By Damtew Teferra. The role of African academics and intellectuals on the continent and in the diaspora in strategically countering the prejudice and misinformation about Africa on the part of leaders such as United States President Donald Trump cannot be overemphasised. More...

By Martin Oosthuizen. Under the leadership of founding CEO Piyushi Kotecha, the Southern African Regional Universities Association has, over the past decade, developed a rich regional knowledge base, extensive networks, relevant regional higher education studies, innovative methodologies and programmes, as well as sound pathways to the consolidation of regional collaboration. More...

By Colleen Howell. The public good is something everyone recognises as important, yet many find it hard to pin down. The same can be said about higher education, with views divided on what it is, who should attend and how its public good functions should be assessed. More...

By Kudzai Mashininga. Following a cholera outbreak last year which forced the closure of universities and other institutions of higher learning, the Zambian government announced earlier this month that all universities – except two – could reopen on 22 January, subject to clearance from the relevant local authorities and health departments. More...

By Gilbert Nganga. The Kenyan government has asked foreign and local private investors for more than US$200 million to build hostels at three public universities this year. More...

By Rodrigue Rwirahira. The imminent loss of important public documents due to poor archiving and inadequate library services has prompted the Rwandan government to facilitate the reintroduction of a library science degree programme which was scrapped five years ago. More...

By Tonderayi Mukeredzi. Government has binned the science, technology, engineering and mathematics or STEM advanced-level scholarships geared towards final-year school pupils, saying the money will be channelled towards university students. In addition, it has done away with mathematics as a requirement for higher education students to enrol in study programmes that do not require mathematical calculations. More...

By Ashraf Khaled. Egypt’s state-run Mansoura University has announced the mass failure of over a thousand medical students after they staged a walkout from the examination hall in protest against what they said were overly-tough questions contained in a surgery paper. More...

By Brendan O’Malley – Managing Editor. In Commentary, Robert Quartly-Janeiro says business schools have lost the plot – they are being challenged by the crisis of globalisation and they need to get back to developing business leaders who can serve society rather than growing rich from it. Rosemary Salomone writes that a recent court judgment in Italy against the teaching of graduate programmes in English provides a framework for questioning the use of English as a vehicle for ‘internationalising’ universities, with wider implications across Europe. And as Vladimir Putin runs for re-election as Russian president, Ararat Osipian asks why so few students are involved in political protests in Russia.
   Also in Commentary, Eric Fredua-Kwarteng and Samuel Ofosu contend that the ‘developmental university’ is a better model for the African continent than the ‘Africanised university’, whose proponents are over-consumed with the politics of decolonisation as if that is the only developmental challenge facing the continent. Allan E Goodman says that how we respond to the present global education imperatives will shape our future, so we should guard against dynamics that close our doors and our minds and embrace an international approach.
   In our World Blog, Patrick Blessinger and Mandla Makhanya examine the concept of higher education as a common good, whereby universities fulfil their missions by serving the contemporary needs of their constituents and addressing a range of social needs.
   In Features, Tunde Fatunde reports that irregular payment of public university lecturers’ salaries in Nigeria is causing personal hardship, with fatal consequences when staff are unable to afford adequate food and proper medical care.
   In a Special Report covering the annual conference of the Council for Higher Education Accreditation and the CHEA International Quality Group in Washington DC, Mary Beth Marklein reports that Republicans in the US are proposing a comprehensive rewrite of the higher education law, to which Democrats are vehemently opposed. Marklein also reports from the conference that the higher education accreditation sector is facing pressure to reform to stem waning public confidence in the value of US degrees. More...

By Brendan O’Malley – Managing Editor. Revisiting our series on Transformative Leadership published by University World News in partnership with The MasterCard Foundation, Carolyn Muriel Shields reflects on how to move the dialogue forward, arguing that it is time to end the rankings and the competition to be ‘best in the world’ and focus instead on how we can help to create ‘the best world’ in which we can live together in mutual benefit. Susan V Berrresford argues that the world needs fellowship programmes that build on the talent and determination of local leaders from marginalised communities to help create a fresh pipeline of leaders to strengthen work on inequality and exclusion.
   In Commentary, Damtew Teferra says African academics and intellectuals on the continent and in the diaspora must play a role in countering the prejudice and misinformation about Africa on the part of leaders such as United States President Donald Trump. Robert A Scott contends that governing boards need to have a better understanding of how universities operate and should be “mission-based and market sensitive”. Colleen Howell outlines a new research project being undertaken across four African countries to explore how key tertiary education players understand higher education and the public good within their national and regional contexts. And Marijke Wahlers discusses higher education internationalisation in Germany, a country that has set itself apart from the mainstream of recruiting international students to cover deficits in university budgets.
   In Student View, Mona Jebril, a student from Gaza who gained a masters at Oxford and a PhD at Cambridge, says if universities want to be truly international, they need to think carefully about how they support international students from conflict zones.
   In our World Blog, Emmanuelle Fick and Grace Karram Stephenson discuss how Canada’s recent Ontario college strike called attention to the issue of precarious employment in higher education, with an impressive feature of the strike being that full-time and contract faculty stood united.
   Reporting back on last Wednesday’s webinar on the megatrends shaping the future of global higher education that was hosted by StudyPortals, Nic Mitchell writes that a poll taken during the webinar showed that most participants agreed that universities face transformative changes over the next decade but few believed universities were prepared for the sea change ahead.
   In Features this week, Ararat L Osipian contends that Ukraine’s universities have closed their doors and sent students on extended holidays until spring because of a lack of money to pay heating bills. More...