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  4. Mar2017

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    The Uganda National Council of Higher Education says it is being frustrated by the tendency of some private universities to seek remedy from the courts rather than engage with the regulator in the interests of preserving quality. The National Council of Higher Education, or NCHE, Executive Director Professor John Opuda-Asibo told University World News that some private universities seek to use "power plays", delaying tactics and tend to "politicise" matters instead of holding talks directly with the regulator to rectify faults. He said with increased engagement between NCHE and universities, it would be possible to adhere to the rules agreed in order to maintain academic quality as well as separate the interests of management from the interests of private owners. A recent example of institutions turning to the courts is that of Busoga University, a private institution founded by the Church of Uganda under the Busoga Diocese in eastern Uganda. Fraudulent graduations In December the NCHE revoked the provisional education licence held by Busoga University. Last month, the latter approached the Constitutional Court seeking orders to reverse the revocation. The NCHE clamped down on the university after investigations into fraudulent graduations. According to media reports, the university fraudulently graduated 1,000 students after only five months of study. Some of these were Nigerians, while the majority were South Sudanese government officials and army generals. It was claimed that some of the students did not meet entry requirements and were admitted under unclear circumstances and that some were enrolled in unaccredited courses. The students, eager to keep their jobs backed by academic qualifications, allegedly each paid US$1,000 dollars to get their degrees after five months, instead of paying the usual US$300 per semester. The students were transferred from Star University College in Juba, South Sudan, which is affiliated to Busoga University. Another 70 students from Nigeria who were stud
    6 years ago by @prophe
     
      Mar2017UgandaEnglishlobbypolitics
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      The Philippines Senate has approved a landmark bill to provide free tuition for students in all state universities and colleges. The Free Higher Education for All Act was passed unanimously on Monday by a vote of 18-0. The bill establishes an initial tuition subsidy fund of PHP15 billion (US$298 million) administered by the Commission on Higher Education or CHED, the country’s higher education governing body. It also provides financial assistance to students in private and vocational institutions. More than 1.6 million students currently enrolled in one of the 112 state institutions will be covered by the fund. “This bill is for the Filipino youth who are struggling to finish their college education as well as their parents who are working hard to pay for the expenses of their schooling,” said Senator Paolo Benigno Aquino, the bill’s author. Senator Sherwin Gatchalian, a co-sponsor of the bill, also lauded the move, the final stage in the bill’s passage through parliament. “This is a collective victory for those of us who believe that equitable access to education at all levels is the foundation upon which we may build a just and prosperous future for our country,” he said in a statement. The passage of the bill comes nearly three months after Congress allocated PHP8.3 billion (US$165 million) under the 2017 national budget to provide free tuition for students in state universities and colleges for the upcoming academic year, and means that free tuition becomes law rather than depending on the yearly budget. Gatchalian first tabled free tuition legislation in July 2015 when he was a member of the House of Representatives, or lower house, but the bill did not succeed in its passage through the Philippines parliament. While acknowledging last year’s budgetary increase was “a promising start”, he continued to push for a bill to “make the free tuition policy in state universities and colleges a permanent reality”. ‘Unintended consequences’ The Kabataan Partylist, a youth party in the House of Repr
      6 years ago by @prophe
       
        PhilippinesMar2017Free_tuitionEnglish
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        More than 150,000 students qualify for university admission annually, but only 27,000 can be accommodated in state-run universities, State Minister of Higher Education Mohan Lal Grero said. He said others, numbering around 130,000 were left out and some of them opted for vocational education and related areas in the governmental institutions. The Minister was addressing a seminar organised by the Agriculture Faculty of the Peradeniya University, under the theme ‘Peradeniya University and Sri Lanka Food Industry-the inter relationship’ as part of its diamond jubilee commemoration of the University at the Hector Kobbekaduwa Institute, Colombo. That was the reason the government had decided to support private higher education sector, Grero said. The government would introduce a loan scheme for students who had financial problems to enrol in higher education institutes in Sri Lanka. "If we have quality higher educational institutions within the country foreign exchange can be saved," Grero said. The minister said they would also focus on further developing the state education sector. The government was planning to increase state university intake by 15% by 2020. According to its policy the main target was to increase the intake up to 50,000 students by 2020, Grero said.
        6 years ago by @prophe
         
