Regional

Report Reveals Scope of ‘Brain Drain’

A staggering percentage of college-educated workers from poor countries across Africa, Central America and the Caribbean are living in wealthy, industrialized nations, according to a World Bank study released at the end of October.

The findings are based on an extensive analysis of census and other data from the 30 countries in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). These conclusions were published in a book, “International Migration, Remittances and the Brain Drain.” The study found that a quarter to nearly half of college-educated citizens of poor countries like Ghana, Mozambique, Kenya, Uganda and El Salvador live abroad in an OECD country — a share that rises to more than 80 percent for Haiti and Jamaica.

In contrast, less than 5 percent of the skilled citizens of the stronger economies of the developing world, such as India, China, Indonesia and Brazil, live abroad in an OECD country. The book also analyzes the effect of money that migrants from Guatemala, Mexico and the Philippines send home, typically to their families. Known as remittances, these payments help reduce poverty in those countries and are a major source of foreign exchange. However, the broader implications are complex — most experts agree the exodus of skilled workers from poor countries is a symptom of deep economic, social and political problems in their homelands. This exodus can prove particularly crippling in such professions as health care and education.

— New York Times
Oct. 25, 2005

Online Platform to Help Train African Educators

It was announced in November that a US$900,000 grant from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation will support the Teacher Education in Sub-Saharan Africa consortium, which is led by Britain’s Open University and Kenya’s African Virtual University.

The grant will fund development of Open Educational Resources, a digital repository of tools and materials to help train African educators in such basic curriculum areas as literacy, mathematics, science and life and health skills. The portal will offer free course materials and other educational content from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, Chinese Open Resources for Education and other educational institutions. The Web-based initiative is expected to be fully functioning by the end of 2006.

— Inside HigherEd
Nov. 17, 2005

South African Universities Fare Best in Continental ‘Webometrics’ Rankings

A new global university ranking, with league tables available by continent, indicates that nine of Africa’s 10 best universities are in South Africa. The University of Cape Town and Stellenbosch University command the top two spots; the American University in Cairo is the only non-South African institution in the top ranks.

Developed by Internet Lab, a research organization based in Spain, the “Webometrics” rankings are based on university research output available on the Web. This output was measured by the volume of published material on the Web and the visibility and impact of this material, as measured by the “sitations” (site citations) or links they received (inlinks). The nature of the study seems to favor universities operating in more technologically advanced countries — but it does reveal some interesting secondary findings. The unit of analysis is the institutional domain, and the study found that approximately 5 percent of all institutions identified had no Web presence at the time of the analysis. A similar percentage of institutions did not have their own domain name and had their pages hosted on servers with a different domain, sometimes in another country.

The authors of the report say their primary motivation for the study was to motivate researchers worldwide to make available on the Internet more of their published material.

— Internet Lab
October 2005

UK Shifting Development Focus from Primary to University Education

British higher education minister, Bill Rammell, announced in late November the allocation of US$450,000 to improve links between African and British Universities. The money will fund an African unit within the Association of Commonwealth Universities to build partnerships between African universities and the UK for research, teaching and management training. A portion of the funding will also be spent on the start-up costs of establishing the Tabeisa Enterprise Center in Ghana, which will provide vocational and business training for young people.

British development agencies have in the last year begun to shift their education-related efforts from primary education to tertiary education after the findings of Tony Blair’s Commission for Africa report, published earlier in 2005, highlighted the critical role that higher education plays in development (see March/April issue of WENR). For the past 15 years, higher education has been relatively neglected in the developing world by agencies such as the World Bank, and by Western governments. Efforts have instead been concentrated on primary education, with the belief that literacy is crucial to development. As a result, funding for higher education from the World Bank has dropped from 17 percent of education spending between 1985 and 1989 to just 7 percent between 1995 and 1999. Although these new initiatives are small and the amount of money involved is tiny, they appear to represent the beginnings of a change in development policy related to education.

— The Independent
Dec. 15, 2005

Burundi

New Government Guarantees Free Primary Education

After 12 years of civil war, Burundi has elected a new government, and the reconstruction process is gathering momentum. As part of his program, President Pierre Nkurunziza has put into motion his pledge to provide free primary education for all Burundian children.

Mr. Nkurunziza’s pledge took effect in August, and class sizes subsequently swelled when an additional 500,000 children enrolled.

The primary school enrollment ratio for Burundian children now is estimated at 59 percent for boys and 48 percent for girls. The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) plans to help mobilize resources from the international community and support the government in implementing the free-education policy. The British government’s Department for International Development has given US$3.5 million to build more classrooms and pay more teachers. Fast-track training will be available for up to 3,000 unqualified teachers and for 1,000 former teachers returning to teaching.

— UNICEF
Sept. 7, 2005

Kenya

Polytechnics to be Upgraded

The polytechnics of Kenya and Mombasa soon will be elevated to university status to accommodate the growing number of qualified students unable to find a place at Kenya’s five public universities. In addition to existing technical programs, new liberal arts and social science programs are planned.

The government also has announced it will elevate Kimathi Institute of Technology to full university status by the end of the year; enrollment of degree students will soon follow. The plan to turn the three institutions into universities comes at a time when Kenya is in dire need of more higher education institutions (see below).

— The Nation
Oct. 13 & 22, 2005

Study: Free Primary Education Will Result in Need for 40 Extra Universities

Kenya will need 40 new universities in the years to come to meet the demands of students currently benefiting from the policy guaranteeing free primary schooling for all, according to a report from the Commission for Higher Education.

