World Round-up
A United States federal appeals court judge blocked the reinstatement of a law backed by Governor of Florida Ron DeSantis (Republican) that would restrict the incorporation of critical race theory in public schools, leaving in place a lower court’s injunction against the measure, writes Kaelan Deese for the Washington Examiner.
The South Korean academic year kicked off at the start of March, with students flocking to university campuses across the country in their thousands to resume their studies or begin their higher education journey. But the further you head from Seoul, the fewer students you are likely to see, reports Korea JoongAng Daily.
More than 1,000 scientists and postgraduate students were barred from working in the United Kingdom last year on national security grounds, amid a major government crackdown on research collaborations with China, reports Hannah Devlin for The Guardian.
To celebrate International Women's Day, the All-Pakistan Women Universities Consortium organised the first All Pakistan Women Universities Conference on Women and Leadership with the support of the Higher Education Commission and British Council, writes Afshan S Khan for The News.
Zimbabwe’s government has said academics at higher and tertiary institutions should transform research projects into goods and services that will help generate revenues and improve workers’ salaries, reports The Herald.
One in five students at Russell Group universities are considering dropping out because of the cost-of-living crisis, and a quarter are regularly going without food and other essentials, writes Miranda Bryant for The Observer.
Australian universities, especially in Victoria, have identified a massive growth opportunity from bolstered ties with India, and a pledge by the developing country’s government to boost educational attainment of its growing cohort of young people, writes Gus McCubbing for the Australian Financial Review.
A dwindling number of Chinese students – known in Chinese as lushing – remain in Taiwan after the Chinese government announced a ban in 2020 on new degree applicants to Taiwanese universities. Three years later, the last cohort of bachelor degree students from China is about to graduate, writes Jordyn Haime for Al Jazeera.
The boss of New Zealand’s mega polytech has told all staff – including academics – they are “public servants” and must remain politically neutral ahead of this year’s general election, writes Lee Kenny for Stuff.
Several Zimbabwe and Lesotho lecturers on exemption permits that allow them to live and work in South Africa have been told their services are no longer required by the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET), writes Ciaran Ryan for Money Web. They head to court this week to have their dismissals set aside as unlawful.
Academic staff at multiple universities in Australia have spoken out about the outsourcing of courses to for-profit providers, saying it has led to “distressing” workloads, poor quality standards and aggressive marketing, write Caitlin Cassidy and Ben Smee for The Guardian Australia.
With student mental health remaining a top concern for US colleges and universities, institutions are looking for innovative ways to provide students with the care they need. Some have removed caps on how many counselling sessions students can attend; others have enlisted faculty to aid in the battle, writes Johanna Alonso for Inside Higher Ed.
Amid scrutiny about her claims to Indigenous ancestry, the president of Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador apologised on Monday 13 March for hurt she may have caused by invoking Mi'kmaq heritage, reports The Canadian Press.
The convicted National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) thief Sibongile Mani has been elected as treasurer of the Walter Sisulu University’s (WSU) Eastern Cape convocation committee, but the institution said the results of the elections would be announced later this week after “proper vetting of candidates’ eligibility”, writes Sibuliso Duba for IOL.
His medical studies in Syria keep Mohammed Shasho busy enough, but whenever he can he also pores over German vocabulary and grammar points in hopes of a move to Europe, reports AFP.
Women University Swabi (WUS) Vice-Chancellor Professor Shahana Urooj Kazmi was ‘forced’ to relinquish her post after she failed to do so voluntarily on 5 March when her three-year crisis-ridden stint at the helm of the university ended, sources in the university told Dawn.
The principal secretary in the State Department for Higher Education and Research, Dr Beatrice Muganda Inyangala, has said the Kenyan government is yet to make any decision on increasing tuition fees in public universities, reports Kenya News Agency.
Since the Abraham Accords were signed two-and-a-half years ago, some half a million Israelis have visited the United Arab Emirates for diplomacy, business or to sample the Gulf state’s high-end, luxurious tourism.
The geology of Brazil’s volcanic Trindade Island has fascinated scientists for years, but the discovery of rocks made from plastic debris in this remote turtle refuge is sparking alarm, writes Sergio Queiroz for Reuters.
Makerere University vice-chancellor Barnabas Nawangwe has announced plans to reduce the university’s intake of undergraduate students by 5,000, writes Damali Mukhaye for Monitor.
Over 3,000 law students who graduated from at least six universities seven years ago are yet to be admitted to the Kenya School of Law (KSL), writes Titus Ominde for Nairobi News.