          Mar2017SriLankaEnglishfavorprivateallow
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          After leaving Somalia at the height of the civil war to work in universities in Italy and Canada, Professor Mohamed Ahmed Jimale returned to the ravaged Somalian capital of Mogadishu in 2012 with the idea of reviving the Somali National University, or SNU, where he had graduated in 1983 and taught as a lecturer in the faculty of veterinary sciences. He was approved as rector by the new central government in 2013 and the university opened in 2014 with six faculties. In this interview, Jimale speaks about the state of higher education in Somalia and the challenge of running a university in what is still an unstable and often hostile environment, and about his hopes of helping poorer Somalis to attain the kind of education that launched his own career. UWN: What does it take to run such a university? MAJ: It’s not easy at times. Finding students is difficult, as is finding the right calibre of academic and support staff. Our university is tuition-free, therefore whoever gets admission here must earn it first by passing their high school exams and our pre-admission exams, which many students fail. At the level of academic staff, the higher education labour sector in Somalia is still young and it is tricky getting the right personnel to run the university. Another challenge is that we depend on the government for funding, which is not constant or predictable due to other competing national budget priorities. There are those who hold a myth that a tuition-free government university like ours is the preserve of high-ranking government officials and their children or you have to be influential or come from powerful families to get admission. We have had to battle with and demystify [this], making it clear that the university is open to all Somalis. The only ticket required is good grades. The final challenge is how to bring back our seven campuses with limited resources and cater for swelling numbers. UWN: What kind of assistance have you received from foreign universities? MAJ: One of the major problems we
          6 years ago by @prophe
           
            Mar2017SomaliaEnglish
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            President Donald Trump´s threat to deport millions of illegal immigrants – half of them Mexicans – has triggered an unprecedented campaign by the Mexican government and universities. A raft of measures announced in recent weeks seek to reincorporate returning migrants into the country´s education system and labour force while defending those who wish to remain in the United States. Trump has vowed to deport as many as three million illegal immigrants, with those with criminal records at the front of the queue. However, there is growing fear among the hundreds of thousands of university students and workers who are beneficiaries of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals or DACA programme – which grants temporary legal status to certain immigrants who arrived as minors – following the detention of several DACA holders in recent weeks. A recent series of menacing tweets by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement, suggesting that even DACA holders could be subject to deportation, has sparked further alarm. Mexicans represent roughly 5.8 million of the estimated 11 million illegal immigrants in the United States. They include an estimated 400,000 Mexicans known as Dreamers, for the proposed federal Dream Act that sought to provide legal status for young immigrants. Many have little or no support system in Mexico and some don´t even speak Spanish. In response, the Mexican government is seeking to ease the repatriation process for hundreds of thousands of migrants, particularly students. New legislation On 17 March, the Mexican Congress approved new legislation that streamlines the application process to schools and universities for returning migrants. The changes to the federal Education Law empower private colleges to revalidate transcripts from other Mexican or foreign institutions. Even more significant, students who studied abroad no longer need to present an apostille – a diplomatic notarised seal – along with their transcripts, a process that can take weeks and cost hundreds of dollars. The feder
            6 years ago by @prophe
             
              Mar2017MexicoDonald_TrumpEnglishreturn
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              The Rwandan Ministry of Education has temporarily suspended the operations of four universities and courses in six other universities as part of a strategy to deal with sub-standard educational offerings. The move follows recommendations of an audit report on the quality of education in the higher learning institutions in the country, the findings of which indicated that the institutions in question had either inadequate staff or teaching facilities. These institutions have been given six months to address the inadequacies and comply with the higher education requirements before they are allowed to resume normal operations. Rwanda has 35 universities, two of which are public (the University of Rwanda and the Institute of Legal Practice and Development) and 33 of which are private. ‘Irregularities’ A total of 16 universities, including those affected by suspensions, were issued with letters asking them to correct “irregularities” and comply with the ministry’s requirements. Among those universities which have been told to suspend courses are two international universities: the Open University of Tanzania and the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology of Kenya. The audit was carried out in all higher education institutions – public and private – in October last year by international external auditors. The audit report is yet to be made public. The four suspended universities are Rusizi International University, Sinhgad Technical Education Society-Rwanda, Mahatma Gandhi University and Nile Source Polytechnic of Applied Arts in Huye district. Suspension of courses The six other universities which have been told to suspend undergraduate courses include the University of Technology and Arts of Byumba, the Open University of Tanzania, the University of Gitwe, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Institut Catholique de Kabgayi and Institut d’Enseignement Superieur de Ruhengeri. Some of the suspended courses include medicine and surgery, science in medical laboratory and te
              6 years ago by @prophe
               
                RwandaMar2017Englishclosure
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                The vice-chancellor of the University of Nairobi has asked the government to review the budgetary allocation to his university after the treasury failed to meet public universities’ requisitions for the forthcoming fiscal year. The total allocation to all public universities, which is US$200 million less than the amount requested, has dashed the hopes of several institutions facing a crippling cash crunch. The government has allocated US$982 million to her public universities for the 2017-18 financial year in the budget to be unveiled in parliament on 30 March. University administrators say the allocation is over US$200 million lower than the amount they had requested for the period. At US$721 million, however, the amount is 36% higher than the allocation in the current financial year. The research and innovation kitty for public universities has been set at US$42 million, up from US$37 million – a 13% increase. However, the lower-than-expected allocation means the universities themselves will have to effect budget cuts at a time when they are facing a series of challenges. Public universities agreed last week to increase salaries for lecturers by 17.5% after a 54-day strike that paralysed the sector. The agreed increase means universities will have to seek more funds to finance the increment. Professor Peter Mbithi has asked parliament to reconsider a budget cut of US$17 million slapped on the University of Nairobi. “We acknowledge that we have been facing financial challenges like any other public entity due to declining budgetary support. We have asked parliament to review the allocation,” Mbithi told reporters two weeks ago. New funding model Defending the budget cuts to universities, treasury said they were based on the new financing model known as the differentiated unit cost model, in terms of which state funds are allocated on the basis of the courses being taught at specific universities. Under the new policy, subsidies for science courses are relatively higher than those for arts. Data shows th
                6 years ago by @prophe
                 
