By Catarina Pinto. As the Tertiary Education Services Office (GAES) plans a joint-entrance admission exam for students enrolling in one or more of the four Macau universities, the education sector still does not hold a consensual view on the matter.
Heard by GAES, several secondary schools have already provided their opinions on the standardized exam. Zélia Mieiro, vice-president of the Portuguese School of Macau (EPM) told the Times that the school is in favor of the joint entrance exam. More...

By Rozanna Latiff. A quarter of Malaysians aged between 18 and 24 are now pursuing higher education, Datuk Seri Najib Razak said today.
The prime minister said the government has worked hard to increase access to education at all levels since 1959, when University of Malaya took in its first batch of 300 students.
"Education can improve the odds of success for the underprivileged, who were born in less fortunate circumstances. Read more...

Almost 8,000 rural youngsters in Tibet Autonomous Region passed college entrance exams and matriculated in 2013, the regional education authority announced on Saturday.
The number accounts for 60 percent of the region's total higher education enrollment last year.
"Farmers and herdsmen make up 80 percent of the population of Tibet's 3 million people. Their children have the same rights to higher education as urban students," said Ma Shengchang, director of the regional education department. More...

By Shannon Tiezzi. Beijing supports increased research on South China Sea issues as part of a soft power push for control. China’s increased military and maritime surveillance activities in the South China Sea have been well-documented, both by foreign and Chinese media outlets. But China’s push to assert its claims over islands within the South China Sea is not simply unfolding in the military realm — the increased naval activities are backed by a renewed focus within the academic community. A recent article in China Dailyhighlighted one such organization, the Collaborative Innovation Center for South China Sea Studies (CICSCSS), based at Nanjing University. More...

By P. Vijian. The government is encouraged by the performance of local academics in research and publishing articles in international journals, says Finance Ministry II Idris Jusoh.
Encouraged by the performance of local academics in research and publishing articles in international journals, the government said it will continue providing grants for public universities.
In the last budget, the government allocated RM600 million as research grants for public institutions of higher learning. More...