Afghanistan
Northern City Opens First Private University
The first private university in Mazar-e Sharif, the capital of Balkh Province, opened its doors on April 27, Mazar-e Sharif-based Arzu TV reported. Mawlana Jalaluddin Mohammad Balkhi University, named after the famous 13th-century Muslim mystic and poet, opened with two faculties of law and politics (combined), as well as a journalism faculty. Balkhi University is the third private institution of higher learning in Afghanistan. Jalaluddin Balkhi, who was born in Balkh, is better known around the world as Rumi, for “Rum,” or Anatolia, where he lived most of his life and where he died.
– RFE/RL [1]
April 30, 2007
Australia
New US-Style Degrees Open to Applicants with Limited Qualifications
The Australian newspaper reports that Melbourne University [2], the country’s second oldest, has softened entry requirements for its “radical” new US-style degrees (see April issue [3] of WENR) by offering undergraduate places to non-school leavers and technical and further education (TAFE) students, in a bid to broaden the appeal of the university’s new degree structure.
Under the new entry arrangements, 100 extra places would be created for non-school leavers across the institution’s six new undergraduate programs – arts, biomedicine, commerce, environments, music and science – for those who pass new aptitude and English language tests. The move follows recent comments by Melbourne University officials suggesting that the campus was expecting an initial lukewarm reaction from students and parents to its new teaching style.
Under the syllabus changes, almost 100 undergraduate degrees will be replaced with six broad three-year programs that would give entry to professional graduate degree programs at a series of new graduate schools – starting with law, nursing and architecture. The thinking behind the move is that students are asked to specialize too early in the Australian system, often well before they even get to university, and therefore make poorly informed decisions. Students with three years of broadly focused, yet streamed, undergraduate education behind them will be clearer about the professional path they want to choose, and can do so by entering Melbourne’s new professionally oriented graduate schools. No other institution in Australia has yet hinted it might follow Melbourne’s lead.
– The Australian [4]
April 16, 2007
International Tertiary Enrollments Up 5.2% in 2006, Chinese Account for 1 in 4
The number of international students enrolled at Australian institutions of higher education saw a year-on-year increase of 5.2% in 2006. New enrollments were up 4.9%, suggesting continued overall growth in the near future. The enrollment numbers were boosted by strong growth from India (16.3% in new enrollments), while new enrollments from China were relatively flat at 2.5% despite overall growth in enrollments of just under 15%. Other top Asian markets such as Malaysia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand and Bangladesh all showed declines. One quarter of all international students enrolled in the Australian tertiary sector are from China (46,075), and just over half are from China, India and Malaysia combined.
– Australian Education International [5]
April 2007
China
35,000 Take Chinese “TOEFL”
The Chinese equivalent of the TOFEL, the Chinese Proficiency Test (HSK), was held in more than 40 cities across China on April 21 and 22. A total of 35,000 foreigners took the exam, which was an increase of 11 percent from the previous year, and a new record.
– People’s Daily [6]
April 19, 2007
Regulations Governing Sino-Foreign Degree Programs Tightened
In a bid to assure certain academic standards, the Chinese government announced in April that it will tighten supervision of education programs jointly operated by Chinese and foreign colleges. The Ministry of Education [7] released a statement on its website stating that a recent investigation discovered a series of irregular operations by jointly operated educational institutions, including false advertising, false promises of study abroad opportunities, and failure to award diplomas upon completion of studies. The ministry said it would not approve new Sino-foreign joint programs on higher occupational education until 2009. Applications for new joint programs on postgraduate education will be very carefully scrutinized. It has also asked provincial education departments to carry out thorough investigations of current joint programs and to clean up irregular operations as soon as possible.
– Xinhua News Agency [8]
April 19, 2007
Fiji
Australian University Closes Fiji Operations
On March 1, 2007 Australia’s Central Queensland University [9] (CQU) closed its campus in Fiji after operating there for nine years. The decision was attributed to declining international student enrollments brought on by the country’s unstable political climate. An estimated 350 students who are currently enrolled will have to make alternative plans to complete their studies elsewhere. The CQU campus has reportedly been running at a financial loss for some time, but has been widely recognized as a major contributor to Fiji’s education sector through its offerings of practical, relevant and internationally recognized higher education and training.
– The Observatory on Borderless Higher Education [10]
March 2007
India
UK-India Higher Education Research Links Strengthened
Academics and researchers across India and the UK will soon have the chance to bid for funding in the second round of collaborative projects aimed at transforming links between the two countries. The UK-India Education and Research Initiative (Ukieri [11]), a multimillion-pound five-year program launched last year, is designed to ensure that India and the UK become partners of choice. Bids are currently being accepted for 25 awards for research and ten awards for program delivery. One priority is building research links between centers of excellence, another is encouraging more doctoral and postdoctoral partnerships.
