Universities alliance aims to bring out the best in African research

By Sharon Dell – Africa Editor. In a Q&A interview this week, head of the African Research Universities Alliance Ernest Aryeetey talks about how the fledgling 16-university alliance is working to raise the profile of African research and grow its output. In other features, Tunde Fatunde reports that Nigerian academics have rejected a ministerial proposal that science be taught in indigenous languages in primary schools, calling the move a diversion from the real reasons for poor performance in science, while Munyaradzi Makoni interviews a young amputee and student from Zimbabwe about institutional challenges facing disabled students.
In Africa news, Ashraf Khaled reports on moves to introduce studies on female genital mutilation to the curriculum of medical schools in Egypt in a bid to challenge the widespread practice, while Christabel Ligami writes about a 10-country programme which provides intensified support to early career researchers in the field of climate change.
In Africa analysis, Peter Vale reflects on the notion of objectivity in the humanities and calls for the unravelling of the ideological underpinnings of faculty histories after attending recent presentations at Stellenbosch University in South Africa.
In World Blog this week, Hans de Wit says the rise of nationalist, populist movements makes us wonder if the internationalisation of higher education is dying – by no means, he says, it may indeed be accelerating in many parts of the world. Read more...