New internet controls in China threaten to further restrict research access

By Brendan O’Malley – Managing Editor. In Features, Yojana Sharma reports on concerns of Chinese academics regarding further clampdowns on internet access as heavy internet restrictions in China are already hampering scientific research. And Mary Beth Marklein writes about a recent international gathering in Russia of emerging higher education scholars to explore how to tackle the problem of increasing social inequality in higher education and in society.
In Commentary, Raniero Chelli and Marco Di Donato say their work with Syrian refugees has helped them realise it is important to start planning for the day after the war in Syria ends and for Syria’s reconstruction, with education as a starting point. Patrik T Hultberg and David Santandreu Calonge hail South Korea for producing one of the most highly educated labour forces in the world but say it suffers from an education access trap, in which families are spending above their means on private tuition for a chance for their child to go to a prestigious institution. Ruwayshid Alruwaili says the US travel ban on citizens from six Muslim-majority countries is likely to deter students from the Middle East but hopes US universities will provide bridges of understanding and support. And as the idea of free tuition gains political support in England, Ariane de Gayardon warns that it is a policy that promises a lot but often fails to deliver, especially when it comes to access.

In our World Blog, Hans de Wit reflects on the discourse on higher education internationalisation, highlighting common misconceptions in the past and some major misconceptions he is likely to address in future.

In our section on Academic Freedom, Brendan O'Malley reports on the ‘staggering’ scale of the purge of academics in Turkey since the attempted coup a year ago, while Tunde Fatunde writes that Nigeria’s University of Maiduguri will remain open in defiance of ongoing terror attacks by Islamic terror group Boko Haram.

And in a new quarterly series on Academic Corruption, published by University World News in partnership with the Council for Higher Education Accreditation/CHEA International Quality Group, Brendan O'Malley interviews CHEA President Judith Eaton about the role international cooperation in quality assurance can play in tackling the growing scourge of academic corruption. More...