8 October 2020  Issue No: 286

Racheal Njoroge sat inside the chief magistrate’s court in Kampala on 29 September, staring into space. The magistrate had just sentenced a man – Edward Kisuze, a former administrator at Makerere University – who indecently assaulted her in 2018 to two years in prison or to pay a fine of UGX4 million (US$1,080). This wasn’t what the young Kenyan woman had hoped for.

Postgraduate medical students at the University of Zimbabwe, striking over conditions in public hospitals, last week bowed to pressure and made an appeal to the Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education to be allowed back into hospitals, and to be able to continue their studies.

From the COVID-19 ‘infodemic’, dubious practices from peer reviewers to academics and predatory publishers, the South African Journal of Science’s latest edition sets out to detail the measures in place to mitigate against ‘bad, fast science’ and ensure the integrity of critical academic citizenhood.

The learning activities of students in African prisons have been seriously disrupted this year as correctional facilities were forced to adjust to COVID-19.

International institutions seeking to increase and diversify their international student enrolment may do well to look to the United States where factors from affordability to health, security and fractured politics could drive greater numbers of US students to consider full degrees in another country.

The European Commission has announced a revised Digital Education Action Plan with an emphasis on Europe-wide enhancement of connectivity, infrastructure and cooperation and providing access to digital skills for all.

The European Commission has set out its vision for achieving a European Education Area, its flagship initiative, by 2025, with a strong emphasis on improving quality and inclusiveness, encouraging digital skills and sustainable development and enabling students to move easily between education systems.