Free higher education in South Africa – The poor, rich and ‘missing middle’

By Karen MacGregor – Africa Editor. In Africa Analysis, Nico Cloete argues in response to South Africa’s #FeesMustFall student movement that free higher education in a developing country is financially impossible and morally wrong as it privileges the rich – ‘Affordable higher education for all’ should be the rallying cry.
Reuben Kyama interviews Reeta Roy, president and CEO of the MasterCard Foundation, following the inaugural Young Africa Works Summit in Cape Town, and finds her inspired by the ideas and commitment of Africa’s future leaders.
In Africa Features, Wachira Kigotho learns that the revitalisation of African higher education is being eroded by under-funding and the rise of ethnically-based universities.
University World News attended the South African Technology Network’s Eighth Annual International Conference and, in the first of two Special Reports, unpacks discussions around the theme of “Entrepreneurship Education for Economic Renewal.”
In World Blog, Rahul Choudaha writes that the last thing any well-intentioned institution wants to do is treat international students as ‘cash cows’ – they need rather to investigate and invest in international student success.
In Commentary, Jeremy Rappleye and Edward Vickers examine scenarios for Japan’s Super Global Universities programme, saying that segregation of international faculty and students will not lead to successful internationalisation. Nita Temmerman contends that a major challenge for online learning in developing countries is that learners and teachers are separated from each other, in societies that place high value on social contact. And Ruwayshid Alruwaili expresses concerns that merging the ministries of higher education and education represents policy drift in Saudi Arabia. Read more...