3 February 2022  Issue No: 345

Higher education in Africa has become a frequently researched topic from 2000 onwards, but the systems in 45 out of 54 countries on the continent have barely been studied and 20 countries lack internal higher education expertise. This is a matter of concern, states a new study.

A lack of funding is the primary reason for a slump in research activities in Nigeria, a recent study has found. According to experts, this explains why, after almost a century of academic knowledge generation in higher education institutions in Nigeria, any scientific breakthrough remains rare.

Students are seeking a paradigm shift from mobility to engagement, more co-creation of learning and learning pathways and a greater focus on climate change, employability and the impact of artificial intelligence, according to new UNESCO research on students’ vision for higher education in 2050.

Moroccan women students from all across the country have decided to break the code of silence to condemn the sexual harassment by their teachers that they have suffered for years. Social networks have made it possible to expose ‘sex for grades’ practices.

A platform that publishes African research immediately and free of charge, with the aim of providing increased regional and international visibility for scientific work, has partnered with like-minded open access African portals, to translate 180 research articles from English to six African languages.

Tackling a third qualification – medicine – as a mature student with children has been a balancing act. You have to juggle responsibilities and manage your time. But if you really want to follow a new career path, you will find a way to get everything done.

Research revealed in the recently published Wellcome Global Monitor suggests that understanding the factors influencing public trust in science and scientists around the world is critical in efforts to ensure public attention to and compliance with scientific recommendations designed to deal with future crises.

Amid ongoing concerns over academic freedom, the Egyptian government has been urged to release masters student Ahmed Samir Santawy, who was imprisoned in 2021 for publishing fake news. The call came from a seminar organised by the Central European University and activist organisation Scholars at Risk.

Collectively and individually, higher education is an essential part of civil society and, against the backdrop of democratic backsliding in many parts of the world and shrinking of the civic space, it has a responsibility to defend, exercise and develop its democratic mission.

A new book which tracks the long and bitter struggle by racial and ethnic minorities for access to America’s higher education institutions shows how, contrary to the national discourse of inclusion, identity politics has always been part and parcel of colleges and universities.