31 May 2020  Issue No: 600

Universities need to change and come together to address global challenges. To do this they need to create neutral international platforms where partners are respected as equals and where partnerships that are targeted at local needs draw on both local knowledge and global solutions.

The struggle for survival has always been fierce for publications in the internet age but has never been harder for us than it is now due to the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, which is why we are asking for your help today.

Indian students are changing or delaying their plans to study abroad this year due to coronavirus disruptions and are closely monitoring the pandemic situation in the most popular destinations like the United States, Britain, Canada and in Europe before making up their minds.

The coronavirus crisis comes on top of years of conflict and autocratic leadership in the Middle East – an unlikely recipe for successful transnational education or TNE in the region. But increased private higher education and autonomy for public institutions could allow some innovation.

The Russell Group, which represents 24 leading universities, says focusing on university admissions alone will not address the current embedded inequalities in the United Kingdom. It says a new Office for Tackling Inequality should be tasked with ensuring all government policy supports this aim.

The dismissal of a university law lecturer and human rights defender who set an examination question considered by the Cameroon government to be ‘seditious’ has been widely criticised by a number of the country’s academics.

Nigeria needs a ‘National Institute of Higher Education Research and Policy Development’ to help advise on higher education policy, help prioritise higher education challenges in relation to developmental challenges, and advance evidence-based policy that will promote the country’s development.