AFRICA NEWS
AFRICA
Development bank highlights HE role in industrialisation
Kudzai Mashininga
Africa’s higher education and vocational and technical training sector must be accelerated to prepare for the continent’s impending industrialisation, an area in which the African Development Bank is to invest US$35 billion over the next 10 years.
MOROCCO
Government denies ‘silence’ over deadly campus clashes
Wagdy Sawahel
The Moroccan government, accused by student groups of sponsoring violence, has denied it has been 'silent' over the recent deaths of students in university-based clashes as concern mounts over tensions between students with differing political and ideological affiliations.
NIGERIA
Minister proposes extra year for university students
Tunde Fatunde
In a bid to address the country’s graduate unemployment crisis, students in Nigeria may have to spend an extra year at university to obtain the necessary skills required for the labour market.
SOUTH AFRICA
Mamdani returns to UCT centre as honorary professor
Ugandan academic Professor Mahmood Mamdani’s return to the University of Cape Town’s Centre for African Studies as an honorary professor – almost 20 years after he left owing to a disagreement with his faculty – has been hailed as “institutionally historic” and marking a significant step on the university’s path towards decolonising the institution.
EGYPT
Cabinet approves draft law for technological universities
Wagdy Sawahel
Egypt’s cabinet has approved a draft law on the establishment of technological universities that will open their doors to students in the next academic year. The legislation is aimed at improving technical and vocational education and training, and boosting the employability of youth.
TANZANIA
30,000 students to benefit from World Bank loan
Esther Nakkazi
About 30,000 Tanzanian students will benefit from a World Bank US$120 million loan under the five-year Education and Skills for Productive Jobs project which aims to strengthen the institutional capacity of Tanzania’s skills development system and promote the expansion and quality of skills development opportunities in select economic sectors.
AFRICA ANALYSIS
ETHIOPIA
Perils of unregulated privatisation in public universities
Wondwosen Tamrat
The partial privatisation and emphasis on income-generation activities in public universities is becoming a pervasive trend in many countries across the world, driven by a plethora of factors including government financial deficits, the desire to improve institutional efficiency and the need to address student preferences. But, as the Ethiopian case shows, there is a danger of conflict with national goals and traditional roles of public universities.
AFRICA FEATURES
SOUTH AFRICA
Aspiring Martian calls for Africa to define its own path
Stephen Coan
Africa needs to define its own path when it comes to the fourth industrial revolution and look at what technology is appropriate for its societies, according to aspiring Martian and Head of Innovation at software manufacturer SAP Africa Adriana Marais, who is the headline speaker at the South African Technology Network international conference later this year.
AFRICA
The transformative power of ‘rupture’ in higher education
Sharon Dell
A new book on African philosophy of education, which examines teaching and learning in the African university context, draws on its authors’ combined experience of setting up a massive open online course aimed at examining how teachers and students can use the African philosophical concepts of ubuntu and ukama to develop home-grown solutions to societal and educational concerns.
NIGERIA
Commission takes hard line against ‘illegal’ institutions
Tunde Fatunde
Taking a hard line against 58 institutions – in Nigeria and neighbouring countries – that it considers 'illegal', the National Universities Commission of Nigeria recently warned that any certificates obtained from such institutions will not be recognised for the purposes of national youth service, employment or further study.
KENYA
76-day-long lecturer strike ends but for how long?
Gilbert Nakweya
The recent collapse of the 76-day-long lecturers’ strike means that students at public universities can get back to their studies. But with no real resolution to the issues causing staff unhappiness, how long can stability in the sector be expected to last?
KENYA
Student loan body overhaul aimed at stemming defaults
Gilbert Nganga
Kenya is planning to overhaul the Higher Education Loans Board – the agency that disburses loans to students on behalf of the government – and convert it into a funding corporation.
AFRICA BRIEFS
FRANCE-MOROCCO
French engineering school to offer joint degrees
The Casablanca campus of École d’Ingénieurs en Génie des Systèmes Industriels has become the first French engineering school accredited to award joint French-Moroccan engineering degrees to its students.
FRANCE-KENYA
Prestigious French institute opens office in Nairobi
Sciences Po, France’s prestigious Paris Institute of Political Studies, will open its first African office in Nairobi, Kenya, as part of its internationalisation strategy, choosing an English-language over a francophone country.
NEWS – Our correspondents worldwide report
GLOBAL
A new ranking – Countries ready for wave of automation
Yojana Sharma
South Korea, Singapore, Japan, Germany and Canada are the countries most prepared for the coming wave of automation driven by robotics, artificial intelligence and other technologies, according to a new ranking by the Economist Intelligence Unit.
