Regional

High-Level US Delegation Tours Asia to Promote US Education

Led by Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings, a delegation of 12 U.S. college presidents toured Asia for seven days in November to discourage lingering perceptions that the United States has become unwelcoming of foreign students since the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The trip included two-day stops in Japan, South Korea and China. High on the delegation’s agenda was to assure that the process for obtaining a visa has been much improved during the past two years. Speaking in China, Ms. Spellings said the overall number of visas issued to foreign students and scholars reached an all-time high of nearly 600,000 last year, up 15 percent from a year earlier. According to Spellings, 97 percent of qualified student applicants in China now get their visas “within a matter of days.” Television ads promoting U.S. education aired on Chinese television in east-coast markets during the week of the delegation’s visit.

— The Chronicle of Higher Education
Nov. 20, 2006

Afghanistan

Less than 50 Percent of Afghan Children Attending School

A Shortage of places and teachers means that more than half of Afghanistan’s children are missing out on an education, according a report from the aid agency Oxfam. The good news is that enrollments have increased five-fold since the ouster of the Taliban in 2001; however, the school system cannot cope with current demand, the charity said. A majority of the seven million children out of school are girls, with only one in five attending primary school and one in 20 attending secondary school according to the report. The report urged rich countries to invest US$800 million to rebuild Afghan schools in the next five years.

— BBC
Nov. 27, 2006

Australia

As International Competition Increases, Aussie Undergrads Look Overseas

Increasing competition from foreign universities for the brightest Australian undergraduate students has officials concerned about the future of the country’s higher education sector. While Australia enjoys one of the most prolific education export industries in the world, hosting upwards of 200,000 foreign students annually at the county’s universities, the high number of Australian professionals who work overseas in the dense commercial markets of Europe and the United States have academic leaders concerned that undergraduate students will soon follow suit. Only one percent of Australian undergrads study overseas, but competitive international higher education policies like Europe’s Bologna Process might hike future numbers.

— The Australian
Nov. 23, 2006

Cambodia

International Degree Mill Receives Accreditation from Cambodian Ministry of Education

After being asked to leave Malaysia because of warnings from the Irish government about its legitimacy (see August ’05 WENR), the Irish International University of Europa (IIU) has found a new home in Cambodia. The rapid growth of economies, communications technology, and demand for higher education in Asia have made the business of providing unaccredited credentials to marginally qualified students a very lucrative industry. The IIU, an internet-based academic institution with no official recognition in Ireland, has allied with Cambodia’s largest private higher-education provider, Build Bright University, an institution accredited by the country’s Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports. The BBU has announced plans to award up to 100 Irish International doctorate degrees next year, an honor already bestowed on Cambodian Senator Mong Reththy who readily admitted to having never participated in a course or assignment from IIU. According to Cambodian lawmaker Son Chhay, the availability of IIU degrees in Cambodia is a clear sign of the country’s need for a legitimate system of academic accreditation and the current “disaster” that higher education in his nation is experiencing.

— Asia Sentinel
Dec. 12, 2006

China

Private Higher Education’s Adverse Effects: Growing Unemployment and Student Protests

In 1998 China’s government predicted a lack of qualified employees for its rapidly growing economy and actively encouraged the private sector to open up more colleges. Colleges were hastily licensed by the Education Ministry to operate conditional on a tie-up with a recognized state university. Until 2003, degrees from these tie ups were awarded solely with the name of the partner university, making it indistinguishable from those awarded to students who had gained entry to the university by passing entrance examinations. Many saw this selling-off their school’s good name as a cheapening of their hard-earned degree. And today the decision has resulted in a job market saturated with university graduates, many with misleading qualifications. Therefore, in 2003, Beijing ordered private colleges to make it clear on their awards that they are joint degrees and not solely that of the affiliated university. They were also to make this clear to prospective students. Some did, and some did not. Many of the students left in the dark by their colleges only to find the name of the lesser college on their certificates upon graduation hit the streets in protest last year, often in large numbers. Beijing has reacted to the diploma issue by telling officials to explain the policy better to students. In May it announced that certificates from vocational colleges and high schools would receive more value, to relieve the pressure people feel to enter university and cut applications to private colleges.

