Regional

Big Increase in Number of Chinese Scholarships

By the end of 2013, there were more than 35,000 African students in China and most of them were beneficiaries of Chinese government scholarships. Overall Chinese government scholarships increased from about 10,000 in 2007 to about 33,000 in 2013. Of these, 7,300 have gone to African students accounting for about 22 percent of scholarships offered by the Chinese government.

“The number will continue to increase because these students go back to their countries and significantly contribute to the social, economic and political development of those countries,” Cen Jianjun, director general of international cooperation and exchanges in the Ministry of Education said recently.

 – The New Times
May 27, 2014

Report: Governments Missing Access and Quality Goals

According to a new report from the African Union, visions of a prosperous continent driven by a knowledge economy have been frustrated by many countries not making education a priority in development plans. The AU Outlook on Education Report 2014 says progress towards improving education access and quality at all levels has been too slow, especially at the higher education level. The problem has partly been attributed to a financing model that puts the balance of higher-education costs on governments, many of which have been unable to allocate the necessary resources. The report noted that Africa spends only about 1 percent of its gross domestic product on higher education and an average of 6 percent on the entire education sector.

Another shortcoming of higher education sectors across the continent, according to the report, is a lack of focus on research. The report calls for a significant increase in doctoral programs to promote basic research to ensure the training of a critical mass of scientists and researchers across the continent. Africa currently generates less than 1 percent of total the research produced worldwide.

The report also found an education and skills mismatch and faulted African universities for neglecting job creation. “African universities do not educate for African needs,” it says.

– University World News
May 30, 2014

Kenya

Seven Institutions Approved to Train Doctors

In a bid to meet huge demand for high-level health care professionals, the Ministry of Health approved seven public and private higher education institutions to train doctors. It is hoped that expanding medical training will stem a shortage that has been frustrating the country’s health care system.

Four public universities – Egerton, Kenyatta, Maseno and Nairobi – are free to roll out programs for doctors. Another state university, Moi, has been approved to train dentists. Three private institutions – Kenya Methodist, Uzima and Mt Kenya – have also been cleared to train doctors by the Medical Practitioners and Dentists Board, the agency that regulates the profession. Aga Khan University will offer graduate training for doctors.

The ministry said it is seeking to identify more institutions that would be able to train medical professionals in the coming five years. Massive disease outbreaks like malaria and HIV have exacerbated a health care crisis in a country, which has been made all the worse by the brain drain of doctors to the West.

The board said Kenya had only 8,711 registered medical doctors and 1,047 dentists. This means there is one doctor per 5,000 Kenyans – way below the global average which, according to the World Health Organization is one doctor per 700 people. It is estimated that only 380 new doctors join the workforce annually. The University of Nairobi, which has partnered with Kenyatta National Hospital, accounts for the bulk of the trainees – at around 300 – with the rest coming from Moi University.

– University World News
May 30, 2014

Ghana

 71,000 Nigerian Students at Ghanaian Universities

According to recent estimates, there are currently some 71,000 Nigerians studying in Ghana. Authorities in the two West African countries have agreed to implement the Arusha Convention on recognition of higher education qualifications in Africa, with a view to improving the portability of degrees and tackling problems in many private universities in Ghana, where Nigerian enrollments are on the rise.

A recent death of a Nigerian student in Ghana prompted the Nigerian government through its embassy in Ghana’s capital Accra to conduct a study on the Ghanaian education market. One of the surprising findings of the study was just how many Nigerians were attending Ghana’s public and private universities. These students, it was estimated, are contributing about US$1 billion to the Ghanaian economy.

Every year about 1.5 million school leavers in Nigeria sit for compulsory entrance examinations into 150 public and private universities, with a total enrollment capacity of 600,000 students. Therefore, it is no great surprise that Nigerian students are looking to neighboring countries for opportunities. However, there is concern among some that Ghana’s 50 private universities, which enroll a majority of the Nigerian student body, do not meet international quality standards.

– University World News
May 30, 2014

Malawi

New President Promises 5 New Universities & New Community College Sector

Malawi’s new president, former law professor and education minister Peter Mutharika, laid out his plans recently for tertiary education, including the construction of five new universities and a new community college sector, just a week after his election.

In his inaugural speech, Mutharika said the new Malawi University of Science and Technology – the brainchild of his late brother (and former President) – would receive attention. He added that community colleges would also be opened during his time as president.

“Our education program also includes rehabilitating and expanding existing universities, while building and opening five new universities in Mzimba, Nkhotakhota, Mangochi and Nsanje.

“And the forgotten MUST in Thyolo needs to properly open with high caliber, internationally recognized scholars as soon as we get settled,” said the law professor who worked at Washington University in the United States for nearly four decades.

– University World News
June 6, 2014

Nigeria

University Regulator to Collaborate with UK QA Agency

The National Universities Commission (NUC) is collaborating with the United Kingdom’s Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education to help bring quality standards at Nigerian tertiary institutions in line with international standards, especially in the burgeoning private sector.

Chair of the NUC Board, Dr Ahmadu Ali, made the announcement recently in London in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria. Ali, who with other NUC officials visited a number of UK higher education agencies including the Association of Commonwealth Universities, said the move was to seek synergy especially in quality assurance.

 – This Day Live
April 28, 2014

South Africa

India’s Manipal to Help Establish SA Campus

Talks between the KwaZulu-Natal provincial government and India’s Manipal University to establish South Africa’s first private medical school are at an advanced stage, with construction of the new university expected to start later this year in Newcastle, in the northern part of the province.

Ndabezinhle Sibiya, spokesman for KwaZulu-Natal premier Senzo Mchunu, said the university would be closely aligned to Manipal University and would also feature an academic hospital that would accommodate patients from the province and beyond. He said unlike government institutions, the medical school would not have racial quotas in accepting would-be medical students.

Manipal University began as India’s first private medical school in 1957 and today it has branch campuses in Bangalore, Malaysia, Dubai and Antigua in the Caribbean. There is also a campus in Mangalore with a medical college, a dental college and a nursing college with attached teaching hospitals.

 – Business Day
June 2, 2014

South Sudan

Ugandan Universities to Accept South Sudanese Students at Domestic Tuition Rates

Uganda has accepted a proposal by the South Sudan government to allow its students to pay similar tuition fees to Ugandans in public universities. The new proposal, Uganda’s minister for higher education said, was part of a memorandum of understanding, yet to be finalized by the two countries.

“The president [Yoweri Museveni] has already given us a green light to allow them [South Sudanese] to enjoy the same benefits as local students and the ministry of education is going to write to all the public universities to ensure that they implement this directive,” John Muyingo told reporters in Kampala in May.

Sudanese students are currently required to pay an extra US$200 to US$300 in fees at Uganda’s state-owned universities. Due to the relatively high quality of Uganda’s universities, they are popular with Sudanese students.

– Sudan Tribune
May 29, 2014