                  KenyaMar2017Englishbudget_cuttuition_risegrowth_private
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                  Generally, prestigious private universities with hundreds of students don't get shut down over fairly minor, six-month-old technical issues that have since been resolved. But that is precisely the predicament facing the European University at Saint Petersburg, a bastion of Western liberal arts, which has been ordered closed by a district court after a furious conservative assault against it, writes Fred Weir for The Christian Science Monitor. The university’s problems began last June, when an ultra-conservative lawmaker from Saint Petersburg, Vitaly Milonov, lodged an official complaint against it, which under Russian law requires an official investigation to be launched. Milonov is a key author of Russia's "anti-gay propaganda" law. Reached by telephone, Milonov, now a deputy of the State Duma, insisted that he merely passed along complaints made to him by citizens, including a letter he allegedly received from five students of the university. The students "raised a bunch of issues about the quality and services of the school", he said. "I can't remember most of them, but one was the teaching of gender studies at the school. I personally find that disgusting; it’s fake studies, and it may well be illegal," he said. "But I'm not qualified to judge, so I handed it on to the proper authorities."
                  6 years ago by @prophe
                   
                    Mar2017RussiaclosureprivateEnglish
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                    The House of Representatives has called on the National Universities Commission to regulate the role of visiting lecturers in Nigerian universities. This followed a motion on Wednesday sponsored by Abbas Tajudeen (Kaduna APC). Arguing the motion, Mr. Tajudeen stated that many universities, especially state-owned and private ones, rely too much on the services of either visiting or sabbatical lecturers. “This reliance poses a great challenge to quality of services rendered by the lecturers with regards to mentoring, research, publication of journals and the general academic wellbeing in the universities,” he said. Mr. Tajudeen said he was concerned that the situation affects the quality of education being provided owing to the fact that lecturers usually abandon their duties in their places of primary employment and spread their services thinly across other universities that they visit. “The activities of those visiting lecturers are not regulated by any supervisory or academic body, either to ensure compliance with their terms of engagement or limit the number of commitments they engage in to ensure quality education in Nigeria,” the lawmaker added. Contributing to the debate, Nicholas Ossai (Delta-PDP) however expressed a contrary view, stating that visiting lectureship is a universal practice and that lecturers use the medium to develop themselves and the students. “It does not make sense for us to prohibit what is acceptable internationally,” Mr. Ossai said. But when the motion was put to vote, it was accepted by the majority of the house. The speaker thus mandated the committee on Tertiary Education and Services to interface with the National Universities Commission and other relevant agencies concerned with tertiary education with a view to formulating policies to aid the regulation and supervision of the practice of visiting lectureship in Nigeria and report back within eight weeks for further legislative action.
                    6 years ago by @prophe
                     
                      Mar2017EnglishNigeriavisiting_lecturer
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                      An attack on African students in India this week has caused an uproar among students in the country and has sparked an investigation by India’s External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, who called the attack “deplorable”, while students said if the authorities failed to curb attacks, India’s aim to be an international higher education destination would be affected. Four students from Nigeria, and a Kenyan woman, were attacked by crowds on 27 March in a shopping mall in Noida, a suburb of New Delhi, which came to light when the incident recorded on a mobile phone by shoppers was circulated on social media. Most of those who came under attack were said to be students at the private Noida International University. One of the victims told local media he had been attacked with rods, bricks and knives and that no one had helped him. Enduranca Amalawa told journalists: "We kept crying for help, but no one came, not even the security marshals. I was running but they followed me and attacked me." Police say up to 600 people were involved in the mob violence, reportedly after an Indian student died of a drug overdose and African students were wrongly linked to the supply of drugs. The incident happened during a candle-lit march for the deceased boy. Police reviewing CCTV footage of the violence say they have identified 44 people involved in the attack and so far have arrested five of them. The Kenyan woman, who is still unnamed, had reportedly been dragged out of a taxi by the mob. The Association of African Students in India or AASI posted images on its Facebook page of the bandaged students in hospital. It said: “Considering the situation, these young men were amazingly calm and sensible.” “We are tired of the appeasement and promises made by the Indian government and therefore will be taking stringent actions,” said AASI President Samuel Jack this week. These could include protest marches. Investigation Minister Swaraj said on Twitter that Yogi Adityanath, the newly-installed chief minister of Uttar Pradesh
                      6 years ago by @prophe
                       
                        Mar2017attackAfricaIndiaEnglish
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