Karen MacGregor
Tertiary enrolments in Sub-Saharan Africa more than tripled between 1991 and 2005, expanding at an annual rate of 8.7% - one of the highest regional growth rates in the world - says a new report by the World Bank. But public funding did not keep up and spending per student plummeted over 25 years from an average of US$6,800 a year to just US$981 in 2005 for 33 countries. "Educational quality and relevance both suffered as a result," according to Accelerating Catch-up - Tertiary education for growth in Sub-Saharan Africa.
ZAMBIA: Brain drain stemming plan in tatters
Clemence Manyukwe
A plan tabled in Zambia's parliament in 2007, aimed at curbing the brain drain among science lecturers and researchers, lies in ruins amid ongoing academic disgruntlement. The plan included adjusting salaries regularly, introducing a home-ownership scheme, retention allowances and increased research grants for state institutions. But strikes have dominated Zambia's academic year and they have included science lecturers.
NIGERIA: Students protest against exorbitant exam fees
Tunde FatundeCandidates seeking admission into the current 2008-09 academic session in Nigeria are unhappy with high entrance examination fees charged separately by universities and the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board, or JAMB. One newspaper analysis calculated that the amount spent by students sitting both sets of examinations was a whopping US$119 million.
ZIMBABWE: Universities still closed as students arrested
Clemence Manyukwe
Four student leaders were arrested last week for leading a protest of nearly 500 students against the collapse of higher education in Zimbabwe. No state universities are operating in the new academic year because of serious problems including a lecturer strike, lack of finance and unavailability of learning materials.
EGYPT: Anger at revamping of Muslim seminary
Khaled Fouad
Academics at Al Azhar University, the Muslim world's oldest seat of higher learning, have reacted angrily to a decision by the Egyptian government to recategorise the institution's colleges. Earlier this month, Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif, who doubles as Minister of Al Azhar Affairs, ordered separation of the university's religious colleges from ones teaching non-religious subjects to create two institutions.
SENEGAL: UCAD to expand biotechnology courses
The University of Cheikh Anta Diop (UCAD) in Dakar is planning to offer a masters degree in plant and microbic biotechnologies which will be accessible to students in other countries, thanks to distance learning. Academics and researchers from Senegal and other countries in the region including Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Mauritania, Mali and Niger, as well as France, met at UCAD for a sub-regional workshop organised by the university's Department of Biology.
EU: New site to attract foreign students
The European Commission has launched a new web portal called Study in Europe to promote universities across the EU to students from other parts of the world. The portal is part of a campaign to boost the number of students from outside Europe who study in the EU.
The European Parliament last week gave the green light to a second funding round for the EU's Erasmus Mundus Programme which aims to promote Europe as a centre of academic excellence. In backing the estimated budget of EUR950 million (US$1,227 million) for the 2009-2013 period, the parliament adopted changes to some of the criteria to simplify visa applications for participants from non-EU countries and to ensure a balance in terms of students' gender and country of origin.
The European Training Foundation plans to establish a new international board for the next three years and has called for applications from appropriately qualified people. The ETF is a specialised agency of the European Union based in Turin, Italy, and works with transition and developing countries to apply human capital development strategies to socio-economic development.
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