— Asia Times
Nov. 4, 2006

Almost One in Three Students will Graduate with Poor Job Prospects

An estimated 1.24 million Chinese college students will graduate without jobs that require their qualifications this year, the government has warned. A total of 4.13 million students graduated from higher education institutions in 2006, 750,000 more than in 2005. Demand for college graduates was down 22 percent in 24 provinces and 15 major cities from last year, according to government figures.

— Xinhua News Agency
Nov. 17, 2006

Citation Levels Show Impressive Increase in Quantity of Basic Science Research

If the methodology of the Shanghai Jiaotong World Rankings is anything to go by then it safe to assume Chinese education officials see academic citations as a key indicator of the country’s research output, and according to the latest figures, China is producing more basic research in the sciences than ever before. The number of theses and journal articles authored by Chinese researchers and academics referenced by the Science Citation Index has increased dramatically since 1991 when China was ranked 15th in the world. In 2004-05, Chinese academics were responsible for the fifth largest number of referenced articles, according to the Ministry of Science and Technology, which also reports that in the last two years 14 Chinese scientists have won international prizes. Further ministry statistics show that there were 115,400 basic science researchers in China in 2005, 46.5 percent higher than in 2001.

— Xinhua News Agency
Nov. 16, 2006

Government to Boost Post-Doctoral Research

Over the next five years, the government plans to boost funding for post-doctoral research and create a host of new research centers, according to the 11th Five-Year Program for Post-doctoral Work. Investment in the sector will increase threefold in the next five years to US$187.5 million. Priority will be given to post-doctoral research in the less-developed regions of the interior and northeast. The private sector will also be encouraged to sponsor research, and both foreign and Chinese researchers will be recruited.

— Xinhua News Agency
Nov. 15, 2006

Hong Kong

Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority Sets New Language Standards for 2007 HKCEE

The Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority (HKEAA), an independent statutory body that administers the Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination (HKCEE) and the Hong Kong Advanced Level Examination (HKALE), will adopt standards-referencing reporting for the 2007 Chinese Language and English Language examinations. Candidates’ performance on these sections of the university entrance exams will be reported according to five performance levels (1-5), with five being the highest level of achievement. Results in the Chinese Language and English Language sections of the 2007 HKCEE will be recognized as equivalent to the Cambridge International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE).

— HKEAA
Oct. 2006

India

40 Foreign Universities Vying to Set up Shop in Maharashtra

As many as 40 international universities have reportedly submitted proposals to the Maharashtra state government to establish a presence in and around the cities of Mumbai and Pune. The success of many of the bids will depend on whether or not the federal government decides to open Indian higher education to direct foreign investment, a hotly debated issue among Indian lawmakers. Among the universities from North America said to be investigating their options on the subcontinent are Stanford University, Georgia Tech University, the University of British Columbia, McGill University, Simon Fraser University and the University of Montreal. The Higher Colleges of Technology, a 13-college network owned and operated by the government of the UAE is said to be looking to invest as much as US350 million to establish a campus in India.

— Business Standard
Nov. 22, 2006

Singapore

NYU Arts School Announces Branch Campus

New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts has announced that it will open its first international branch campus in Singapore. The degree program will by NYU’s first ever offered outside the city of New York. Classes will begin in the fall of 2007 with an estimated 250 students studying towards a Master of Fine Arts degree in film production.

— Newsday
Dec. 13, 2006

Taiwan

China, Taiwan to Open Pioneering Undergraduate Exchange Program

The Xinhua news agency reports that six of China’s top universities have forged an agreement to next year launch an undergraduate exchange program with the National Taiwan University (NTU). Shanghai Jiaotong University was the first to complete the exchange agreement and five other universities — Tsinghua, Peking, Nanjing, Fudan, Renmin — were expected to complete negotiations with NTU by the end of the year. Under the terms of the agreement, two students from each Chinese university would trade places with peers at NTU. This is the first such agreement at the undergraduate level. Peking University and NTU have had a graduate exchange agreement since 1995.

— Xinuha
Nov. 26, 2006

Thailand

Officials Predict Growth in International Student Numbers

According to a recent government study, the number of international students beginning their studies in Thailand will increase to 10,000 annually within five years. In its report, the National Economic and Social Development Board notes that in 2005, there were 5,600 international students studying at Thai institutions of education. The majority came from China, Burma, Laos, Vietnam and India.

— Krungthep Turakij
Dec. 12, 2006