Ghana

British University Announces Launch of a Branch Campus in Ghana

Britain’s Lancaster University has announced that it will open a branch campus in Ghana this year. It is thought to be only the second branch campus of a British university in Africa and the first in West Africa.

Lancaster University Ghana, as it will be known, is a collaboration between Lancaster University and the Ghana-based company Trans National Education Limited. The campus will be in East Legon in the capital Accra. Lancaster also offers degrees globally in collaboration with local institutions in India, Malaysia and Pakistan, with existing plans to open a campus in China.

The new university will offer undergraduate programs in management, business, politics and international relations, computer science, law and psychology, its global masters in business administration, and other graduate and foundation programs in information technology, business and the social sciences. Programs will be taught by both local and UK staff, with degrees awarded by Lancaster University.

According to a campus fact sheet “Lancaster University Ghana will be the only one of its kind in West Africa, developing into a major teaching and research university of international standing. The campus is also open to students from other West African countries and offers them a new UK higher education opportunity on the African continent.”

– Ghana Business News
April 16, 2013

Kenya

New Universities Commission Begins Accreditation Process

Kenya’s recently established Commission for University Education has been working hard and has already awarded charters to more than 20 public and private universities. A total of 11 new public universities that were previously constituent colleges of established universities were accredited, bringing to 18 the number of public universities in Kenya.

The Commission also granted charters to 14 private universities mainly run by churches, which have over the years served to ease the burden of increasing student demand felt by public institutions of higher education.

The commission, which was established late last year after the passing of the Universities Act 2012 and replaced the Commission for Higher Education, was mandated to issue new charters to all universities, including those already accredited by its predecessor.

– University World News
May 4, 2013

Nigeria

Nigeria Plans Six Mega Universities

Nigeria’s National Economic Council (NEC) in April approved the upgrade of six federal universities to what are being described as ‘mega universities,’ with the capacity to enroll between 150,000 and 200,000 students each.

According to government officials, the Council’s decision follows the recommendations of a Technical Committee on the Needs Assessment of Nigerian Universities. Each geo-political zone of Nigeria will house a mega university, according to the committee’s recommendations.

The upgrade of the federal universities will take place over the ‘medium term’ and it is hoped that the new institutions will help in clearing the backlog of students seeking admission.

– PM News
April 27, 2013

Tanzania

Ugandan Branch Campus Ordered to Halt Graduate Programs

The Tanzania Commission for Universities has ordered Uganda’s Kampala International University to cease offering graduate programs at its campus in Tanzania, based in the capital Dar es Salaam.

The move comes after years of complaints about the institution, which has been accused of poor academic standards backed by a mediocre administration. The commission said that the decision had been taken because Kampala International University (KIU) did not meet the requirements it has set out for offering graduate-level programs, especially with regards to lecturer qualifications. Nonetheless, it can continue offering its recognized undergraduate degree, diploma and other programs.

The Kenyan branch of KIU recently had its degree certificates nullified by the universities commission there, citing its decision to offer Ph.D. programs without the necessary academic infrastructure. The National Council for Higher Education of Uganda has also stopped KIU from awarding PhDs until the programs have been approved. Thirty of the 40 students enrolled on doctoral programs at the Uganda campus at the time of the order were from Kenya, according to Ugandan government officials.

– University World News
May 11, 2013

Zimbabwe

Universities in Financial Disarray

Zimbabwe’s Director of Higher Education Martha Muguti explained to parliament recently that the Ministry of Finance has not been meeting its commitments from the state budget to finance tertiary institutions this year, leaving them in financial dire straits.

“Since January 2013, no single cent has been released for State universities and we find it difficult to deal with issues of accommodation, meals and the standard of life students now live is appalling,” she told the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Higher Education, Science and Technology.

She also said most parents were failing to pay university fees, which ranged between $350 for arts, $400 for sciences and $450 for medical and veterinary sciences per semester. “We are losing a lot of potential students because they cannot afford to pay the expenses for tertiary education,” she said.

– NewsDay
May 14, 2013