16 May 2021  Issue No: 643

Digitalisation and technology will not the solve equity challenges for universities in the near future. Things like a reliable supply of electricity are as important as technology in remote delivery of education. Higher education needs to diversify to address growing equity issues after COVID-19.

Amid a new COVID-19 wave in South and Southeast Asia and fears of a highly transmissible deadly variant from India that has devastated that country, universities in countries neighbouring India have reversed plans to re-open universities and colleges and brought in new lockdowns.

Universities fear Australia’s borders will remain shut to international students until mid-2022, posing serious challenges to institutions and students. However, the government says a ‘pilot programme’ will allow some international students to enrol late this year, and enrolments will increase gradually from 2022.

Ethiopia’s Ministry of Science and Higher Education has unveiled an ambitious plan to have 5,000 PhD graduates by the end of 2025. The Homegrown Collaborative PhD Programmes will be able to respond to national development goals, but the human resource and infrastructure capacities of participating higher education institutions are part of several concerns over the plan.

It is not merely ‘misconduct’, but violence that many victims of ‘sexual misconduct’ have experienced. To transform university cultures and provide truly inclusive learning and working environments for all, we first need to pay attention to the language we use, particularly when it comes to sexual violence.

Reports that the tuition fees of West African students at United Kingdom universities could be used for money-laundering purposes have put universities in Africa that receive cash on the alert, underscoring the significance of anti-money-laundering institutional regulations. Besides having adequate staffing for the proper monitoring of day-to-day compliance with anti-money-laundering policies, experts recommend that universities ensure sufficient technological resources are available to support these efforts.