AUSTRALIA
Elite university degree no guarantee of higher salary
Geoff Maslen
The world’s top universities attract more students – and reject more student applications – than their lesser counterparts in almost every country across the globe. But Australian evidence suggests the pay-off is not as great as the students who gain access expect.
EUROPE
Erasmus+ opens to world, offers post-Brexit UK access
Karen MacGregor
A model for the post-Brexit participation of the United Kingdom in European higher education is offered in the European Commission’s new proposal for the Erasmus+ initiative, with its surprise opening to the world. The proposal also doubles the budget for the 2021-27 Erasmus+ and trebles learning and mobility opportunities to 12 million people.
MALAYSIA
Post-election hope for HE autonomy, academic freedom
Anil Netto
The unexpected, stunning defeat in May elections of Malaysia’s ruling Barisan Nasional coalition, which had been in power for more than six decades, has given academics fresh hope for greater university autonomy and academic freedom.
CHINA
Fewer Chinese to stay abroad after graduation – Survey
Amber Ziye Wang
The number of Chinese students seeking to settle overseas after graduating from universities abroad is dropping, amid stricter immigration policies in many countries and continued strong growth fuelling job opportunities in China, says a survey released as the United States reportedly considers limiting the length of visas for certain categories of Chinese students.
GLOBAL
Winners and losers in THE reputation rankings 2018
Universities in the United Kingdom, Australia and Japan lost some ground in the Top 100 of the Times Higher Education World Reputation Rankings 2018, published last week. America and Singapore made gains and India clinched a place for the first time since 2011.
UNITED KINGDOM
First signs of a decline in European Union academics
Karen MacGregor
The proportion of academics at British universities who are from other European Union countries continued to rise after the 2016 Brexit vote and is now 17% across all institutions and 24% in the top Russell Group universities. But growth in EU academics is tailing off and there has been a drop in EU academics under 34 years.
TAIWAN
Top university divided as second education minister quits
Mimi Leung
Taiwan’s newly-appointed Minister of Education Wu Maw-Kuen has resigned after serving in the post for just over a month. His exit has left smouldering a politicised controversy over leadership of the top National Taiwan University, which sparked protests in May.
DENMARK
Expert group proposes higher student loans, lower grants
Jan Petter Myklebust
The advisory Danish Economic Council has proposed that a greater proportion of student financing be allocated as a loan rather than a grant. The council – popularly called DØRS or the ‘wise men’ – suggested in an economic outlook that this change be at the masters level.
INDIA
Bid to boost tertiary enrolment through online courses
Shuriah Niazi
Universities and other tertiary institutions in India will be able to offer undergraduate, postgraduate and diploma programmes online as part of the government’s efforts to improve enrolment in higher education. The aims are to help India improve its low gross enrolment ratio and tackle problems with higher education access in several parts of the country.
WORLD BLOG
GLOBAL
HE leaders need more training in internationalisation
Hans de Wit
Internationalisation of higher education has moved from the margins to the centre over recent decades and those driving it include specialists and higher education leaders. The latter require more training to be able to drive internationalisation’s continuing expansion.
COMMENTARY
GLOBAL
Internationalisation – New voices, ideas and approaches
Douglas Proctor and Laura E Rumbley
We need fresh perspectives to guide us to the next frontier of our understanding of, and engagement with, internationalisation of higher education in all its complexity.
INDIA
Higher education blown by light winds of change
Anand Kulkarni
Several new proposals for Indian higher education promise incremental change to the system by giving institutions greater freedom to innovate – but challenges remain with regard to raising the quality of education across the board.
UNITED KINGDOM
Unconditional offers are bad for higher education
Ryan Hinchey
Universities in the United Kingdom are increasingly making students unconditional offers, with many believing that doing so makes the UK system comparable to the United States. However, there are huge differences and the offers don’t do UK students any favours.
UNITED KINGDOM
Business schools under attack, must fight back
Martin Friesl
Business schools need to be similar enough in order to be recognised as leading institutions while at the same time establishing highly focused and distinctive offerings, if they are to survive in an increasingly competitive environment.
FEATURES
UNITED STATES
Nepal student’s American dream shattered – then rescued
Eric Hoover, The Chronicle of Higher Education
Growing up, Rupesh Koirala imagines a place he has never seen. Far beyond the mountains, across a wide ocean, lies the country where many great colleges are said to stand. How he will ever afford to get a degree in the United States, he does not know. Still, he believes.