A motion of no confidence is expected to be tabled against Stellenbosch University Rector and Vice-Chancellor Professor Wim de Villiers after the SA Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) released its findings about complaints students at the university were being prevented from communicating in Afrikaans, writes Marvin Charles for News24.
Librarians at the Australian Catholic University have been ordered to remove the public display of rainbow flags across campuses, sparking backlash from staff who say the move is “a direct affront to the common good”, write Lucy Carroll and Christopher Harris for The Sydney Morning Herald.
The University of Oxford in the United Kingdom has announced a new policy that bans “intimate or close personal relationships” between students and staff, writes Robert Folker for the Oxford Mail.
The Ethiopian Aviation Academy, the largest and oldest aviation academy in the region, said it has been upgraded to an aviation university, launching degree programmes such as a BSc degree in aeronautical engineering, BSc degree in aircraft maintenance engineering, BSc degree in aviation management, BA degree in tourism and hospitality management and MBA in aviation management, reports New Business Ethiopia.
Seven cities and provinces will be part of the South Korean Education Ministry’s pilot project delegating central government authority over universities to local government offices, write Lee Sung-Eun and Choi Min-Ji for Korea JoongAng Daily.
For 23 academic years, Dutch higher education institutions have counted more female than male students, Statistics Netherlands (CBS) reported on Wednesday 8 March – International Women’s Day. Despite this, the Netherlands is still struggling to close its gender wage gap, and Dutch businesses still have more men than women in leadership positions, reports NLTimes.
In a bid to save the historical heritage of the quake-hit provinces of Türkiye, experts and volunteer students are carrying out strenuous efforts to recover historical artefacts that got trapped under the rubble during the devastating quakes last month, reports Hurriyet Daily News.
The number of college applications in Ireland for nursing and medicine courses has declined this year as COVID-era interest in health-related courses continues to wane, writes Carl O’Brien for The Irish Times. By contrast, areas where there are plenty of job growth – such as technology, law, business and engineering – have grown in popularity this year.
A prestigious London university has become the first in the country to use a “student snitch form” to encourage students to report striking staff, while threatening to dock full pay for 39 days if those named fail to reschedule missed teaching, writes Anna Fazackerley for The Guardian.
Academics are calling for students to be compensated for compulsory internships to stem high dropout rates amid a cost-of-living crisis in Australia, writes Abraham Silva for Samachar Central. Ruby Partland, a masters student in social work at RMIT, is required to complete 1,000 hours of unpaid internships to complete her degree – equating to around six months of full-time work. She said in the current economic climate, the situation was almost impossible.
Thousands of international students in Australia are bracing for the dual threat of wage theft and dodgy housing schemes as the federal government withdraws pandemic-era laws that allow them to work unlimited hours and authorities require onshore study, write Angus Dalton, Billie Eder, Millie Muroi, Anthony Segaert and Angus Thomson for The Sydney Morning Herald.
Makerere University Academic Staff Association Chairperson Dr Edson Kakuru has condemned a controversial university resolution that requires all assistant lecturers on permanent contracts to have a minimum of a doctorate of philosophy (PhD) qualification by 2027, writes Moses Jimmy Olara for Monitor.
Use of taxpayers’ money to part-fund MBA courses for top executives earning six-figure salaries is widespread with more than half a dozen universities offering the option on their website, writes David Cohen for the Independent.
When Claire Pontefract found out she couldn't stay in her apartment for the upcoming school year, hunting for a place to live consumed her days. The second-year Dalhousie University student said she spent hours a day scanning websites like Kijiji and Facebook Marketplace, searching for a safe, stable, and affordable home for herself and her roommates, writes Nicola Seguin for CBC News.
Private universities expect to reap from a policy shift by the government to drop the current funding formula where all students who score C+ and above get state sponsorship to universities, irrespective of the income of their families, writes John Mutua for Business Daily.
Ireland’s Minister for Further and Higher Education Minister Simon Harris has received government approval for a major student accommodation project at Dublin City University, writes Mícheál Lehane for RTE.
The head of the universities sector said Britain should send more students to study in China in a bid to reduce geopolitical tensions between the two countries, writes Poppy Wood for iNews.
The Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KADIN) is cooperating with more than a dozen local universities to help close the gap between employers’ demands and graduates’ skills by expanding vocational education, writes Aditya Hadi for The Jakarta Post.
