22 September 2022  Issue No: 375

Many high-ranking scholars in Africa are not merely fascinated by the historical colonial domination agenda but are the intellectual and active guardians of ideas and objectives of neocolonialism and coloniality that suppress academic freedom, creativity and innovation in African universities and other tertiary institutions in the continent.

Kenya’s university lecturers are reporting growing cases of burnout due to their increasing workload and low pay, a new survey by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization shows. Poor pay and slow job progression are part of their work-related concerns.

The International Association of Student Affairs and Services is the latest among many international organisations to intensify the call to promote awareness of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, or SDGs, and implement the Education for Sustainable Development principles.

University teachers have launched a serious cry of alarm over the situation in Algerian universities and the dangers that are confronting them. In a book, they present an unremitting appraisal that hits a raw nerve: violence, favouritism, deference and recruitments based on criteria of loyalty and not on competence.

A recent study made some alarming findings on the extent of plagiarism and other forms of unethical academic behaviour at Moroccan tertiary education institutions, but also proposes measures to combat this scourge. These measures include the integration of educational training into the curriculum of Moroccan students and researchers.

With her nanotechnology-based water research, Professor Jane Catherine Ngila wants to enable millions of people on the African continent, including individual households and, in particular, those in rural areas, to access clean drinking water. Ngila’s leading role in advancing scientific research across the continent has recently earned her a global award.

In an ambitious closing plenary of the 24th annual International Education Association of South Africa conference entitled ‘Around the globe in 60 minutes’, leaders from eight member associations of the Network of International Education Associations reflected on how the current global, regional and national geopolitical and economic contexts were impacting on the internationalisation of higher education.

This week sees the most significant political event for education in recent years: the United Nations Transforming Education Summit. Young people have fought hard for the inclusion of climate education and, hopefully, this will be visible in the results of the summit.

Differences between Eastern and Western teaching and learning norms can cause difficulty for Asian students in dealing with the kind of reading expected at Western institutions, but by incorporating higher-order learning strategies into daily practice students can enhance critical reading skills and improve efficiency.

Against the views of their Ukrainian counterpart, international science experts at a recent conference raised doubts about the efficacy of blanket sanctions against Russian science and scientists, and argued the need to preserve all knowledge-producing capacity that helps society to address global challenges.