By Yojana Sharma. With explosive growth in transnational education – overseas university degrees delivered to students in their home country – the need for common standards and constant monitoring of transnational degrees has become critical to maintain quality. Read more...

By Brendan O’Malley. In many countries free higher education is “regressive”, according to a senior World Bank official, because those accessing it are only from advantaged families. Read more...

By Yojana Sharma. Radical thought should be allowed to flourish on campuses around the world as a healthy expression of academic freedom, but universities must be able to help prevent violence, said an eminent panel of university leaders speaking at the British Council’s Going Global conference in London on 2 June. Read more...

By Brendan O’Malley. Is international education about bringing in business, funding universities or forging bonds and opening minds? The welcoming session of this year’s Going Global 2015, the British Council’s conference for leaders of international higher education, zigzagged across each one of these perspectives. Read more...

By Wagdy Sawahel. Tahar Hadjar is leaving his post as rector of the University of Algiers to become Algeria’s new minister for higher education and scientific research. Read more...

By Suvendrini Kakuchi. Although 90% of Japan’s final year students found jobs on graduation this year – the highest figure in many years – an increasing number of students are struggling to repay their student debt. Read more...

By Suchitra Behal. Next month about 500 British students will leave for India to either intern, study or be part of a cultural ‘immersion’ programme. They are the first group in the Generation UK-India scheme, facilitated by the British Council in collaboration with the government of India, which will see as many as 25,000 students from the UK travel to India over the next five years, in the hope of enhancing their career prospects in global Indian firms. Read more...

By Jan Petter Myklebust. Finland’s universities are facing drastic cuts and the introduction of tuition fees for international students following the new government’s announcement of severe austerity measures that will involve lopping €4.5 billion (US$5 billion) off public spending by 2019. Read more...

By Brendan O’Malley – Managing Editor. In Commentary, Goolam Mohamedbhai says ever-increasing demand and lack of accountability is fuelling corruption across African higher education systems and outlines ways to address bribery, cheating, plagiarism by students; nepotism, extortion, sexual harassment by staff; and the buying and selling of fake degrees.
Pushkar says China is way ahead of India in global quality indicators for universities and patents filed and asks why Indian premier Narendra Modi missed the opportunity on his trip to Beijing to build greater and deeper engagement with Chinese higher education. Morshidi Sirat and CD Wan say Malaysia’s education blueprint articulates the goals of higher education but not the philosophy behind them and this is inhibiting discussion of the overarching approaches to the plan.
And Iván F Pacheco says overproduction of PhDs and deteriorating working conditions for faculty staff in industrialised countries offer an opportunity for developing countries to lure talent.
In Features, Suluck Lamubol says one year on from Thailand’s military coup, the junta is stepping up pressure against exiled academics it has charged under draconian lèse majesté laws.
In our World Blog, Grace Karram Stephenson says funding is the most powerful lever of change for post-secondary systems and Ontario’s higher education system is being skewed by providing incentives only for enrolment.
In the first of two Special Reports on the British Council’s Going Global conference for international education leaders, held in London, Yojana Sharma hears experts argue forcefully that the battle to contain extremist violence across the world should not be allowed to prevent radical thought flourishing on campus. Brendan O’Malley hears Francisco Marmolejo of the World Bank argue that charging tuition fees can be the key to ensuring higher education funding is not contributing to social inequality, and Yojana Sharma reports on calls for the explosive growth in overseas degrees delivered to students in their home country to be underpinned by monitoring and benchmarking to enable comparison of quality. Read more...