Corruption – One of the challenges facing higher education harmonisation

By Sharon Dell – Acting Africa Editor. In Africa Features, Francis Kokutse interviews Association of African Universities (AAU) Secretary General Professor Etienne Ehile about the challenges facing the move towards harmonised quality systems in higher education, one of these being corruption.
   Staying with the AAU, in Features, Munyaradzi Makoni reports on a recent webinar, jointly hosted by the AAU, TrustAfrica and the Association for the Development of Education in Africa, on progress towards harmonisation of African higher education systems.
   We continue our focus on quality in the sector with a feature by Ramadhan Rajab about concerns over the uncontrolled expansion of Somalia’s higher education sector, particularly private institutions. In contrast, Laeed Zaghlami writes about the slow and more measured entry of private providers into Algeria.
   In Africa Analysis, Wondwosen Tamrat debates the merits of the Ethiopian government’s new plan to improve graduate employability which places considerable pressure on individual institutions, while Craig Blewett outlines his research on the role Facebook has played in shaping how the new generation consumes and shares content.
   In Africa News, Wachira Kigotho reports on a new plan by the African Union to stem brain drain, and Wagdy Sawahel covers the student protests in Mauritania over changes to the age of students eligible for scholarships.
   In World Blog, Nita Temmerman gives advice to academics on making sure that research happens among the myriad of other responsibilities they carry. More...