According to the report, there will be 200,000 students qualifying for university admission in 2015, when the first cohort of children from the free primary-school era seek university admission. Free primary education was introduced in 2003; the number of primary school students increased 1.4 million to 7.2 million. Currently, there are six public universities, six fully accredited private universities and 11 others either registered or with letters of interim authority.

The report suggests there should be one university enrolling 5,000 students for every 1 million people.

— The Nation
Oct. 4, 2005

Liberia

Private University Launches Graduate-Level Programs

Privately run Cuttington University in November launched a graduate school comprising four departments: theology, nursing, education and business administration. Cuttington is one of only a handful of private and officially sanctioned tertiary institutions in Liberia. In the public domain, the University of Liberia and the William V.S. Tubman College of Science and Technology (currently closed) offer tertiary opportunities — but cannot come close to meeting demand.

— The Analyst
Nov. 15, 2005

Ministry Issues List of Liberian Institutions

The Ministry of Education has issued a document listing postsecondary institutions of education operating in the country. The National Commission of Higher Education categorized the institutions into seven groupings:

1. Category 1 (institutions chartered by the Legislature and fully accredited): the University of Liberia, Cuttington University and William V.S. Tubman College of Science and Technology (currently closed)
2. Category 2 (chartered by the Legislature, granted a temporary permit of operation while accreditation is pending): The Liberian Baptist Theological Seminary
3. Category 3 (chartered institutions that possess a temporary permit to operate): Don Bosco Polytechnic, United Methodist University and New Life Bible College and Seminary (now closed)
4. Category 4 (chartered institutions that have met some requirements for the issuance of a temporary permit, which is in process of being issued): A.M.E. Zion University College, Monrovia Bible College and Liberian Christian
5. Categories 5-7 (institutions operating under various degrees of government nonrecognition): (5) A.M.E. University; (6) Smythe Institute of Management and Technology, LICOSSES Mobile Teacher Training College, Christian Theological Seminary and Christopolis University of Liberia; (7) Assemblies of God Bible College of Liberia, Liberia Bible Institute, Leigh-Sherman Community College, West Africa School of Mission and Technology.

— The Analyst
May 30, 2005

Nigeria

Comprehensive Evaluation of University Programs Launched

The National Universities Commission (NUC) began in November conducting what it described as a comprehensive accreditation exercise designed to improve the overall quality of academic programs at Nigerian universities. According to the NUC, more than 1,350 programs in 13 academic disciplines at 44 universities will be evaluated by a team of approximately 520 evaluators. Programs that fail will be terminated. It is hoped that the exercise will facilitate the evolution of centers of excellence in the university system and eliminate program duplication.

— This Day
Nov. 14, 2005

Tai Solarin University Accredited

The National Universities Commission announced in late November formal government recognition of Tai Solarin University of Education in Ogun state. The new state university, with its upgrade from college status, is the first specialized university of education and the 76th government-recognized university in the country. With the establishment of the new institution, Ogun will have nine universities, of which six are private, operating within its borders — the highest density in the country. The university comprises six faculties: applied sciences and information technology, geography and environmental studies, humanities, education, vocational and technical studies, agricultural production and management.

— This Day
Nov. 29, 2005

South Africa

Universities a Magnet for International Students

Ten years after the end of apartheid and the international boycott of South African institutions of higher education, the country is establishing itself as a strong player in the competitive international student market, according to the International Education Association of South Africa.

The country already is the No. 1 host country for foreign students in Africa. Of the 770,000 university enrollments in 2004, an estimated 60,000 — 8 percent — were international — a higher proportion than in most European countries. Approximately 60 percent of foreign students were at conventional universities, and the rest were studying through the distance-learning arm of the University of South Africa. Only a few thousand South African students were studying abroad.

South Africa is an affordable destination. An internationally recognized degree from a leading university will cost a foreign student a third less than it would in Britain or other developed countries. Over 70 percent of all international students in 2003 were from South African Development Community countries, with Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia the biggest providers. An additional 6,700 foreign students were from the rest of Africa, and 7,100 from the rest of the world, including 3,400 from Europe and 1,300 from North America.

— The Times Higher Education Supplement
Oct. 7, 2005

Tunisia

UN Joint Venture to Develop Online Academy

Plans for a “virtual university” that will provide African students with Internet-based training were announced in November at the World Summit on the Information Society in Tunisia. The online academy was among a number of initiatives announced at the summit that aim to use information and communication technologies to improve health, education and scientific research in developing countries.

The academy, a joint initiative of Tunisia’s Borj-Cedria Science and Technology Park and the United Nations University (UNU), will focus on the environment, water, renewable energy and biotechnology. It also intends to strengthen links between African scientists and research institutions, including existing centers for Internet-based learning such as the UNU Water Virtual Learning Center, the UNU-affiliated Global Virtual University and the Kenya-based African Virtual University.

— SciDev
Nov. 22, 2005

Zimbabwe

Over 75 Percent of Graduates May Leave Country

A recent survey by the Southern African Migration Project suggests that economic pressures will force the majority of students graduating from the nation’s universities this year to leave the country.

Over 75 percent of the 1,192 students surveyed by the Canadian-based research organization said their families are urging them to leave the country so that they can make money to send home. Runaway inflation is believed to have prompted 50 percent of the country’s doctors and 60 percent of its nurses to leave since 1999.

— Southern African Migration Project
2005