World Education News and Reviews

Nov./Dec. 2002

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Africa

New Initiative to Spark African 'Brain Gain' In an attempt to attract professionals back home and reverse Africa's brain drain, the Commonwealth Business Council has launched a new Internet initiative. The FindaJobinAfrica.com Web site and a series of job fairs put on by the council will showcase the opportunities that are available for businesspeople in Africa. Dr. Titi Lola Banjoko, chief executive of FindaJobinAfrica.com, said the loss of trained workers through emigration has been a gradual process, which started in the 1980s. Economics, politics and war have also played major roles. Banjoko believes the situation is improving and that many professionals do now wish to return home. — BBC News Online Sept. 23, 2002

ANGOLA

New Tropical Farming Institute Planned

Graduate courses in tropical farming are expected to start in Southern Huila province in 2003. A school will be created with support from the Portuguese government as part of existing bilateral cooperation with Angola. Educators from both countries will teach at the new institute.

The project is a result of cooperation between Agostinho Neto University and Portugal's Higher Institute of Farming.

— Angola Press Agency (Luanda)
Oct. 11, 2002

Public University to Expand

The Standing Commission of Angola's Council of Ministers approved a program in November designed to expand Agostinho Neto University's reach to all provinces in the nation

The government document states that varsity-level schools of science and technology will be established in a number of provinces. University poles dependent on university centers will be established where such centers are not feasible.

— Angola Press Agency (Luanda)
Nov. 15, 2002

GHANA

New Private University Opens

Asheshi University College was officially inaugurated recently with the admission of 33 students. The university, a private institution, is located in Accra and will offer two core programs: business administration and computer science.

As well as courses taught on campus the university also offers online courses that are taught by foreign academics.

— Accra Mail (Accra)
Oct. 10, 2002

KENYA

Catholic University Grows

The Catholic University of Eastern Africa will establish two more departments in 2003. The addition of the commerce and science faculties will double the number on campus.

— The Nation (Nairobi)
Oct. 5, 2002

Program Attracts Record Numbers

Kenyatta University (KU) has received 10,000 applications from adult learners who intend to pursue their diploma and degree courses under the newly introduced Open Learning program.

The new courses, administered by KU's Directorate of Open Learning, are being delivered in modular form via distance learning.

KU is also planning a new campus in Nyeri, Central Province. The campus will offer all KU courses, ranging from bridge courses to doctorates. Courses will be taught through a combination of distance-learning methods and on-site lectures.

— The Nation (Nairobi)
Oct. 25, 2002

Month-Long Strike Ends

Students and teachers returned to class Oct. 22 after the Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) struck a payment deal with the government, ending a one-month strike that halted learning in virtually every public school in the country.

The strike resulted from prolonged stalemates between government and teachers. Teachers claimed the government had reneged on its promise to deliver a 150 percent to 200 percent pay raise it awarded to teachers in 1997. The government, which declared the strike illegal, had only implemented part of the deal and said it had no more money to complete the program.

Kenya may well see more teachers strikes. While calling off the strike, KNUT Secretary-General Francis Ng'ang'a told teachers to resume work "for the sake of education and students." The announcement followed the signing of a "return-to-work" formula, under which the government promised to implement the contentious pay raise with effect from July 1, 2003.

— East African Standard
September- October 2002

LIBERIA

Nursing Schools Shuttered

The Ministry of Health and Social Welfare has closed 18 nursing schools on the recommendation of the Liberia Nursing and Midwifery Board. The ministry stated that the institutions are operating illegally and in violation of the National Health Policy and the Public Health Law of Liberia.

The shuttered schools are: New Hope School of Health Sciences, Liberia College of Technology, Liberia National Red Cross First Aid, St. Martin's College of Career Development, Soko Sackor Nurse Aide Association and Training Institute, Institute of Polytechnic Education, National Training Institute, Basic Skills Training Institute, National Institute of Professional Studies, Professional Institution of Medical Art, Teens Girls In-Development and Voluntary First Aid Association, Tarplah Institute of Medical Arts, West African University College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Dr. Sharon J. Byrd School of Nurse Assistants, Jimmi E. International School of Vocation and Goja Inc. Mason Center School of Health.

— The News (Monrovia)
Nov. 14, 2002

MOZAMIQUE

Bill Would Restructure Higher Education

The Mozambique Parliament on Oct. 30 passed the first reading of a bill altering the country's legislation on higher education. In 1993, when the existing law was passed, there were only three higher education institutions in the country, all of them publicly funded. Now, there are 10, half of them private.

