2 November 2023  Issue No: 427

In Africa, attacks on academics and students as well as the destruction of university facilities occurred in Algeria, Burundi, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, Uganda and Zimbabwe, according to the Scholars at Risk report, Free to Think: 2023.

A total of 112 universities in 17 African countries have been ranked in the 20th edition of the Times Higher Education World University Rankings by subject 2024. Across 11 subject areas, the best-ranked institution in Africa is the University of Pretoria for the field of law.

Change leadership involves steering an institution through major disruptions and organisational transformation. Research highlights the need for effective change management and academic collaboration to help universities around the world overcome the challenges of implementing education for sustainable development across the whole institution and curricula.

The Ethiopian Ministry of Education’s recent decision to set a new admission standard for postgraduate students has set in motion unprecedented restriction on access to the postgraduate programmes of many public and private universities. It is not clear what the purpose of the standard is.

The development of academic rankings has reached an inflection point as some of the world’s leading universities – concerned about fundamental flaws and institutional autonomy – begin to speak out and consider action. Do university leaders wish to continue propping up such an arbitrary system?

University of Zimbabwe student union Organising Secretary Gamuchirai Chaburumunda was arrested and thrown into the country’s notorious Chikurubi Maximum Prison among murderers and robbers for staging a demonstration on campus. While the case is pending, the 22-year-old is writing a book about her ordeal.

Academic unions in Nigeria have faulted President Bola Tinubu’s directive to pay lecturers half of the salaries that the government withheld during an Academic Staff Union of Universities strike of eight months last year – on condition that it will not grant a similar waiver to unions in the future.

A major continental project has shown that a strategic approach to university leadership development in Europe is imperative to confront complex challenges – but awareness of its importance varies. The project also helps to build a solid foundation for capacity-building for university leaders at the European level.

Québec’s decision to double fees for out-of-province students at three top English-language universities, in a move aimed at protecting French, has been described as “catastrophic” by the principal of one of the affected institutions, and was widely denounced by politicians and business leaders.

Half-way to the target date for achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, University World News – in partnership with global quality assurance provider ABET – is publishing a series of special reports on how higher education can best equip students with the skills, knowledge and values needed to shape a sustainable future.

As the United Arab Emirates prepares to host COP28, the global summit on climate action and sustainable development, University World News is running a weekly Special Briefing exploring the contribution of Gulf states’ universities to climate action and to achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.