Bangladesh
Draft Policy on Operation of Foreign Universities Finalized
The Education Ministry recently finalized a draft policy to allow foreign universities to open branches, enter joint ventures with local counterparts or operate study centers in Bangladesh. According to an article in the Dhaka Tribune, some international institutions are already operating in the country illegally, most offering courses described to be of dubious quality.
Under the proposed regulations, foreign universities would be required to enroll a minimum of 30 students to begin operations and occupy a minimum of 15,000 square feet (10,000 for ‘study centers’). This compares to a minimum of four academic departments and 25,000 square feet for domestic institutions. Institutions would have to be accredited in their home country if they wanted to operate in Bangladesh.
According to government officials, the policy was established based on interest expressed by a number of foreign universities in establishing branches in Bangladesh, with demand for higher education outstripping supply. However, academics and private university stakeholders have expressed concern that the law would lead to discrimination between foreign and local universities and would allow substandard overseas universities to set up.
The enactment of the Private University Act in 1992 allowed private ventures to open in the country. Currently, there are 70 private universities with an enrollment of some 300,000 students. The final amended version of the law of 2010 banned operation and conferring of degrees by foreign universities. The new law would amend that to allow foreign universities to operate.
– Dhaka Tribune [1]
August 26, 2013
Six New Private Universities Get Green Light, Despite Concerns
Six new private universities with reported links to Bangladesh’s ruling party have been approved to begin operations. With only a few months left of its current tenure, the government approved the universities despite claims that most existing private higher education institutions are underperforming and struggling to attract students, according to a recent article in the Dhaka Tribune.
The Education Ministry issued an approval order in September. The universities are Sheikh Fazilatunnesa University in Jamalpur, Cox’s Bazar International University in Cox’s Bazar, Ranada Prasad Saha University in Tangail, North Bengal International University in Rajshahi, Rajshahi Science and Technology University in Natore, and Far East International University in Dhaka.
University Grants Commission (UGC) and ministry sources claimed that some of the sponsors of the proposed universities have political links. According to UGC officials, a former Juba League leader and current MP is associated with the Sheikh Fazilatunnesa University in Jamalpur. Sponsors of the other five universities are mainly businessmen with political influence.
– Dhaka Tribune [2]
September 16, 2013
China
International Education No Longer the Purview of the Rich
With universities and colleges in European and Asian countries providing low-cost overseas study programs, an increasing number of working-class parents are sending their children abroad, which means that studying overseas is no longer the exclusive privilege of students from rich families, reports China Daily.
According to the 2012 Blue Book of Global Talent released by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences [3] last year, 34 percent of students studying abroad in 2010 were from working-class families, while the figure for 2009 was only 2 percent. However, studying in countries like the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia, which often costs $30,000 to $40,000 a year, is still a luxury for most students from working-class backgrounds.
Low-cost programs in some European and Asian countries, costing no more than 100,000 yuan ($16,340) per year, have become their first choice, said Zhang Wei, a consultant on Chinese students’ education in Nordic countries with Education International Cooperation Group. In addition to Europe, some Asian countries like Japan, the Republic of Korea, Singapore and Malaysia are also gaining in popularity among Chinese students.
– China Daily [4]
September 6, 2013
Duke University Gets Final Approval for China Campus
China’s Ministry of Education has granted Duke University and its China partner, Wuhan University [5], final approval to establish a campus in Kunshan, according to a university announcement [6] in September.
The campus, Duke Kunshan University [7] (DKU), will enroll its first students next fall, after some setbacks that delayed its opening from an original target of spring 2014. The project has also faced scrutiny from Duke professors who raised concerns about its finances as well as academic freedom in China.
In its announcement, Duke said that more than 50 faculty members were planning to teach on the campus during its first two years of operation. DKU will offer both degree and non-degree academic programs for students from China and around the world. It initially plans to offer master’s degree programs in global health (through the Duke Global Health Institute) and management studies (through the Fuqua School of Business), as well as a proposed degree in medical physics. Additional graduate degree programs that will be offered in future years are now being developed. DKU’s graduate degree programs will lead to Duke University degrees. Undergraduate programs in global health, the humanities, physical and natural sciences, and social sciences are planned for the 2014-15 academic year.
– Duke University News Release [6]
September 17, 2013
2,000 Sino-Foreign Degree Programs
According to recently released government statistics, a total of 1,979 joint programs and institutions have been approved by the Chinese Ministry of Education across China. More than 1.5 million students have reportedly graduated from Sino-foreign joint programs or institutions.
– Xinhua [8]
September 6, 2013
Bryant University (U.S.) to Develop China Campus
After 15 years of developing ties in China, Bryant University [9] has announced plans to build a campus in Zhuhai and to construct a replica of the Shu Fang Zhai palace, a section of the Forbidden City, on its Smithfield, Rhode Island campus.
“We’re trying to establish ourselves as a global education leader with emphasis and expertise on China,” said Hong Yang, vice president for international affairs and a long-time advocate for his institution’s ties with China. Since 2000 Bryant has sent 39 of its faculty members to China. It has established a U.S.-China Institute and a Confucius Institute – the latter a Chinese-government funded center that offers Chinese language instruction in K-12 schools and cultural and outreach programming.