Both sides have to show they will contribute, and both sides must benefit. There were initial suspicions in India that Ukieri was another means of marketing the UK as a postgraduate destination, but these fears have since been allayed. India’s University Grants Commission [12] (UGC) has identified institutions and departments with “potential for excellence”, and UGC chairman Sukhadeo Thorat said links with the UK could help their progress. He speculated that there could eventually be joint appointments, with researchers being able to work in both countries.
– The Times Higher Education Supplement [13]
April 27, 2007
Australian Universities Forging Opportunities in India
Australian universities are opening campuses and announcing bold plans to create a presence in the massive Indian higher education market. The Australian newspaper reports that Macquarie University [14] is planning to open a network of campuses in India, and is currently awaiting government approval to open its first campus, probably in Delhi, in partnership with the Indian family company the Somani Group. Teaching could start as early as 2009. Meanwhile, Monash University [15]‘s Research Academy joint venture with the elite Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay [16], expects its first PhD students in July. And in April, the University of Melbourne [2] opened an office in Bangalore to show how serious it is about India.
The federal government is helping out too. In April it announced winners in the A$4 million first round of the $20 million Australia-India Strategic Research Fund, Australia’s biggest bilateral science fund. Prime Minister John Howard formally agreed to set up the fund last March when he led a 40-strong delegation to India.
Many more universities may enter the Indian market in the near future if a contentious policy to open its higher education market to foreign universities is adopted by the Indian legislature. The new legislation would allow foreign universities to operate a campus independently, without the need for an Indian partner. It is understood that about 60 foreign providers – including institutions from the US and Europe – are waiting to act if the legislation is passed.
– The Australian [17]
April 18, 2007
Japan
US Campus to be First Overseas Institution to Gain University Status
Temple University Japan [18] (TUJ) will become a full-fledged Japanese university in 2009, according to TUJ sources cited in a Yomiuri Shimbun article in April. The change will allow the Pennsylvania-based state university to offer full Japanese university degrees, a step that was made possible in April when a regulation that had obliged Japanese universities to own campus land and buildings was abolished. The move is expected to intensify competition among universities nationwide for a smaller pool of students.
TUJ, which first opened a campus in Japan in 1982, would become the first foreign university designated as a Japanese university. TUJ leases buildings in Tokyo, Osaka and Fukuoka and currently enrolls approximately 2,800 students, of whom 1,700 are Japanese. It conducts classes in English based on curricula from Temple’s main U.S. campus [19]. Under existing rules, TUJ bachelor’s or postgraduate degrees are not recognized as Japanese university degrees, although they are deemed official U.S. university degrees. At present, six foreign universities, including Temple, operate branch schools in Japan.
– Asahi [20]
April 23, 2007
1 Million Foreign Students by 2025
A government committee agreed in April on a plan to accept more foreign students into universities and graduate schools in Japan, and to set a target figure of 1 million such students by 2025. Members of the subcommittee, which is tasked with internationalizing higher education, reached a basic agreement to recommend:
- Introduction of a unified Japanese-language examination for foreign students wishing to go on to higher education in Japan.
- Expansion of the scholarship system to encourage foreign students to choose Japan as a place of study.
- Allowing foreign students to start the academic year in September, the beginning of the academic year in most overseas countries.
- Having more classes held in English.
- Adopting a more flexible credit-transfer system.
– The Yomiuri Shimbun [21]
April 19, 2007
Bill to Instill Patriotism in the Classroom Okayed by Lower House
Japan’s lower house of parliament approved legislation in May that requires schools to teach patriotism as part of a government push to instill national pride. A house panel approved a set of three bills, May 17, after the main education law was revised in December, requiring teachers to encourage patriotism as part of compulsory education for the first time since World War II. The legislation cites “love of country” as a goal of Japanese education, compulsory from elementary through junior high school. The package will be sent to the upper house for further debate, and is expected to be passed into law before the current parliamentary session ends late June.
– The Associated Press [22]
May 18, 2007
Malaysia
University Colleges Renamed Universities
From February 1, 2007 Malaysia’s six university colleges have been renamed as universities:
- Kolej Universiti Kejuruteraan Utara Malaysia (KUKUM) to Universiti Malaysia Perlis [23]
- Kolej Universiti Sains dan Teknologi Malaysia (KUSTEM) to Universiti Malaysia Terengganu [24]
- Kolej Universiti Kejuruteraan dan Teknologi Malaysia (KUKTEM) to Universiti Malaysia Pahang [25]
- Kolej Universiti Teknikal Kebangsaan Malaysia (KUTKM) to Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Malacca [26]
- Kolej Universiti Islam Malaysia in Nilai, Negri Sembilan to Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia [27]
- Kolej Universiti Teknologi Tun Hussein Onn in Batu Pahat to Universiti Teknologi Tun Hussein Onn [28]
The designation university college was originally created to define a college that is of university standing, but enrolls less than 10,000 students and has a limited number of faculties.
