despite attempts to promote English in higher education, proficiency remains an ongoing challenge for both learners and lecturers.