Nicaragua on Tuesday 7 March shuttered two universities with ties to the Catholic Church just a day after stripping 18 employer unions of their legal status in an ongoing clampdown on dissent, reports AFP.
There has been a documented rise in staff and students in French-speaking higher education between 2005 and 2021, but instead of following the same trajectory, a new report has shown that rising student numbers have massively surpassed the increase in university staff, writes Lukas Taylor for The Brussels Times.
The South African parliament’s portfolio committee on higher education, science and innovation on Tuesday 7 March lambasted universities for suspending protesting students and for the hardline approach adopted in dealing with demonstrations on campuses, writes Phumla Mkize for Sunday World.
Afghan universities have begun reopening after a winter break, but the new term is another painful reminder to young women of how their world is shrinking, writes Barbara Plett Usher for BBC News.
Australian universities have dramatically increased their use of third-party, for-profit companies to deliver courses, writes Anne Davies for The Guardian Australia.
Several agreements will be signed with major universities in Saudi Arabia to support and promote yoga over the next few months, according to Saudi Yoga Committee President Nouf Al-Marwaai, writes Saleh Fareed for Arab News.
The government of Bangladesh is considering the introduction of a central admission test for both public and private universities from next year in order to ease the enrolment process for new students as well as the financial burden on their parents, writes Mamun Abdullah for Dhaka Tribune.
Six fossil fuel companies funnelled more than US$700 million in research funding to 27 universities in the United States from 2010 to 2020, according to a new study, writes Amy Westervelt for The Guardian.
For decades, research showed that earning a degree is almost always worthwhile. However, some experts in the United States say the value of a bachelor degree is now fading as college costs remain high and a shortage of workers increases opportunities in the labour force – with or without a diploma, writes Jessica Dickler for CNBC News.
Israeli leaders boast about the country’s great scientific research and achievements, but we are largely living on the glory of what was done decades ago – because while the state of science here is ‘good’, its excellence and investment in it are eroding. This is the verdict of the 185-page, Hebrew-language report on the State of Science in Israel from the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities submitted to President Isaac Herzog, covering the years 2018-22. The report is prepared every three years, writes Judy Siegel-Itzkovich for The Jerusalem Post.
Universities are calling for government-imposed controls on staff and salaries to be lifted on foot of research indicating that the sector in Ireland faces some of the greatest restrictions anywhere in Europe, writes Carl O’Brien for The Irish Times.
Malaysia’s Ministry of Higher Education has given its assurance that amendments to the Universities and University Colleges Act 1971 (Auku) will be made to address its existing weaknesses, the Dewan Rakyat was told this week, reports The Borneo Post.
Students at Iran’s University of Tehran have held a rally against closures of dormitories and classes, which will now be held online until April, reports Iran International. Protests on Monday afternoon saw male and female students across the campus chanting “in-person education is our absolute right”, in addition to calling on Mohammad Moghimi, the dean of the university, to resign.
Zimbabwe’s Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development Minister Amon Murwira has been summoned to appear before the country’s parliament over the poor working conditions of university workers including lecturers, reports Bulawayo24.com.
Universities have been reprimanded over unfair treatment of students accused of academic misconduct in a report by the higher education ombudsman for England and Wales, writes Sally Weale for The Guardian. The Office of the Independent Adjudicator (OIA) said changes to assessments, accelerated by the COVID pandemic when university examinations moved online, had led to uncertainty among students about what is and is not allowed.
The South African parliament has expressed concern over the threats made to vice-chancellors and personnel as well as related safety and security at institution of higher learning. Higher Education Portfolio Committee Chairperson Nompendulo Mkhatshwa said they noted that at every institution they visited they learned about groups “demanding from the institution’s resources”, writes Mayibongwe Maqhina for Cape Times.
Universities are encouraging students to attend their lectures in-person in an attempt to avoid a repeat of last year’s often-deserted lecture theatres, writes John Gerritsen for RNZ.
For Zoey Zhang, a student from China who is heading to a top Australian university, finding accommodation in the country has been tough – so much so that she has even considered sleeping “rough on the streets”, reports Reuters.
An expelled white student is suing Howard University, a historically black school, for US$2 million over what he claims is racial discrimination, citing “pain, suffering, emotional anguish and damage to his reputation”, writes Stephen Neukam for The Hill.
The United Kingdom’s top universities are split over how to respond to ChatGPT, with Oxford and Cambridge among those banning the technology over plagiarism fears, while others have opted to embrace it, writes Poppy Wood for iNews.
