Regional
Ireland Works with Four African Nations to Boost Research
The Irish government has launched a project that will bring together all nine universities in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland with universities in four countries in Sub-Saharan Africa: Uganda, Tanzania, Mozambique and Malawi. The Irish-African Partnership for Research Capacity Building [1] (IAPRCB) will work to develop a coordinated approach to research in health, education, gender, and information and communications technologies between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland and the four countries. The main aim is to help both Irish and African universities make an effective contribution to poverty reduction through relevant research in the four areas.
Funding is coming mainly from the Irish government’s development cooperation agency, Irish Aid [2], with some matching funding from Universities Ireland [3], the all-island university network. Presidents and vice-chancellors of universities in the participating countries have taken part in workshops to discuss how the initiative will work in practice. African universities were represented by officials from Makerere University [4], Uganda; the University of Malawi [5]; the University of Dar es Salaam [6], Tanzania; Eduardo Mondlane University [7], Mozambique; and Uganda Martyrs University [8].
The IAPRCB is the first example of universities in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland coming together to collaborate in an ‘off the island’ initiative to improve education in developing countries. The initiative will help Ireland achieve its goal of becoming the sixth country in the world to reach the UN target of 0.7 percent of gross national product spent on development cooperation by 2012.
– Universities Ireland news release [9]
April 8, 2008
University Enrollment Rates Boom in Sub-Saharan Africa, but Still Lag behind Rest of World
The rate of tertiary-level enrollments in Sub-Saharan countries continues to lag far behind all other regions of the world, with only one in 20 young Africans entering formal study after school, according to UNESCO’s Education For All Global Monitoring Report 2008 [10]. However, participation rates are rising and there was substantial growth in student numbers in the six years leading up to 2005: from 2.1 to 3.5 million. Mauritius has the highest gross enrollment ratio in the region at 17 percent, followed by South Africa. Nigeria’s tertiary student numbers nearly doubled to 1.3 million during the six-year period.
In North Africa, where countries are classified under the Arab States region, Egypt dominates with a total tertiary enrollment of nearly 2.6 million students and a gross enrollment ratio of 34 percent, followed by Algeria with 755,000 students and a 20 percent participation ratio. Libya had the highest enrollment ratio, 56 percent or 375,000 students.
Around 138 million students were enrolled in tertiary education worldwide in 2005, the EFA Global Monitoring Report 2008 reveals – some 45 million more than in 1999: “The vast majority of new places in tertiary institutions were created in large developing countries such as Brazil, China, India and Nigeria, where the combined total of tertiary students rose from 47 million in 1999 to 80 million in 2005,” the report states.
Nigeria and South Africa account for more than half of all tertiary students in Sub-Saharan Africa – 57 percent, although both countries lagged behind Mauritius as a measure of gross enrollment ratios: 15 percent in South Africa and 10 percent in Nigeria.
– UNESCO [10]
March 2008
Cameroon
Government Pushes Distance Learning
According to a recent article in the Tribune newspaper, distance education offered by national and overseas institutions of education is an increasingly popular option for Cameroonians looking for tertiary study options. Since 2004, hundreds of Cameroonians have signed up for the Agence Universitaire de la Francophonie’s [11] 30 programs [12], and the Ministry of Education [13] has made distance learning official in a number of universities.
While distance options provide flexible solutions for those already in work who are looking to upgrade their skills, or are too far from traditional bricks and mortar options, there are drawbacks. They include unreliable electricity service, and the cost of fees and computer equipment.
– The Tribune [14]
April 30, 2008
Ethiopia
100 PhDs in the Last 50 Years, 5,000 in the Next 10
Ethiopian education authorities have announced plans to produce 5,000 Ph.D-holders over the next 10 years, no small feat considering the country produced just 100 in the last 50 years – almost exclusively from universities abroad.
Until recently, higher education was reserved for Ethiopia’s elite. Their offspring would go to Europe, the US or Russia. Less than 50 students a year graduated in this fashion and only five or six of them with doctorates. In an interview with the Guardian newspaper, Abye Tasse, Vice President for Strategic Planning and International Affairs at Addis Ababa University [15] (AAU) expounded on a plan to produce 5,000 PhD-holders over the next 10 years, explaining that Ethiopia needs Ph.Ds for two main reasons: to teach its growing number of undergraduates and to conduct research.
