The Association is pleased to announce that the 6th edition of the Guide to Higher Education in Africa has just been released. With information on over 1,200 university-level institutions as well as information on the education systems of some 52 countries in Africa, this most comprehensive information tool on higher education in Africa is now available and may be bought from Palgrave Macmillan, UK, publishers of the Association's reference publications. The GHEA is published in partnership with the Association of African Universities.
All IAU Members wishing to purchase a copy of the Guide are entitled to a 50% reduction: simply state you are a Member of IAU when ordering. A copy of the Guide is sent free of charge to all IAU Members in Africa. For ordering, please visit Palgrave Macmillan's website or contact Palgrave Macmillan. For more information or to send updates, please contact us at centre@iau-aiu.net.

By Conan Businge and Gloria Nakajubi. THE NATIONAL Council for Higher Education (NCHE) has accredited Uganda Technology and Management University (UTAMU) as the 30th private university in the country.
This implies that the country now prides in having 30 private universities, on top of the five public ones; Makerere, Kyambogo, Gulu, Busitema and Mbarara.
The new university will contribute in taking on a number of students who will not easily be accommodated by the overstretched institutions of higher learning. The universities in the country, can only accommodate half of the students who finish Senior Six every other year, due to inadequate infrastructure  and human resource.
The NCHE has last accredited new private universities in the country in 2011. The newest universities, which came on board in 2011, included African Rural University, Islamic Call University College, Livingstone International University, St. Augustine International University and Virtual University of Uganda. Read more...

WINDHOEK - The Ministry of Education is investigating the credibility of some tertiary institutions in China, India, the Ukraine, Russia and Botswana following the huge interest shown by many Namibian students to pursue university studies in those countries.
Last year the Ministry of Education (MoE) approved student loans and grants amounting to N$512 million and will spend N$600 million this year on student loans and grants.
The aim of the planned investigation is to validate the credibility of several foreign universities, some of which admit students with points as low as 10 to study medicine, engineering and other courses that normally require high marks. Read more...

By Irene Ihoaës. Higher education institutions in Southern Africa are described as elititist, because overall higher education provision in the region is low by world standards.
According to studies done by the Southern African Regional Universities Association (SARUA), while there has been rapid growth in student enrolments, country systems remain small, resulting in competition for places being high.
"Demand for higher education has outstripped capacity and this has, in some cases, led to overcrowding and concerns about the quality of offerings," SARUA said in a presentation made to the Extraordinary Meeting of SADC Ministers of Higher Education and Training. Read more...

Final Report of the IAU HEEFA Workshop in Kenya
The Final Report of the IAU Collaborative Workshop: A three-step activity to envision higher education for EFA locally, held in Nairobi, Kenya is now available. Organised in collaboration with the University of Nairobi, the Workshop brought together 30 participants from the University of Nairobi and Kenyatta University, both Ministries of Education and Higher Education and civil society who examined how to reinforce higher education’s contribution for EFA in Kenya. This Final Report was validated by the participants.
You can read the recommendations made; the results from the discussion groups on how research, teaching and community service can better contribute to achieving EFA in Kenya; the presentations; and learn who the participants were. For more information about IAU’s work in advancing higher education for EFA, click here.
IAU plans to conduct 4 Workshops in 2013 and 2014. See the Call for Hosting a Workshop. Deadline for applications: 30 April 2013. Contact: Nadja Kymlicka.

Par Marie Villacèque. Selon une étude menée d'Oxford à Stanford, 70% des étudiants africains issus des plus grandes business schools européennes et américaines envisagent de retourner dans leur pays d’origine, une fois diplômés.
Ils sont nombreux à avoir quitté l’Afrique pour poursuivre leurs études dans des grandes universités européennes ou américaines. Aujourd’hui, 70% de ces étudiants africains n’envisagent pas – ou plus – leur avenir professionnel en Occident, secoué par la crise économique. Ils souhaitent rentrer dans leur pays d’origine afin d’y trouver un travail. Dans une étude pilotée par le fond panafricain de capital-investissement Jacana Partners, 80 jeunes issus de dix-neuf pays du continent ont été sondés avant de parvenir à ces conclusions. Lire la suite...