Regional
African Students See China as a Path to a Prosperous Future
A growing number of African students are pursuing degrees in China, a country trying to establish itself as a major destination for international students. Currently there are some 293,000 international students in China, with more than 20,000 of them from Africa.
The figures are small but rising rapidly, reports The Chronicle of Higher Education. As late as 2006, African students made up only 2 percent of foreign students in China. And nearly one-third of the scholarships given by the Chinese government to foreign students now go to Africans. American colleges, by contrast, have failed to raise their enrollments from Africa, which have hovered around 36,000 since 2006, or about 5 percent of the total international-student population.
African students are being lured to China by a free education or low tuition (around $4,500 per year), the hope of a job with one of the Chinese corporations scattered across Africa, or simply an escape from overcrowded domestic universities.
Over the past decade, China has risen to become Africa’s largest trading partner, and its stake in the continent is significant and growing. Drawing African students to China offers a way for the country to shore up its diplomatic and financial relationship with the continent.
From 2000 to 2007, 12,000 African students received government scholarships to study in China. In 2009 alone, more than 4,000 African students won Chinese funds for their degrees. And as they arrived in the country, paying students began to follow, drawn by the significantly cheaper tuition costs versus universities in the West, in addition to the relative ease of procuring a study visa.
This year the Chinese government estimated that it would bring 5,500 African students to China on full scholarships. And in July, at the most recent Forum on China-Africa Cooperation [1] meeting, Hu Jintao, China’s president, pledged an additional 18,000 governmental scholarships for Africans in coming years.
– The Chronicle of Higher Education [2]
September 10, 2012
Ivory Coast
Universities Reopen After Two-Year Closure
When the Ivory Coast’s five public universities reopened in early September, 61,000 students arrived for the first time after almost two ‘blank’ years since universities were closed in the violent unrest sparked by the disputed 2010 presidential vote. Some now fear chaos.
In the 2009-10 academic year, before the closure, there were some 56,000 students. “If the influx is not competently handled, it will spark fears of serious social problems among the students and parents,” said Kanvaly Fadiga, a lecturer at the École Nationale Supérieure, a specialized tertiary institution in Côte d’Ivoire’s commercial capital, Abidjan.
Fadiga argues that the whole education system lacks quality, and that the blank years should have been used to assess university education. Weaknesses could have been identified and rectified through consultations, measures devised to eradicate violence, the learning programs revised, and rigor in teaching instilled, he argues. Meanwhile, students in Abidjan said they hoped the five university campuses – refurbished during the closure at a cost of roughly US$210 million – would be peaceful from now on.
The government has introduced some reforms in the last two years. In July the government scrapped a provision that allowed students to repeat study years several times without having to leave, even in cases of failure. The change affected 1,856 students who have repeated three times, or have been at university for more than seven years. Registration fees for a first-degree program were raised from 6,000 CFA ($12) to 100,000 CFA (about $200). However, fearing an angry backlash, the authorities slashed the fee to $60, but this is still a considerable increase. The biggest institution, the University of Cocody in Abidjan, had been renamed Félix Houphouët-Boigny after the first Ivoirian president.
– IRIN [3]
August 24, 2012
Kenya
A Clear Call for University Admissions Reform
Admission to public universities in Kenya is overseen by the Joint Admissions Board [4], under a process that is regarded by a vast majority of students as being too rigid. Now they and private sector universities are calling for reform.
Private universities have proposed that JAB be restructured to manage admissions both to public and private universities. Officials argue that students who qualify for state-funded university places should be given the opportunity to pursue a program of their choosing, whether in a public or a private university, and have government grants follow them. The call by private universities echoes proposals contained in the Policy Framework for Education and Training prepared by the Ministry of Education. It would see the creation of a University Joint Admissions Board to replace the Joint Admissions Board.
Currently, JAB chooses programs and universities for nearly all students in public universities, while students at private institutions make those decisions themselves. However, students at private universities are not eligible for government sponsorship, footing tuition costs themselves.
A recent survey by Gallup Africa shows that a vast majority of students – 96 percent – feel JAB was not doing enough to ensure fairness in allocating university slots. Furthermore, 93 percent of students want the right to apply directly for a program and institution – public or private – of their choice.
Kenya has been courting private universities to help end an admissions crisis caused by a rising number of learners. Public institutions have been unable to admit all students who qualify for university education. Last year, the government announced that it was in talks with private universities on a deal that would allow private institutions to admit state-funded students, but the talks broke down. In the meantime, the government continues to look for ways to help ease a backlog of at least 40,000 qualified students who are waiting for state-sponsored university places.
This year more than half of 118,256 eligible students – 76,000 – will miss out on a place. With only 41,000 students securing funded places in public universities, tens of thousands will have to seek admission to costly private universities, join equally expensive ‘parallel’ programs at public universities or go to colleges or youth polytechnics.
– University World News [5]
September 5, 2012
Rwanda
Carnegie Mellon Begins Classes
Carnegie Mellon University-Rwanda [6] officially began offering graduate degree programs at the end of August, with an initial class composed of 26 students with a target of enrolling 46. Classes began almost a year after the Pittsburgh-based university first entered Rwanda.
The inaugural graduate offerings are masters of science programs in information technology and in electrical and computer engineering.
– The New Times [7]
August 25, 2012
South Africa
2 New Universities to Begin Classes in 2014
The government announced in August that two new public universities will be established and ready for their first intake of students in 2014. The universities will be built in Mpumalanga and the Northern Cape, with construction expected to start in early 2013.
Between them the two universities will accommodate 20,000 students, with the Mpumalanga-based universities taking in 15,000 students and the Northern Cape campus 5,000.
– EWN [8]
August 23, 2012