Twelve years ago, there were approximately 3,000 students studying at Ethiopian institutions of higher education. Last year, there were 15,000 students at AAU alone and 13 new universities were under construction. This explosive growth has produced a shortage of qualified teaching staff. In rural areas, lectures are often given via satellite link or video. On the research front, Ethiopia’s government hopes that investing in research and human resource development will promote socioeconomic development. The new Ph.D programs have been designed to meet the country’s development needs in areas such as peace and security, food production, biodiversity and urban growth.
Because so few qualified academic advisors are currently available in Ethiopia, teachers will be flown in from overseas. It will be expensive, but cheaper than flying students the other way. Foreign tutors will come for a few months and teach full courses in blocks to save time and money. The Ethiopian government will be providing a portion of the budget for the expansion plan, but is also seeking funding from international aid agencies.
– The Guardian [16]
May 13, 2008
Ghana
Private Universities Warned on Quality Standards
The Ghanaian government has warned that it will not hesitate to withdraw the accreditation of private universities that operate below required standards, reports the Daily Graphic. “The government will continue to collaborate with the private sector in providing quality education to the population but will not sacrifice standards and efficiency,” Vice President Alhaji Mahama warned at the fourth congregation of the Islamic University College [17], adding that there had been reports of some private institutions taking undue advantage of the government’s open policy on private sector participation in tertiary education.
“It is gratifying to note that a lot more individuals, companies and religious groups are answering the government’s call for private sector participation in tertiary education,” he stated. Alhaji Mahama said the attainment of education for all by 2015, one of UNESCO’s Millennium Development Goals [18], was a collective effort by all – and it was for that reason that the government invited the private sector to participate in the provision of tertiary education in Ghana.
– Daily Graphic [19]
April 21, 2008
Kenya
Foreign Institutions Suffering Credibility Issues
An increasing number of foreign institutions with operations in Kenya are coming under the microscope as the number of unaccredited institutions offering foreign degrees in Kenya has negatively impacted those institutions that are operating legitimately. As a result, these institutions are seeing enrollments decline, despite aggressive marketing campaigns and efforts to involve parents and prospective students in saving their hard-earned reputations. However, according to a report in Business Daily, many students and parents have become highly suspicious of programs offered by foreign institutions.
The Business Daily report cites the Australia Studies Institute [20] (Ausi) as its main example. The institution set up shop seven years ago and has since fought hard to build enrollments to its current level of 350 students. Although Ausi officials report that the bad publicity has not affected enrollments, they say parents, guardians and students have become much more sensitive to validation issues in recent years. The institution has also had to significantly increase its marketing expenditures to ensure prospective students of its legitimacy as an institution recognized by the Council on Higher Education to offer certificate and degree programs in Kenya.
Of the 350 students enrolled at Ausi, 50 students are pursuing degrees, after the institution was granted authority by CHE, in November, to offer bachelor degree programs locally, after years of offering diploma and certificate courses in collaboration with Edith Cowan University [21] of Australia.
Education analysts say the rapid globalization of education is likely to attract a more diverse range of private providers – both local and foreign – and there could be a greater risk of confusion in the future.
– Business Daily [22]
April 23, 2008
Nigeria
NUC Names 15 Illegal Universities
The National Universities Commission [23] has named 15 universities that are operating in the country without license or recognition from the NUC:
- National University of Nigeria, Keffi, (Nassarawa)
- Houdegbe North American University, Mushin (Lagos)
- North Central University, Oturpko (Benue)
- Christians of Charity American University of Science and Technology, Onitsha (Anambra)
- Leadway University, Ugheli (Delta)
- Saint Clements University, Ado Ekiti (Ekiti)
- Christ Alive Christian Seminary and University, Enugu (Enugu).
- Atlantic Intercontinental University, Okija, (Anambra)
- Metro University, Dutse (Abuja)
- Southend University, Ngwuro Egeru (Rivers) University of Industry, Yaba (Lagos)
- University of Applied Science and Management Port Novo, Republic of Benin
- Reverend D.O. Ockiya College of Technology and Management Sciences, Emeyal, (Bayelsa)
- St. Paul University College, Awka (Anambra) • Blacksmith University, Awka, (Anambra).
– Leadership [24]
May 6, 2008
Rwanda
Government Calls on Private Sector to Invest in Universities
The Secretary-General of the Ministry of Education [25], Justin Nsengiyumva, has urged stakeholders in the private sector to play a leading role in investing in higher education because it is “a primary tool for development”, reports The New Times. Opening the final consultative meeting on a new national strategic policy for higher education, at the Kigali Institute of Science and Technology [26], he added that the government should also assist existing institutions of higher learning to acquire what they lack – instead of closing them.