The university, which is known primarily for its business programs, has expanded its student exchanges with China — sending 282 undergraduates to China on its “Sophomore International Experience” since the program’s launch in 2007 — and has created a modern language department with a Chinese professor as chair. Majors are now offered in Chinese and Spanish.
“As we looked at where we are, it seemed that the next logical step was to create more of a fixed-base structure to anchor the bridge between our countries and our cultures,” said Bryant President Ronald K. Machtley, who has traveled to China annually since 2004.
Bryant is currently in the early stages of building a campus in southeastern China in Zhuhai city, a ‘special economic zone’ that will soon be connected by bridge to Hong Kong. The planned campus is a joint venture with the Beijing Institute of Technology’s Zhuhai campus – which has pledged the land and initial capital outlay – but is awaiting approvals from both the local government and the Ministry of Education. Given Bryant’s history of engagement with China, university officials are reportedly confident about a positive outcome.
– Inside Higher Ed [10]
September 25, 2013
Hong Kong
Increasing Number of Qualified Students Denied University Places
More than 13,000 students who qualified for a university place in Hong Kong this summer have been denied a spot due to space shortages, a record number according to government figures.
Since 1994, the number of publicly funded degree places has been frozen at a maximum of 15,000, or just 18 percent of the city’s current college-age population. This year, 28,418 students met minimum university entry requirements through the Joint University Programmes Admissions System [11]. However, more than 13,000 were not offered a government-funded place. Many will look abroad for alternative options or to shorter degree options in the private sector. Self-financed sub-degree enrollments in Hong Kong have grown from 2,468 13 years ago to close to 30,000 this year.
Experts fear that Hong Kong’s low university acceptance rate could cause the city to lose its competitive edge. Some are also concerned that the lack of publicly funded university places could add to inequality and inter-generational poverty, hindering social upward mobility in a city in which Hong Kong’s richest teenagers have 3.7 times more chance of enrolling in a university than the poorest, according to a study conducted earlier this year by the Hong Kong Institute of Education.
– Time Out [12]
August 27, 2013
India
Declining Value of Rupee Makes Study Abroad Financially Troublesome
The falling value of the Indian rupee has become a major source of concern for Indians studying overseas. The rupee has lost 20 percent of its value against the U.S. dollar in the last year, causing some students to rethink their international study plans. Some may have to postpone their studies for a year, while others are desperately seeking additional loans to cover the shortfall.
Some students are also seeking extra bank loans. However, a Rs2 million (US$36,500) ceiling on loans for overseas education is making this difficult, causing some students to look at cheaper destinations than their preferred destination – or at countries that have preferable work/study regulations. The loan limit has not changed since 2001 when the exchange rate was Rs25 to Rs30 to the US dollar compared to around Rs50 now.
Students already enrolled in institutions abroad will have little relief. However, universities should do their bit to help prospective students, experts believe. Ravi Lochan Singh, managing director of the Kolkata-based consultancy Global Reach, feels it has been “a very difficult last few months” for Indian students – just when American, British and Canadian universities have been gearing up for admission.
“It is time these institutions stepped in and helped out the [Indian] students who are about to reach their campuses,” Singh said. Scholarships or India-specific grants of up to 10 percent of the tuition fee should be offered to bridge the widening gap between planned and real costs. Last year Australia eased restrictions on working hours for Indian students, particularly postgraduates, to help them cope with the impact of the depreciating rupee.
– University World News [13]
September 4, 2013
Government Begins Higher Education Massification Efforts
The Indian government has begun efforts to increase the gross enrollment ratio (GER) in higher education to 30 percent by 2020 from the current level of around 19 percent, according to Minister for Human Resource Development MM Pallam Raju.
“We have a gross enrollment ratio of close to 19 percent, which is much below the 26 percent average GER in the global scenario. But we are certain that with the sustained efforts that began in 11th Five Year Plan we will be able to take our GER to 30 percent by 2020,” he said.
Raju stressed the need to raise the education level from schools to higher institutes with a focus on quality. “That is exactly what the government is trying to do right now. There is a very clear plan, and that plan must progress from school education through college education and through the universities,” the minister said.
– IBN Live [14]
August 24, 2013
Proposal to Allow Foreign Campuses in India Advances
India’s Ministry of Human Resource Development announced in September [15]that it is working on a proposal to permit foreign universities to open campuses under the Companies Act. The ministry’s proposal to allow foreign universities to register as companies is an attempt to bypass Parliamentary approval of the long-stalled foreign universities bill, which faces stiff political opposition, especially from the Left.
Under the proposed rules, foreign institutions wishing to set up campuses would have to be non-profit, accredited, and listed among the top 400 institutions in one of three major world university rankings. Each institution would have to maintain a corpus fund of at least 250 million rupees, or almost $4 million.
– Inside Higher Ed [16]
September 11, 2013
Government Overrules India-China University Partnership
Under orders from India’s Home Ministry, the University Grants Commission has asked Manipal University [17] to scrap plans for academic collaboration involving exchanges of students and academics with the Beijing Institute of Technology [18], a globally respected engineering school.