In 1993, students in the public education system took, on average, seven years to complete the five-year licenciatura that is considered to be halfway between a bachelor's and master's degree. The framework for higher education under the new bill provides for an entirely new polytechnic sector, which initially will run programs lasting one or two years.

Universities will offer programs of three or more years in length. Implicit in the bill is a move away from five-year programs. It defines a licenciatura as a four-year program and a bachelor's as a three-year program.

A new system of academic credits will be introduced that allows students to transfer credits earned from one institution to another. All courses will be granted credits that count toward the student's final degree.

— Agencia de Informacao de Mocambique (Maputo)
Oct. 30, 2002

NAMIBIA

Country's First Private University to Study AIDS

A department for the study of HIV and AIDS will be integrated into the International University of Management (IUM), Namibia's first-ever private university. President Sam Nujoma officially launched the university in October 2002.

IUM Chairman David Namwandi said the institution wants to cater to half of all high school graduates who cannot be accommodated at existing higher education institutions. Of the annual 12,000 graduates, roughly 4,000 are admitted to the University of Namibia (Unam) and the Polytechnic of Namibia.

Namwandi said IUM is not in direct competition with Unam but complements the roles of other higher education institutions.

The school was registered in June 2001 and took over the former Institute of Higher Education.

— The Namibian
Oct. 29, 2002

NIGERIA

Overseas Education Trend Spurs Assessment

The minister of education, Mr. Borishade, has expressed concern over the number of Nigerians traveling abroad to receive educational instruction, despite the abundance of educational opportunities and facilities at home.

Speaking at the inauguration of the reconstituted National Standing Committee for the Evaluation of Foreign Qualifications, he said, "The sensitive nature of the task of determining Nigerian equivalents to foreign qualifications presented by returnees from overseas has compelled the government to set up machinery for the assessment and evaluation of these qualifications."

Two volumes of a register for foreign equivalencies have been published. According to the minister, the first volume contains information on the educational systems of West European countries and some francophone African countries, as well as American, Asian, East European and Middle Eastern countries. The second volume contains information on academic and professional qualifications from the United Kingdom, some African countries, Canada, Australia, Asia and the Far East.

— This Day (Lagos)
Oct. 17, 2002

Medical College to Receive Accreditation

The government has approved US$550,000 for the accreditation of all courses at Lagos State University College of Medicine.

According to the governor of Lagos state, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the medical college is to be equipped with medical equipment from Cook County Hospital in Chicago. Tinubu also spoke about the development of a department of malaria control at the college.

— Vanguard (Lagos)
Oct. 29, 2002

Borishade: Only JAMB Can Hold Admissions Exams

Professor Babalola Borishade, minister of education, said recently only the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) can conduct tests for admission into tertiary institutions. It is illegal for institutions to conduct their own tests.

He said until the bill seeking autonomy for the university system is passed into law and assented to by the president, any institution that acts to the contrary would be breaking the law.

— This Day (Lagos)
Oct. 22, 2002

SIERRA LEONE

Loan, Grant Project to Reform Nonformal Education

The African Development Bank (ADB) has approved the financing of a US$21.16 million project to rehabilitate basic, non-formal education in Sierra Leone. The package includes a US$19.84 million loan and a US$1.32 million grant.

ADB said the 'Education III Project' is an emergency response to fill basic education, vocational-skills training and functional literacy needs. It will include the rehabilitation, reconstruction or expansion of 460 primary and 100 junior secondary schools, as well as 40 community education and vocational-training centers. The project will also strengthen the capacity of the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology.

— UN Integrated Regional Information Networks
Oct. 16, 2002

SOUTH AFRICA

Recruiters Blamed for Severe Medical Staff Shortage

Citing insufficient pay, overwork and lack of support, South African health professionals are leaving in droves for countries such as Great Britain, the United States and Australia, where the pay is higher and the working conditions better. This comes at a time when the country's already overloaded health system struggles to deal with the increasing burden of AIDS.

Helped by international recruiting agencies, as many as 3,500 of 26,000 South African doctors are living and working abroad, according to the South African Medical Association. African governments are blaming these agencies for poaching their much-needed medical staff.

South Africa has called on wealthy governments to stop recruiting their medical professionals. The Commonwealth, a body of 54 former British colonies and territories, has addressed the issue of poaching, and some countries have agreed to not recruit staff directly from the developing world. Britain, however, in an attempt to reduce long waiting lists at National Health Service hospitals, continues to bring in doctors from abroad on a temporary basis. The United States, which does not have a nationalized health system, cannot prohibit hospitals and universities from recruiting overseas.

