By John Morgan. George Osborne’s budget has revealed that the government appears to be scrapping plans to grant VAT exemption to for-profit higher education providers, a move that was aimed at exposing universities to greater competition. The chancellor’s budget speech, delivered today, also confirmed further 1 per cent cuts to non-protected departmental spending in 2013-14 and 2014-15, and a bigger than expected total reduction in the 2015-16 spending review, meaning more reductions at the Department for Business Innovation and Skills.
Mr Osborne said in the speech that the coalition government’s “reform of schools, universities and apprenticeships is probably the single most important long-term economic policy we are pursuing”. In the accompanying “red book” document published following Mr Osborne’s speech, there is a section dealing with VAT for for-profit HE providers. Read more...

The Russian Ministry of Education will monitor the effectiveness of universities by calculating the number of out-of-work graduates applying for positions at job centers to identify universities that are producing the most unemployed graduates.
The Russian Ministry of Education has developed new criteria for monitoring the effectiveness of universities. Starting this year, the ministry will calculate the number of out-of-work graduates applying for positions at job centers, in order to identify universities that are producing the most unemployed graduates. Experts take issue with this logic.
“We are going to assess the relationship between the education system and the job market,” Deputy Minister Alexander Klimov told Kommersant. “We will factor in the number of graduates who apply to job centers.” Read more...

By Gunjan Sinha. Ever since the European Council’s decision in 2000 to transform the European Union into “a competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy,” Germany’s federal government has been pumping money into research and development through various mechanisms. As a result, not only are German research institutions forging major changes in the way that researchers teach, collaborate, and advance in their careers, they are also creating more jobs. These jobs run the gamut from junior and senior researchers to support staff. With good long-term funding prospects and attractive salaries, Germany has become a major contender in the global competition among nations to draw in top talent. Read more...