Botswana
The government’s decision to discontinue nonmilitary national service in April has resulted in a shortage of university places. Nearly 20,000 students, including those studying abroad, applied to institutions of education in Botswana this year, overwhelming university admissions. The University of Botswana was able to accommodate more students than it has in the past, but only modestly so, increasing the number of places for first-year medical and engineering courses from only 600 to 700.
The Ministry of Education has promised to find 3,000 additional places overseas for candidates who couldn’t get into the university due to a shortage of space. However, many foreign institutions require more than O-level exams for admission.
Insufficient staff and crowded classrooms are adversely affecting the quality of education at the University of Botswana, officials say. For example, some tutorial classes now have 100 students attending.
The National Youth Council has called on the university to begin holding classes on weekends and to hire part-time instructors.
— The Times Higher Education Supplement
Oct. 20, 2000
Gambia
Students in the Business Studies Department of the Gambia Technical Training Institute went on strike Nov. 21 to protest the administration’s failure to give them access to computers, which was stipulated in their syllabus.
Almost 200 students converged at the school’s assembly hall last month and accused institute officials of not providing them with access to computers. The students said that since they began classes in September, the administration had shown little interest in seeing them successfully pursue their computer courses. . They claimed that the situation was so bad, that many of them don’t even know how to operate a computer.
— The Point
Nov. 22, 2000
Kenya
The Commission of Higher Education has recognized a new private university near Nairobi called Kabarak University. The school plans to offer degree programs encompassing a wide range of disciplines, including theology, business, education, finance, economics, environmental sciences, law and agriculture.
Kabarak University hopes to admit approximately 1,500 students each year and, by 2006, is expected to become Kenya’s largest private university, with more than 6,000 students. The school is the sixth private university in the country to gain recognition from the Commission of Higher Education.
— The Times Higher Education Supplement
Nov. 3, 2000
Education authorities in Nairobi recently defended a controversial degree program offered at state-run universities, claiming they are promoting the country’s educational progress. The officials explained that the “parallel-degree program” is intended to help further the education of qualified students who could not find university places without going abroad.
According to Kenya’s Ministry of Education, the country loses approximately US$19 million each year to foreign universities. It added that if more Kenyan students enroll in local institutions of higher education, the country would likely stem the outflow of foreign exchange and curb the potential for brain drain.
However, due to overcrowding and financial limitations, Kenya’s 13 universities — six of them public — can only absorb approximately 1,200 candidates each. As a result, 17,000 qualified Kenyan students are left unplaced each year; many others end up enrolling at foreign universities.
Students who cannot get into the faculty of their choice often end up taking courses unrelated to their interests. Hence, the government introduced parallel degree programs for students who are unplaced. Students in these programs attend the same classes as regular students, but pay for their education.
On Nov. 16, University of Nairobi students rioted in the streets to protest the new program, claiming it was lowering university standards. During the unrest, regular students physically attacked their parallel-degree program counterparts. The university has been closed indefinitely as a result.
— Panafrican News Agency
Nov. 24, 2000
South Africa
A report published by a government-appointed independent assessor recommends that South Africa’s University of the North be shut down temporarily to restructure. In particular, it calls for the university to develop new policies, weed out disruptive students and fire incompetent staff members.
Other universities that have been similarly investigated during the past two years include: University of Fort Hare, University of Venda, University of Zululand, University of Transkei, University of the North-West and the Medical University of South Africa.
All seven of these universities suffer from debt crisis and other financial woes, declining student enrollments, mismanagement and, in some cases, corruption.
— The Times Higher Education Supplement
Oct. 27, 2000