Despite the government's struggle to keep its medical staff, South Africa's situation is not nearly as severe as many of its neighbors. There are only 400 registered doctors in Zambia, and many of Zimbabwe's medical professionals are leaving because of increasing political instability and deepening economic recession. Reports from Kenya indicate that there are only 600 practicing dentists left in the country.

— Christian Science Monitor
Oct. 8, 2002

Five-Year Plan Calls for University Mergers

The restructuring of higher education in South Africa is set to receive supplementary funding in the years ahead.

Finance Minister Trevor Manuel said it will take five years to complete the proposed mergers of higher education institutions. The plan to reduce the country's 36 universities and technikons to 21 is outlined in the National Plan for Higher Education, which was approved by the Cabinet in May 2002.

The restructuring, according to a report by the South Africa Universities Vice Chancellors Association, would will cost an estimated R3.6 billion (US$360 million) over the five years.

— BuaNews (Pretoria)
Oct. 30, 2002

Ethnic Languages Gain Stature in Higher Education

The South African government has approved the Language Policy Framework for higher education, which is set to promote the use of ethnic languages in higher education institutions. The framework includes the development of languages other than English and Afrikaans for use as academic and scientific languages, and also the promotion of the study of these languages and their literature in higher education.

The ministry said the promotion of a common sense of nationhood drove the effort. According to the government, the framework is consistent with the values of democracy, social justice and fundamental rights guaranteed in the Constitution.

English will be the primary, but not sole, language of instruction. The importance of Afrikaans as a medium of academic expression is also acknowledged with a commitment to ensure its capacity will not be "eroded."

— BuaNews (Pretoria)
Nov. 7, 2002

SUDAN

University Closes Amid Student Unrest

The University of Khartoum has been closed indefinitely after a three-week protest against the Islamist government turned increasingly violent.

Clashes erupted Nov. 13 between rival groups of students at two campuses of Sudan's leading university.

Students had led a strike that closed five university departments since Oct. 22, when police forcibly broke up a student celebration. They were marking the 35th anniversary of a popular upheaval that overthrew the military dictatorship of Ibrahim Aboud. The strike continued with student accusations of police brutality, which the authorities have promised to investigate.

— AFP
Nov. 14,2002

UGANDA

Gulu University Opens

The long-awaited Gulu University has opened its doors to an expected student body of 300. Students from all over the country will have three undergraduate programs to choose from: education, business administration and development studies. The university is in Gulu town.

— New Vision (Kampala)
Oct. 2002

ZIMBABWE

Exams Cancelled as Lecturers Strike

About 900 university lecturers went on strike in early October, demanding improved working conditions and salary adjustments commensurate with their qualifications and equal to the rate of inflation.

In a November statement from professor Graham Hill, vice chancellor of the University of Zimbabwe, end-of-semester examinations were cancelled in courses where three weeks or more of teaching had been lost due to the strike. Arrangements will be made to hold the examinations at the beginning of the second semester.

A government ultimatum required lecturers to return to work by Nov. 6 or risk facing unspecified disciplinary action. Some of the lecturers defied the ultimatum and said they would continue with their industrial action until the government supplied written evidence that their salaries will be adjusted.

— The Daily News (Harare)
Nov. 20, 2002

BRAZIL

UNESCO Pact Boosts Diversity Program

An agreement signed by UNESCO and the Brazilian Education Ministry will secure funds of US$9 million to raise undergraduate standards by running pre-university courses in Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo and Bahia. The project is part of the Diversity at University program, which was launched in September 2002 by the Education Ministry. Funding will come from the Inter-American Development Bank (US$5 million) and the Brazilian government (US$4 million).

— Times Higher Education Supplement
Nov. 6, 2002

CANADA

New Visa Laws for Foreign Students in Canada

International students now have double the amount of time - six months -- to spend in Canada on a visitor visa. Students are also allowed to work part time off-campus as long as they are enrolled full-time at a college or university.

The new legislation has been widely praised by language schools that believe it will open the doors to much increased business, and put Canada on a level playing field with competitor countries.

— Language Travel Magazine
June 2002

Ontario Colleges Given Degree Status for Some Applied Programs

Nine Ontario colleges of applied arts and technology have been granted the right to offer new bachelor-level degrees. The 12 degree programs are among 24 that will be introduced in the pilot project.

