13 October 2022  Issue No: 378

African universities have made dramatic progress in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2023 as, for the first time, 97 universities from 17 countries, up from 71 last year, have been rated to be part of the best universities globally, with 10 of them in the top 500.

Gender-based corruption, including sex for grades practices, is widespread in higher education institutions in Rwanda and efforts to end the abuse should include public awareness campaigns and transparent internal mechanisms to deal with cases, according to a report by Transparency International Rwanda, a corruption watchdog.

Several Sudanese universities have experienced the impact of seasonal rains and flash floods due to climate change, according to Professor Awad Elkarim Khalifa, the dean of the Institute of Gum Arabic Research and Desertification Studies at the University of Kordofan in Sudan.

The lack of incentives and the unrealistic demands levied on private higher education institutions in Ethiopia have the potential to derail these providers from contributing to national development and the future of higher education. The existing limitations and restrictions should be tackled.

Nigerian stakeholders in the university sector should look beyond managing disruptions on its academic calendar, as represented by the Academic Staff Union of Universities’ strike, and holistically overhaul the education sector in the interest of nation-building and for the benefit of generations yet unborn.

A 25-year-old student from the University of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa has been channelling her love of science into nearby communities where she is raising awareness about careers for women in science and is providing girls with information about the scope of science qualifications they can pursue.

Beyond their traditional mission of providing higher education through teaching and developing knowledge through scholarly research and scientific investigation, universities are increasingly reaching out to assist societies through various community outreach programmes. But the concept of university social responsibility has been lacking in the Great Lakes region of East Africa, according to a study.

One of the most serious threats facing higher education and the scientific enterprise in South Africa is the rising tide of xenophobia in the halls of academia. At the root of the problem is the lack of understanding of what a university is, and is not, writes the President of the Academy of Science of South Africa, Professor Jonathan Jansen.

With no one candidate winning outright in last Sunday’s presidential election, Brazil and its higher education system – debilitated by threats to academic freedom, disregard for university autonomy, ideological persecution, denial of scientific evidence and serious budget cuts – are standing at a complicated crossroads.

India’s achievements in science and technology are impressive, but they could have been even better if greater attention had been paid to improving the quality of the country’s research and if more public and private sector investment in research and development had been forthcoming.

Leaders from around the world, including the United States, Germany, Canada and France, have expressed alarm over the violent crackdown on students protesting at a leading university in Iran’s capital city of Tehran, with some calling for an immediate end to the repression.