Currently, out of the 32 institutions of higher learning operating in the country, 14 are private. The policy being drafted proposes that the government make decisions that will enable stakeholders to build on already available institutional structures and to address social and economic challenges.
– The New Times [27]
April 18, 2008
Government: Rwanda to be Regional Education Hub by 2020
Rwandan government officials have set their sights on establishing the country as a regional hub in the service sector, shifting from an agrarian to a knowledge-based economy.
According to the Secretary General in the Ministry of Commerce, Antoine Ruvebana, “the performance of the service sector is vital for economic growth and the eradication of poverty in developing countries. That is why, Rwanda is diversifying its economy by shifting from the traditional commodity base to a more sophisticated knowledge-based economy.”
Speaking at a two-day workshop on the Liberalization of Services in the East African Community in May, Ruyebana noted that there were many factors working in Rwanda’s favor. “Rwanda is strategically positioned geographically and has a singular potential of achieving this vision by 2020.”
– New Times [28]
May 7, 2008
Adopting the Bologna Process in Higher Institutions of Learning
In an interview with the New Times, an official at the National University of Rwanda [29] (NUR) explained how his institution and others in Rwanda are adopting a number of the reforms being implemented across Europe through the Bologna Process [30]. Director of Quality Education at NUR, Roger Sapsford, told the Kigali-based newspaper how his university was reforming curriculums in line with curriculum reform in Europe.
The most significant change appears to be in the adoption of learning outcomes at the university as opposed to traditional knowledge transfer modes of teaching. Learning outcomes constitute an important part of the new European Qualifications Framework [31] being adopted across Europe. Programs and curriculums are designed with a view to the skills that graduates will be able to demonstrate and take away with them upon graduation, rather than the more traditional input-based approach to curriculum design. Also of importance is an emphasis on acquiring transferable skills useful to the broader labor market, such as decision-making, working effectively as a member of a team, negotiation, etc., in addition to acquiring skills relevant to the discipline. In the case of NUR, curriculums have been redesigned using modules designed to equip students with a specific set of skills or learning outcomes.
The university still operates a four-year honors system for first degrees (unlike the more common three-year first degree in most Bologna countries), and is planning to introduce quality assurance measures inspired by norms associated with the Bologna Process.
– The New Times [32]
May 2, 2008
South Africa
Gearing up for a New Qualifications Framework
South African higher education has been undergoing considerable reform and change in recent years, and the current focus has been on assuring quality standards at the nation’s institutions of higher education. As part of this process, a new Higher Education Qualifications Framework [33] will become effective next January. The new framework is designed to strengthen a quality assurance system that has been operating for four years, and also as a means of promoting greater and more transparent channels for credit transfer and accumulation. From January, all public and private institutions will be required to register and restructure their programs. For some institutions this means scrapping certain qualifications, most noticeably at applied universities, which will have to eliminate the bachelor of technology, their core program.
The body responsible for implementing the new framework, the Council on Higher Education [34], also monitors the work of the Higher Education Quality Committee [35], which is responsible for site visits and accreditation decisions. The council will be responsible for setting standards, and implementing the new higher education qualifications framework, which will determine the types, characteristics and purposes of all qualifications as they fit into the broader National Qualifications Framework, which covers all levels of education and registers all qualifications. The framework sets minimum admissions requirements for all programs, but leaves it up to universities to set their own admissions policies beyond those minimums. Qualifications are structured in credits: 120 credits for the first year of a bachelor degree, with each credit representing 10 notional study hours.
From January 1, 2009, all new higher education programs will have to comply with the framework, be registered on it and accredited by the HEQC or the Department of Education [36]. There will be a transitional period for existing programs to be restructured to achieve full compliance with the framework.
– University World News [37]
May 4, 2008
Uganda
Makerere Seeing Large Increase in International Enrollments
The movement of students from developing nations to universities in more developed countries is well documented; less documented is the movement of students the other way. In Uganda, an increasing number of students from the West are choosing to study at the country’s oldest university, Makerere [4].
Of the 30,000 students at the university, 10 percent are from outside Uganda. Many are from neighboring countries such as Kenya, Rwanda and Tanzania. But in the last five years, there has been a more than 10-fold increase in the number of students from countries outside Africa – from just five students then to more than 50 now. Students are arriving from Japan, the United States, Canada, Britain and even Norway – through an established exchange program.
Foreign students pay up to US$4,000 per year in fees, almost twice as much as their Ugandan counterparts. Many among the foreign students say they are attracted to studying in Uganda because the country is considered relatively safe and stable. In addition, Makerere retains a positive reputation as one of the best universities in Africa.
– BBC [38]
May 12, 2008