The deal, signed earlier this year, also included study tours and research. The ministry was concerned that such a collaboration, particularly exchanges of students and faculty, could pose a security threat to India, Manipal University Vice-chancellor Dr K Ramanarayan told The Times of India. Sources said the ministry’s concern followed complaints that in the garb of sending teachers, China could be sending agents.
But the move was described by an industry source as “ridiculous.” “To assume that a Chinese professor will be a threat to India is outright silly. It just shows the UGC mindset and the silliness of the union home ministry. The Beijing Institute of Technology is a prestigious institution.”
– The Times of India [19]
September 19, 2013
Sri Lanka
Government to Offer Land for International University ‘Investment Zones’
Sri Lanka will set up investment zones to draw international universities to the country in a bid to boost higher education services available to the people, a top government official said.
Sri Lanka’s higher education ministry secretary Sunil Jayantha Nawaratne said ‘free zones’ for education will be set up in five regions across the country. Investors who can attract reputed international universities will be given 100 acres of land to construct facilities.
The UK’s University of Central Lancashire [20] (UCLan) is reportedly [21] already in the process of building a US$100 million campus, UCLAN Sri Lanka, under a program promoted by the state.
– Lanka Business Online [22]
August 29, 2013
New Vocational Degrees
The Sri Lankan government has said it will launch new vocational degrees as a way to reduce youth unemployment. The new degrees, to be launched within a year under the National Vocational Qualification, will combine academic and practical elements. A nationally recognized certificate will be awarded after four years of study. The graduate can then apply for a diploma, which will be considered equivalent to a university qualification.
“It is aimed at producing students with high quality skills in science and technology that focus on new industries,” Mohan Lal Grero, a member of parliament who closely monitors Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Education, Youth Affairs and Skills Development, told University World News.
Initial plans have been passed by the government to set up 25 new colleges across the country and initiate public-private partnerships for their campuses, to provide the practical element.
Currently, less than 2 percent of the 25,000 students who take the annual A-level school leaving exams to qualify for university admission enter the country’s 15 national universities. The rest have to look at options in the private sector or overseas. Grero said the technical college degree would aim to give students who failed to enter university the opportunity to study new fields and gain stable employment.
– University World News [23]
September 7, 2013
Taiwan
New Government Higher Ed. Strategy Places Moratorium on New Universities and Tightens Standards in Private Sector
Taiwan’s Ministry of Education has introduced a new long-term strategy for the higher education sector in response to smaller graduating classes and a declining birth rate. Unveiled in September, the strategy responds to what one ministry official referred to as “supply and demand imbalance in the educational sector.”
Calling for a freeze on establishing new institutions, the strategy includes a principle governing the improvement or closure of private universities. Under the principle, institutions are to be assessed on the basis of student recruitment, school quality and finances. Those with less than 3,000 students and a freshman enrollment rate under 60 percent for the past two years must improve, merge or cease operations. Institutions that performed poorly on the most recent government evaluation will also come under the spotlight.
Currently there are 167 universities and colleges nationwide, with more than half privately run. Separately, the official said the MOE is working to help institutions discover new sources of students abroad. Markets under consideration include those in Southeast Asia and mainland China.
– Taiwan Today [24]
September 5, 2013
U.S. Historically Black Colleges Look to Cement Ties in Taiwan
A delegation organized by U.S.-based Thurgood Marshall College Fund [25] (TMCF) visited Taiwan in September for a second time this year, representing 47 historically black public colleges and universities and looking to cement ties with top Taiwanese institutions of higher education.
The purpose of the visit was to draft action plans with National Central University, National Tsing Hua University and National Taipei University of Technology on launching exchange programs for students and faculty members. The TMCF is looking to launch summer courses and programs for U.S. students in Taiwan, mainly in the STEM fields, in addition to providing training projects on improving U.S. teacher quality.
According to officials from TMCF, they are looking to work with Taiwan because of the country’s high academic standards, especially in technical fields, and because they wanted to be in East Asia, but away from an ‘overcrowded’ (in terms of international institutions looking to collaborate) China. A first group of U.S. students is slated to arrive in Taiwan for summer courses in 2014.
– Taiwan Today [26]
September 13, 2013
600 Thai Doctoral Students to Study in Taiwan on Scholarships
Taiwan and Thailand signed an educational cooperation agreement in September aimed at building bilateral higher education ties.
Top of the list of cooperative projects is the Taiwan-Thailand Elite 600 Scholarship Program. Under the plan, 600 Thai master’s and doctoral students will study for free in Taiwan over the next five years, with their living expenses paid by Thai institutions.
The Taiwanese ministry of education said that in recent years educational cooperation and exchanges between the two nations have been going from strength to strength, with 421 bilateral accords signed between tertiary institutions. Taiwan has about 200 students studying in Thailand, and the latter has 1,250 students in Taiwan, of whom 432 are at the degree level. The MOE provides Thai students with 11 scholarships for degree-level study and five scholarships for Chinese language study each year.
– Taiwan Today [27]
September 12, 2013