The doubling of university fees for some arts degrees in Australia has unfairly burdened women and Indigenous students most likely to study in these areas, according to a high-powered panel investigating whether HECS (Higher Education Contribution Scheme) costs should be reduced to lower student debt, writes Paul Sakkal for The Sydney Morning Herald.
Switzerland’s prestigious federal institutes of technology in Zurich and Lausanne are reportedly examining whether to impose restrictions on foreign student admissions, reports Swissinfo.ch.
The COVID-19 pandemic has not only pushed university students online, but it could also be changing teaching methods for the better, writes Tetsuhiro Toyoshima for The Asahi Shimbun.
Smoking will soon be banned across all university and college campuses in Taiwan based on a recent amendment to the Tobacco Hazards Prevention Act, according to the Ministry of Education, write Chen Chih-chung and Ko Lin for CNA.
Malaysia’s Higher Education Ministry is looking at ways to lessen the burden of students, including by introducing flexible courses and shortening the study period for certain programmes at public universities, writes Yee Xiang Yun for The Star.
Barely 24% of Argentines have managed to complete education at tertiary level, the most recent report of the Centro de Estudios de la Educación Argentina (CEA) of the University of Belgrano has revealed, reports Buenos Aires Times.
Pushing up rates at which students from poor and disadvantaged backgrounds attend university and making sure they stay to complete their degree will be the focus of a federal review of higher education in Australia, writes Julie Hare for the Financial Review.
Hundreds of students across Florida walked out on Thursday 23 February in protest against Governor Ron DeSantis and his policies concerning higher education, writes Kiara Alfonseca for ABC News.
The Bureau of Ghana Languages (BGL) has advised Ghana Education Service to include an Indigenous language as an entry requirement into tertiary education, reports MyJoyOnline.com. This, according to the bureau, will rekindle the desire for the study of Ghanaian languages.
Amid the uproar over the National Student Financial Aid Scheme’s (NSFAS’s) decision to cap accommodation allowances for students, Higher Education Minister Dr Blade Nzimande pointed to alleged price gouging from accommodation providers as reasoning for the allowance caps, writes Alinaswe Lusengo for the Daily Maverick.
Relationships between staff and students should be documented or banned, England's universities regulator has proposed, writes Hazel Shearing for BBC News.
Australian universities could soon establish offshore campuses in India under a new groundbreaking agreement announced by the education minister, writes Caitlin Cassidy for The Guardian Australia.
Traditional universities have lost out to newly created technological universities in overall CAO (Central Applications Office) applications this year, according to latest data shared in the Irish higher education sector, writes Carl O’Brien for The Irish Times.
A politically charged adjective popped up repeatedly in the evolving plans for a new Advanced Placement (AP) course on African American studies in the United States. It was “systemic”, writes Nick Anderson for The Washington Post.
Iran’s Sharq Daily on Sunday 19 February reported that the Ministry of Education had instructed universities to refuse the entry of Afghan migrant students holding refugee certificates, writes Nizamuddin Rezahi for Khaama Press.
Thailand’s government has passed a new law that forbids schools, colleges and universities from transferring or dismissing pregnant students, in an effort to protect the students’ rights, reports Firstpost.
ANKA News Agency reported on Monday 20 February that Turkish police broke up a group of students in Istanbul protesting a recent decision by the government to shift to online learning at universities in order to free up dormitories for victims of the massive earthquakes that shook the country on 6 February, reports Turkish Minute.
Desperate for funds to cover their spiralling electricity bills, national universities in Japan have sold off properties and shut down facilities that are needed for education and research, write Hajime Ueno, Chika Yamamoto and Hideki Motoyama for The Asahi Shimbun.
The Netherlands’ Education Minister Robbert Dijkgraaf has said he is “shocked” at the lack of financial transparency which surrounds the funding of professorships at Dutch universities, reports DutchNews.nl.
The job market was better for Singapore’s fresh university graduates in 2022: more of them secured full-time jobs and commanded higher pay in 2022 compared with the previous year, as the economy continued to grow and recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, writes Amelia Teng for The Straits Times.
Malaysia’s parliament has been told that any private higher education institutions (IPTS) found offering programmes not accredited by the Malaysian Qualifications Agency (MQA) risk being hit with a fine not more than MYR100,000 (US$22,500), a jail sentence not exceeding two years or both, wrote Rahimy Rahim, Tarrence Tan and Martin Carvalho for The Star.
