Regional

Paper: University Internationalization Plans Need to Focus More on Cooperation with the Developing World

Universities in richer nations that could play crucial roles in the developing world have been too focused on self-interested internationalization agendas, a recent White Paper warns. Presented by the European University Association (EUA) in September, the paper makes the case for considering the development of universities in Africa and the developing world as an essential part of the academic internationalization agenda.

Speaking ahead of a conference in Brussels in September to discuss the report, Michael Gaebel, head of international strategy and cooperation at EUA, said until now European universities had simply viewed internationalization in terms of what it could do for them, rather than stressing that development cooperation needs to form part of the internationalization strategy. He argued that too many universities viewed reaching out to the world as a chance to partner with other major, established institutions, rather than working with less prestigious universities in Africa, for example, for development opportunities and collaboration.

He argued that European governments had failed to include universities within their strategies for development in Africa although they could play a central role. The White Paper, Africa-Europe Higher Education Cooperation for Development: Meeting Regional and Global Challenges, adds: “For universities, there is a clear message: there should be a reflection on the ways in which development cooperation is carried out across the institution and how this could be better aligned with internationalization objectives.”

– Times Higher Education
September 30, 2010

Plans for East African Academic Harmonization Move Forward

A bill seeking to harmonize university education in East Africa is being discussed in the region’s legislative assembly. If it becomes law, the Inter-University Council of East Africa bill will see students move freely under a credit-transfer arrangement between institutions in the five East African Community member states – Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi.

“It will be possible, for instance, to enroll on a bachelor’s degree course at University of Nairobi and graduate at University of Dar es Salaam or Makerere under the new plan,” The East African said. East African Legislative Assembly Member Gervase Akhaabi said the bill had received overwhelming support from legislators. “This law will greatly transform how higher education is managed in the East African Community,” he added.

– East African
October 5, 2010

Cameroon

Demand from Abroad May Cause Overcrowding at Nation’s Universities

Universities in Cameroon face overcrowding, as an increasing number of school-leavers are achieving minimum pass rates in the baccalauréat school-leaving examination, while demand from students in other countries in the region is also rising sharply, reports the Cameroon Tribune.

The newspaper reports that a high level of advanced registrations had opened the way to a “pretty hot” new academic year and that the expected increase in student numbers would again be cause for concern with universities being stretched to their infrastructural limits. The Tribune said that with a success rate of nearly 60 percent in the baccalauréat, this year’s intake was especially prolific.

And with improvements to university facilities, Cameroon’s universities and colleges are attracting a greater number of students from other countries in the region. Universities have seen particularly strong demand from students in the Central African Republic, Chad and Nigeria.

The Ministry reports a total increase in demand of approximately 70,000 students this year, according to the Tribune. Last year, there were 200,000 students in Cameroon’s higher education system.

– Cameroon Tribune
September 23, 2010

Kenya

Issuing Bonds to Increase Student Places

Kenya plans to sell 10 billion shillings (US$128 million) worth of bonds to finance an expansion of its universities. This move would increase student capacity and reduce the number of qualified students being denied places at public universities. According to the Business Daily newspaper, the plan was announced by William Ruto, Kenya’s higher education minister, and is to be implemented next year.

The bond sale is expected to help state-funded institutions admit at least 25,000 more undergraduates, as the government continues to pursue ways to eliminate the current two-year wait time for high school graduates to be admitted to post-secondary institutions. Olive Mugenda, vice-chancellor of Kenyatta University, said: “We are looking forward to the government doubling or tripling current funding to enable us to expand the existing facilities.”

– Business Daily
September 14, 2010

Rwanda

China to Finance Vocational School

The Chinese government has said that it will finance the construction of a vocational training institute in Rwanda to the tune of US$10 million. Speaking during a tour of the proposed site in September, the Chinese Ambassador, Sun Shuzhong, said that his government has decided to support human resource development in Rwanda by supporting the education sector. According to stakeholders, the school is set to have departments of information technology, agriculture and food processing, construction and carpentry.

The Rwandan government is seeking to build a network of ‘Integrated Polytechnic Regional Centers,’ of which the Chinese project would be one. Students who complete lower secondary will be eligible to enroll at the training centers.

– The New Times
September 16, 2010

South Africa

Study: Send PhD Students Overseas

A recent study by the Academy of Sciences of South Africa (ASSAF) has recommended that a large number of South African students be sent overseas to study for doctoral degrees over the next decade as a means of boosting the country’s research and innovation capacity.

The report is based on 24 key findings about the South African doctoral system. Current capacity is not considered adequate to meet a national goal of 6,000 science, engineering and technology graduates by 2018 – a five-fold increase in current numbers.

Entitled The PhD Study: An evidence-based study on how to meet the demands for high-level skills in an emerging economy, the report highlights the need for a realistic assessment of existing national production capacity and resources. It also calls for a “creative plan” for moving the various elements of the science system in the same direction and proposes an “overarching and interconnected national planning strategy” to achieve it.

Currently, South Africa produces between 23 and 27 PhDs per million of the population annually, or an average of 1,039 graduates per year between 2000 and 2007. The ASSAF study found that in 2007, most doctoral graduates were white South African men in their thirties. Improvements in racial representation, the study found, were offset by similar increases in numbers of non-South African graduates, with the overall share of South African doctoral students decreasing from 89 percent in 2000 to 73 percent in 2007.

Defending the recommendation to send South Africans students to institutions abroad, the ASSAF study argues that inadequate numbers of competent supervisors is a “very real constraint” on the overall capacity of the higher education system to produce the requisite number of doctoral graduates.

– University World News
October 15, 2010
– ASSAF
September 2010