Russian university students happy with an unsatisfactory system

In a highly diverse edition this week, our correspondents cover a range of issues confronting higher education around the world. Russian scholar Igor Chirikov describes in his Commentary article how students in that northern Eurasian nation accept without question the poor quality of their universities.
Meanwhile in neighbouring Ukraine, researchers Sonja Knutson and Valentyna Kushnarenko describe how higher education reforms are paving the way to a more international future – except that ongoing hostilities in the east could affect the hopes for change.
From South Africa, Janice McMillan argues that higher education needs teaching and learning that engages students not only as emergent professionals but also as committed, thoughtful and civic-minded young citizens. But this requires rethinking pedagogy and the complex relationship between knowledge, skills and values.
Also in Africa, Eric Fredua-Kwarteng and Francis Ahia describe how Ghana’s plan to convert its polytechnics into technical universities is misguided and panders to elitist views about universities. They argue that the name tag `technical’ or `university’ is not “a silver bullet for creating jobs and wealth or reducing poverty and unemployment”.
Geoff Maslen – Acting Global Editor. More...