Students at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom have voted to support a transition to a solely vegan menu across its catering services, write Nadeem Badshah and agency for The Guardian.
Officials at Vanderbilt University in the United States are apologising to students outraged that the university used ChatGPT to craft a consoling email after the mass shooting at Michigan State University, writes Will McDuffie for ABC News.
Almost all of Estonia’s political parties have pledged free initial higher education in the Estonian language, to all, with only Parempoolsed, contesting its first ever election, calling for part tuition fees. Most of the parties also presented plans for reforming the system of student grants and loans, writes Ode Maria Punamäe for ERR News.
Florida’s public colleges and universities would be barred from basing hiring, promotion and admissions decisions on a person’s statements and actions regarding race or political ideologies under newly filed bills in the state House and Senate, writes Divya Kumar for Tampa Bay Times.
Liberia’s Minister of Education D Ansu Sonii has halted a recent policy pronouncement from the National Commission on Higher Education (NCHE) which mandates all presidents and vice-presidents of all tertiary institutions in the country to be holders of terminal degrees, writes William Q Harmon for Daily Observer.
Zimbabwe’s Higher Education Minister Amon Murwira has laid into university professors for failing to write relevant books and literature in order to realign curricula to proffer solutions to national challenges, writes James Muonwa for New Zimbabwe.
The Universities Fund in Kenya has called for a high-level meeting with vice-chancellors in Mombasa next week over the financial crisis in public universities, writes Jemimah Mueni for Capital FM News.
The Australian government has backed measures to prevent foreign interference on university campuses, but stopped short of cracking down further on controversial Confucius Institutes, writes Helen Packer for The PIE News.
A government panel of experts in Japan proposed on Thursday 16 February that universities in Tokyo’s densely populated 23 wards be allowed to increase their enrolment capacities as a temporary measure, reports JIJI.
Despite requiring students to indicate their ethnic group, the University of Namibia (UNAM) says this criterion is not considered in their selection process, which is based on equal regional representation, writes Shelleygan Petersen for The Namibian.
Universities are building bridges between Brazil and Palestine with the establishment of an online course from 9 March to 1 June involving professors from both countries. The course is being organised by Brazil’s University of São Paulo, the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro and the University of Brasilia in partnership with Palestine’s Birzeit University and Al-Quds University, writes Eman Abusidu for Middle East Monitor.
While student debt in South Africa remains stubbornly high with no solution to the crisis in sight, thousands of higher education students are looking to digital crowdfunding platforms to raise funds to help alleviate their debt, writes Michelle Banda and Alinaswe Lusengo for Daily Maverick.
The FBI has conducted two searches within the last month at the University of Delaware to check if United States President Joe Biden donated papers that could have been classified, writes Max Matza for BBC News. Donald Trump faces a criminal inquiry over his handling of classified files.
A notorious Russian-based hacker group has dumped more than 6GB of internal files from Munster Technological University in the south of Ireland on the internet – they were stolen in a cyberattack around a fortnight ago. The files contain vast amounts of staff and student information.
Konstantin Mogilevsky, deputy head of the Ministry of Education and Science of Russia, announced plans to inaugurate a branch of the Russian National Research Nuclear University (MEPhI) in Egypt, writes Omnia Ahmed for See.
South African universities face being saddled with huge student debt as a new funding cap by the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) threatens to exclude students from finding accommodation, writes Bulelwa Payi for IOL.
Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has said universities should allow their students to freely express views or criticisms, even of the prime minister or the government, writes Hana Naz Harun for New Straits Times.
A gunman opened fire on the night of Monday 13 February at Michigan State University in the United States, killing three people and wounding five more, before fatally shooting himself kilometres away after an hours-long manhunt that forced frightened students to hide in the dark, write Joey Cappelletti and Ken Kusmer for Associated Press.
Jennifer Drummond opened the Sexual Assault Resource Centre (SARC) at Concordia University in 2013, the Montreal university’s one-stop shop for victims of sexual violence. She says she’s had to rely on a very small team of only five employees and volunteers to operate. Now, with Quebec planning to spend CA$54 million (US$40 million) over five years to prevent and counter sexual violence in higher education establishments, she says she hopes the centre will be able to help more people, writes Erika Morris for CBC News.
Student debt has been a continuing problem for South Africa’s economy and higher education sector owing to the limited funding provided by the Department of Higher Education and Training. It is simply not enough to fund all students who are enrolled in tertiary education institutions, write Michelle Banda and Alinaswe Lusengo for Daily Maverick.
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