Regional

Asian Schools Join Forces

Three Asian universities are joining forces to create a new East Asian academic network.

Representatives from Peking University, Seoul National University and the University of Tokyo said their institutions would share resources and faculty members in several undergraduate programs.

The most likely beneficiaries of the new regional alliance are students who study either information technology or the languages and cultures of the countries where any of the partner universities are located. Students in some courses will be permitted to complete their degrees at a partner institution at no extra cost.

— The Chronicle of Higher Education
Nov. 17, 2000

China

The Chinese government is encouraging the country’s universities to forge links with institutions of higher education in Africa. So far, 10 Chinese schools have established relationships with 20 colleges and universities in 16 African countries.

The Chinese Ministry of Education is offering more scholarships to African students who wish to study at the postgraduate level in China. In addition, the government plans to expand its teaching programs in Africa, according to Chinese Vice-Minister of Education Wei Yu.

— The Times Higher Education Supplement
Oct. 20, 2000

China has launched an online registration system for managing higher education certificates in an effort to crack down on diploma mills. The new system will computerize the searching and processing of certificate registration, which previously had been done manually.

There are currently more than 100 education Web sites and online schools in China, but their legitimacy and the quality of education they offer vary considerably. Many of China’s online education providers will use the new regulations to apply for legal status.

Last April, the Ministry of Education’s Science and Technology Department stipulated that any Web site or online school offering elementary and secondary school courses must obtain approval from provincial-level educational agencies and are required to submit applications to national educational organizations. Online schools already operating must resubmit their applications, and unapproved schools must terminate their online activities.

In addition, no organization may use the name “online university” or register to establish a Web site to recruit students and offer courses without the approval of state educational authorities.

— China Online
Nov. 1, 2000

India

A group of Indian-born academics and financiers living in the United States has decided to establish a world-class management school in Hyderabad. The Indian School of Business (ISB) is scheduled to open its doors in July 2001 and will enroll 130 students from all over Asia.

ISB will be affiliated with both the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School and Northwestern University’s Kellogg Graduate School of Management. U.S. faculty members are currently developing the business school’s curriculum, and many of these academics plan to teach there in five-week intervals.

A Kellogg associate dean noted that ISB would focus primarily on e-commerce as well as on emerging markets, such as China and India.

Annual tuition and housing costs for the Indian School of Business is estimated at US$25,000, an astronomical sum considering that other Indian schools charge just a few dollars each year. But officials say their school is competing with foreign MBA programs, not domestic ones, and is competitive with U.S. and European institutions.

— The Chronicle of Higher Education
Nov. 3, 2000

Japan

The Ministry of Education recently announced plans to decentralize the country’s system of higher education by granting universities a large measure of autonomy in financial and curricular affairs. At a meeting in Tokyo last May, the education minister said universities under the new system will enjoy greater flexibility. Institutions will be given the freedom to spend their state subsidies as they see fit and to carry over budget surpluses from one year to the next.

For the first time ever, Japanese universities will be able to set up courses and programs and even establish new departments without seeking approval from the Ministry of Education. They will also be able to hire and fire faculty and staff members without government interference.

Some of the smaller universities, concerned that the government scheme will take away their state funding for research, have announced plans to form a consortium in order to survive under the new system.

— Chronicle of Higher Education
June 23, 2000

Pakistan

In the September/October issue of eWENR we published a list of chartered and legally established universities in the province of Sindh. Following is an updated list of chartered universities and degree-awarding institutions in Pakistan’s other provinces.

Public Sector Universities/Degree-Awarding Institutions

Punjab

Universities

• Allama Iqbal Open University, Islamabad
• International Islamic University, Islamabad
• National University of Science & Technology, Rawalpindi
• Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad
• University of Agriculture, Faisalabad
• University of Arid Agriculture, Rawalpindi
• Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan
• Fatima Jinnah Women’s University, Rawalpindi
• Islamia University, Bahawalpur
• University of the Punjab, Lahore
• University of Engineering & Technology, Lahore
• University of Engineering & Technology, Taxila

Degree-Awarding Institutions

• Government College, Lahore
• Lahore College for Women, Lahore
• National College of Arts, Lahore

Azad Jammu and Kashmir

• University of Azad Jammu & Kashmir, Muzaffarabad

Balochistan

• Balochistan University of Engineering & Technology, Khuzdar
• University of Balochistan, Quetta

Northwestern Frontier Province

• Gomal University, Dera Ismail Khan
• NWFP Agricultural University, Peshawar
• NWFP University of Engineering & Technology, Peshawar
• University of Peshawar, Peshawar

Private Universities/Degree-Awarding Institutions

Punjab

• Lahore University of Management Sciences, Lahore
• Lahore School of Economics, Lahore

Azad Jammu and Kashmir

• Al-Khair University, Azad Jammu & Kashmir, Muzaffarabad

Northwestern Frontier Province

• Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute of Engineering Sciences & Technology, Topi

* For a list of chartered universities in the province of Sindh, please see the September/October issue of eWENR.

— Handbook Colleges of Pakistan 1999, University Grants Commission
Islamabad, Pakistan