By Donald Otoyo Ondieki and Emily Achieng’ Akuno. According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, the creative economy is an evolving concept based on creative assets. It embraces economic, cultural, social and technological activities, linking at macro and micro levels with the overall economy. Read more...

By Wachira Kigotho. Only some 4,600 students from Sub-Saharan Africa were admitted to postgraduate courses in the United States last year, according to the Council of Graduate Schools. Students from the region comprised only 2% of 215,156 foreign students offered postgraduate places in 793 universities and colleges across America. Read more...

By Esther Nakkazi. A debate has been raging in Uganda over whether a degree improves the ability to comprehend and accurately report on parliamentary proceedings. With elections looming, parliament has barred journalists who do not have a degree and three years’ experience – even though MPs only need an advanced certificate. Read more...

By Maina Waruru. The Pan African University, or PAU, is to establish gender desks with permanent staff in all of its four operational institutes to address an acute problem of gender disparity in enrolments. Males comprise nearly 70% of all students admitted so far. Read more...

By Esther Nakkazi. Ugandan universities are phasing out courses with few students – except science courses and those not available elsewhere or where a university may have a comparative advantage. Read more...

By Wagdy Sawahel. Africa has been late to join the ‘green’ universities movement – only five institutions on the continent are among more than 400 participating in a global ranking of universities that practise environmentally friendly policies to help combat climate change. But now national and regional ‘green’ university networks are being developed on the continent. Read more...

By Munyaradzi Makoni. South Africa’s #FeesMustFall movement has found resonance in neighbouring Namibia, where student protests last week resulted in the government postponing registration fee payment at the Namibia University of Science and Technology or NUST. Read more...

By Ashraf Khaled. Egypt’s higher education authorities have curtailed a decades-old incentive system for sports students, saying that it has been abused for university entry. Read more...

By Gilbert Nganga. Tucked away on the outskirts of Kenya’s capital Nairobi, the Commission for University Education has been criticised for not having ‘bite’ in regulating the higher education sector. But this month the commission rose from the shadows, ordering 10 university campuses to close in what could be a turning point in salvaging the country’s higher education system. Read more...

By Karen MacGregor – Acting Global Editor. In the latest article in our “Africa: University Leadership” series, Donald Otoyo Ondieki and Emily Achieng’ Akuno propose that vice-chancellors create enabling environments for creative and cultural industries, which contribute 5% of Kenya’s gross domestic product but remain neglected by government and higher education. In World Blog, Tom Abeles argues that there is not enough money or qualified academics to achieve world-class or flagship universities in the developing world.
In Africa Features, Esther Nakkazi reports on a decision ahead of elections in Uganda to outlaw journalists from reporting on parliament if they do not hold a degree – which has sparked lively debate over the value of university qualifications. Wachira Kigotho unpacks a survey showing that Sub-Saharan Africans comprise just 2% of foreign students offered postgraduate places in the United States last year.
In Commentary, Marguerite Dennis suggests how international student mobility may change in a world shaped by ongoing terrorist attacks. Following the recent terror attack in Pakistan, Rafia Zakaria proposes alternative initiatives to military power to help make campuses in the Muslim world more secure. Rui Yang says that the future success of rising East Asian universities may be undermined by the toxic academic culture in the region, while Edward Vickers argues for more – not less – support for the humanities and social sciences in Japan’s national universities. Elizabeth Balbachevsky contends that Brazil’s academically excellent University of São Paulo nevertheless lags behind what one would expect from a ‘New Flagship University’ as portrayed in John Douglass’ new book. And in a Special Report on last week’s conference of America’s Council for Higher Education Accreditation, Mary Beth Marklein looks at the OECD contention of a need for an international comparative assessment of graduate outcomes. Read more...