2 June 2019  Issue No: 244

South Africa’s Department of Higher Education and Training has begun clamping down on academics publishing in predatory journals, withholding at least ZAR62 million (US$4.2 million) in subsidies during the 2016-17 academic year, with further action on the cards once a study is completed, according to Mahlubi 'Chief' Mabizela, a senior department official.

Amid nationwide concerns over security, Nigeria’s academic community is experiencing 'fear and anxiety' after two recent kidnappings involving university academics in the country, one of which resulted in the abductee’s death.

While the directions set by the new Ethiopian Education Roadmap as regards higher education funding hold promises for the future, translating them into reality requires a hard look not only at how the sector is financed but also how resources allocated are efficiently used by the institutions themselves.

In April, third-year law student Ann Mwangi Mvurya became the first female leader of the University of Nairobi Students' Association after contesting Kenya's second university student elections, made possible by the Universities Amendment Act of 2016. She spoke to University World News about her winning strategy and the changes she hopes to make in her new role.

Higher education is bucking the nationalism trend, but in terms of development policy the focus has been on research. A more balanced approach which supports both teaching and research capacity could produce valuable improvements in key areas like equitable access to quality higher education.

Service-learning is an experiential learning activity based on a community service educational model, mixing theory and practice in the real world. The aim is to create a more meaningful learning experience for students and to improve community engagement.

Universities offer a natural link between local culture and the global world of ideas. They can create campuses that draw together the local community as well as providing a space for global encounters. That is an important contribution in a divided world.

The Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka has requested the University Grants Commission, which oversees universities, to ensure non-discrimination in higher education institutions, in the aftermath of the Easter Sunday attacks on churches and hotels in the country by Islamic fundamentalists, which left more than 257 people dead and at least 500 injured.