By Maina Waruru. Kenyans are among many African students whose dreams of a quality education in Cyprus might have been shattered. Internal politics in Cyprus have spilled over into the international and African higher education scene, fuelling confusion among parents and prospective students attracted to opportunities for top-notch education in the divided country.
Universities in secessionist north Cyprus, a region not recognised by the international community except Turkey, have been advertising places at various ‘quality’ institutions, precipitating a spat with the country’s missions abroad. The universities, including Cyprus International University and East Mediterranean University, both in the north Turkish-recognised region, have been luring students – mainly in Africa – with the promise of top-quality, affordable education. But the universities are not accredited by south (Greek) Cyprus, which is recognised by the United Nations, posing a major dilemma for students, who are uncertain about whether they will be able to enter the job market with qualifications from universities in north Cyprus. Read more...

By Peta Lee. In a welcome move, London Metropolitan University has reopened its doors to foreign students. Last August, in a controversial decision, the UK Border Agency stripped the institution of its right to sponsor the visas of international students, affecting several thousand students. In announcing the decision last week to reinstate the enrolment of these students, the government said recent inspections had showed “the university has made the necessary improvements to its monitoring of students' attendance and immigration status”.
At the time, the UK Border Agency, which has since been abolished and brought back into the Home Office, claimed that London Met was not meeting its responsibilities. Read more...

By John Gerritsen. New Zealand's latest evaluation of tertiary institutions' research has thrown up an unexpected winner. The Performance Based Research Fund results published today show that Victoria University of Wellington has the highest average score for its researchers, with the University of Auckland second and the former top University of Otago dropping to third. In the previous ranking, six years ago, Victoria was placed fourth, and its Deputy Vice-chancellor (Research) Professor Neil Quigley says the improvement is the result of a careful strategy to strengthen the quality of research at the university. Read more...

By Geoff Maslen. Australia’s universities are groaning under the weight of excessive government regulations and are demanding that regulatory demands be reduced or eliminated. The 39 public universities estimate that they spend A$280 million (US$292 million) a year complying with requirements set down by various federal and state departments. The peak body, Universities Australia, says a typical university spends more than A$1 million in meeting not even half the reporting obligations of just one government department. Read more...