WENR

WENR, June 2014: Africa

Benin

Three-Month Lecturer Strike Ends

Universities in Benin have reopened after a more than three-month public sector strike ended in May. Lecturers had come under pressure to resume work, and some of their demands had been met, with the rest still under review by the government.

The government requested extra time to find solutions to the remaining demands, because of their legal and technical nature. Classes have resumed at all public universities and examinations will reportedly begin soon.

University World News [1]
May 7, 2014

Kenya

Student Numbers Continue to Skyrocket, While Funding Stalls

Kenya’s public universities admitted record numbers of students last year, beating their fast-growing private sector rivals and defying infrastructure constraints. New data from the government show that enrollments to state universities grew by a massive 41 percent, from 195,428 in 2012 to 276,349 by the end of last year.

By contrast, admissions to private universities increased by just 7.1 percent, from 45,023 in 2012 to 48,211 in 2013. Since private institutions continued to invest in infrastructure, which surpasses that of public universities, their facilities remain under utilized. As a result of the admissions jump in public institutions, overall student enrollment rose by 34.9 percent nationally. Kenya’s Ministry of Planning attributed the growth to a rise in new programs, upgrading university colleges to universities and the expansion of private universities.

Enrollments are expected to hit fresh new highs this year as the government starts admitting state-funded students to private universities. Currently, state-funded students can only join public universities. Meanwhile, state funding to universities grew by just 6 percent during the period between 2012 and 2013 to reach US$624 million, from US$588 million in 2012.

University World News [2]
May 9, 2014

Egypt

Plans Announced for Egypt-based Joint Arab-French University

A joint university involving France and Arab states is to be established in the Egyptian capital Cairo. It is aimed at enhancing higher education and research collaboration, according to an announcement [3] made in April.

The visit was held to prepare for the First French Arab Conference on Higher Education and Scientific Research, which will be held in Luxor in Egypt at the end of 2014. The 22 Arab states include eight countries in Africa, six in the Arabian Gulf and eight in Asia. The aims, objectives and proposed activities for the Arab-French University were outlined in an April report published by Al-Ahram.

The institution will focus on producing research and a new generation of graduates, scientists and technologists, and on strengthening friendship and dialogue between the Arab and French cultures. It will teach a full range of educational disciplines through programs that facilitate the mobility of researchers and professors as well as academic freedom.

The university will have two official branches – one in France and the other in Egypt – and membership of it will be open to all higher education institutions in France and the Arab world. France is currently the top destination for Arab students, receiving 29 percent of all internationally mobile Arab students – especially from North Africa and including Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia.

University World News [4]
April 30, 2014

Morocco

US University Establishes Groundbreaking Campus in Morocco

In an effort to advance its international offerings to enrolled students, the University of New England (UNE) has opened a campus [5] in the northern Moroccan town of Tangier – the first American institution of higher education to open a campus in Africa for its U.S. students.

“We know of no other American university that has built a state-of-the art campus, including science labs, for its students in Africa, or in any other region of the world,” Anouar Majid, the university’s vice-president for global affairs, told University World News.

Built on the grounds of the American School of Tangier, UNE’s campus offers students a chance to spend a semester or year studying in Morocco, where they will learn Arabic, Moroccan history and culture, along with regular college coursework, according to a press release [6].

According to a 2013 Open Doors report  [7]on international educational exchange, the MENA region and Sub-Saharan Africa are hosts to 3 percent and 5 percent respectively of the total number of American students studying abroad, which is comparable to the number of U.S. students in Japan (2%), China (5%), and several European countries like Germany (3%), France (3%) and Australia (3%).

University World News [8]
May 2, 2014

South Africa

U.S. For-Profit Acquires South African Education Company

The Apollo Education Group announced [9] in May that its Apollo Global subsidiary had acquired a South African education company that specializes in business education.

In the deal, Apollo paid the equivalent of approximately US$25.6 million, to acquire an 81 percent stake in Milpark Education [10] (Pty) Ltd. Milpark has about 14,500 students at campuses across South Africa.

The announcement of the deal follows Apollo Global’s move last December to purchase Open Colleges Australia, [11] one of that country’s major distance-education providers.

The Chronicle of Higher Education [12]
May 21, 2014