– The Star [29] Dec 31, 2006
New Zealand
Higher Education Reforms Launched
The government in New Zealand has embarked on reforms that it hopes will ensure that tertiary education in the country has a longer-term focus, is centered on student success, and delivers for a wider range of groups including industry. Implementation of the reforms began in April with the release of the Tertiary Education Commission [30]’s Investment Guidance [31], which lays out what is expected of universities, polytechnics and other tertiary education providers, particularly over the next three years.
A key feature of the new system is the focus on educational outcomes and how the new system supports that as well as the sustainability of the tertiary education system as a whole. Institutions of higher education will be more accountable for their decisions as relates to understanding the education and training needs of students, business, industry and different community groups, and making sure they respond to those needs appropriately, according to TEC Chief Executive, Janice Shiner.
– News release Tertiary Education Commission [32]
April 18, 2007
Chinese Student Enrollments Beginning to Rebound after Tumultuous 2003
The tertiary education sector in New Zealand saw an immediate and dramatic drop in enrollments from China after its image was seriously damaged in 2003 following a series of violent crimes against Chinese students and two high-profile school closures. Now the industry is seeing a turn around, but it may never enjoy the enrollment peaks of 2002, when 53,340 fee-paying Chinese students were taking classes at New Zealand institutions, according to recent comments from government officials.
Since 2002, kidnapping incidents and other violent crimes involving Chinese students in New Zealand, including one murder, left the tertiary industry’s image in China in free fall. Making matters worse was the closure of two large education providers – Carich and the Modern Age Institute of Learning – in 2003, both of which had large numbers of Chinese students on their books. Finally, after accusations that some Chinese students were involved in drug trafficking, the Chinese government issued well-publicized warnings to parents about entrusting their children to New Zealand institutions. Meanwhile, a director who has filmed Chinese students in New Zealand, Li Tao, recently told media that Chinese perceptions of New Zealand had, at one point, plummeted to the point where it was assumed most female students would get pregnant in New Zealand. However, she said New Zealand’s reputation was gradually improving.
Enrollments to June 2006 were 34,870 – the lowest in any year this decade – but the industry is showing signs of recovery. In the six months from July to December 2006, student visa approvals rose 34 per cent on the same period a year earlier. Since 2003, the New Zealand Government has worked to rebuild the industry. A pastoral care code was revised to protect fees, ensure support and provide an appeals process. Scholarship schemes, such as PhD courses at domestic fee prices, were implemented. Political input had helped mend the relationship, and the Chinese Government now considers the working relationship with New Zealand education providers a “model”.
Chinese education-ministry figures show there are 792,000 Chinese studying overseas. In 2006, 134,000 new students left China for courses in 108 foreign countries – 4,100 of those bound for New Zealand.
– The Dominion Post [33]
May 2, 2007
Otago Takes Top Honors in TEC Rankings
New Zealand’s Tertiary Education Commission [30] released the results of its second Quality Evaluation of the Performance-Based Research Fund [34], which was established more than five years ago to encourage and reward research excellence in New Zealand’s tertiary education sector. The results of the evaluation show that Otago University [35], which was previously ranked fourth, is the top ranking tertiary research institution in New Zealand. Auckland University [36] ranked second followed by Canterbury [37] and Victoria [38] universities.
Expert panels judged academics on their research from 2000 to 2005 and awarded grades from A (world class), B (very good), C (good) and R (inactive). Two new grades were introduced, C (NE) (for new and emerging staff with research deemed to be of sufficient quality), and R (NE) (for new staff who were yet to produce eligible research). The top two universities will share more than half of the NZ$230 million available from the commission-administered Performance-Based Research Fund.
– The Dominion Post [39]
May 4, 2007
Pakistan
Italian University Consortium to Open Engineering School in Karachi
The southern port city of Karachi will be home to an Italian technical university in approximately two years, reports the Associated Press of Pakistan (APP). The university will be set up by a consortium of five Italian universities, which will be led by the prestigious Politecnico Di Torino [40]. While the Karachi campus will not be ready until the end of 2009, graduate classes will be offered from October 2008 at a provisional campus located at the Marine Academy in Karachi [41].
The Italian campus is one of nine that will be set up with foreign partners. According to the APP report, South Korean and French campuses will be located in the same technology park that will house the Italian university in addition to private companies and research centers. Sweden’s Royal Institute of Technology [42] was recently named as another European partner that will help establish a university in Pakistan, and China’s Beijing Institute of Technology [43] as another (see April issue [3] of WENR).
– Associated Press Pakistan [44]
April 24, 2007