Traditionally, Ontario colleges have awarded certificates or diplomas for one-, two- or three-year postsecondary and postgraduate programs. According to Howard Rundle, chairman of the Committee of Presidents of the Association of Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology of Ontario, the ability to award bachelor's degrees recognizes marketplace need and the breadth and scope of training that colleges provide.

Examples of applied fields where the Ontario colleges can award bachelor's degrees include business, computing technology and information sciences.

— Association of Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology of Ontario press release
March 27, 2002

Concordia University Bans Mid-East Activities

After violent demonstrations in September caused the cancellation of a speech by former Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Montreal's Concordia University introduced a ban on all campus activities related to the Middle East.

Pro-Palestinian demonstrators smashed windows and harassed people trying to attend the event. When the demonstrators entered the building, Montreal police officers were forced to use tear gas to disperse them.

The university lifted its controversial three-month moratorium in November after an agreement on suitable principles for public expression, including commitments to mutual respect and nonviolent behavior, were reached. The university also said that it will not permit speech and materials that promote racism.

— The Chronicle of Higher Education
Sept. 27, 2002

EL SALVADOR

Phony-Degree Scandal Puts Judiciary Under Scrutiny

In recent weeks the Supreme Court of El Salvador has suspended 38 judges over allegations that they do not have legitimate law degrees. Court officials said the cleanup could affect 40 percent of the nation's 628 judges.

Prosecutors claim there are law practitioners in the country who have never attended college or even graduated high school, but still somehow hold law degrees. However, the judicial purging has unleashed a host of critics who say the court is going after the wrong people.

The dubious-degree crisis is a legacy of the civil war between the government and leftist guerrillas in the 1980s. The two main universities became very politicized during the war, and the military took over campuses on a number of occasions, forcing them to close classrooms for long periods.

Increasing demand for less politicized and more stable university education, coupled with lax government regulation, resulted in an oversupply of schools. 'Between 1977 and 1995, 49 institutions of higher education opened, many of which had dismal academic standards. Law was one of the most commonly offered degrees, and a handful of newer universities took to selling degrees to people who never attended a class.

Roberto Vidales, special prosecutor for the investigation, said the great majority of judges under investigation, however, finished most, if not all their coursework at legitimate universities but were prevented from graduating because of the war. Many transferred to questionable universities and completed the coursework that university officials had told them they lacked to graduate.

Part of the current debate centers on whether these people were innocent victims or whether the fact that they transferred to universities notorious for selling degrees denotes a level of guilt. The Supreme Court has decided not to differentiate between shades of fraud.

— Washington Post
Oct. 25, 2002

UNITED STATES

Report: India Tops Student Exports to the U.S.

India has become the largest exporter of foreign students to the United States, according to statistics from the Institute of International Education's annual "Open Doors" report. In the academic year 2001-02, the number of Indian students studying in the United States increased 22 percent, compared with growth of only 6 percent in the number of students from China, the leading sending country for the previous three years.

Overall, the number of international students attending colleges and universities in the United States increased 6.4 percent. The previous year also saw 6.4 percent growth, the largest increase in 20 years. The number of foreign students on U.S. soil was a record high of 582,996, and continued the trend of substantial growth in foreign student enrollments that began in 1997, after a four-year period of minimal growth.

India's 66,836 students now represent 12 percent of the total number of international students in the United States, topping China's 63,211 students. The Republic of Korea was the third-leading sender, increasing 7 percent to 49,046 students. Japan, which had been the leading sending country from 1995-96 to 1998-99, when it was surpassed by China, showed a slim increase of just 0.7 percent (with 46,810) and slipped to fourth place.

The data was collected in October-November 2001, suggesting that the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks did not cause too many students to return home as a result. However, the numbers do not reflect the current visa problems that many foreign students are now experiencing.

Other highlights of the study show that New York University was surpassed by the University of Southern California as the No. 1 receiving institution, which complements California's rating as the No. 1 host state. New York City, however, had more international students (35,737) than any other metropolitan area, with 7,000 more than Los Angeles. Foreign students, representing 4 percent of the U.S. student body, contributed nearly $12 billion to the U.S. economy in money spent on tuition, living expenses and related costs. The Department of Commerce describes U.S. higher education as the country's fifth-largest service sector export.

Exchange the other way also increased impressively, with 154,168 U.S. college students receiving credit for study abroad, an increase of 7.4 percent over the previous year.

More information can be found HERE.

— Institute for International Exchange
Nov. 18, 2002

OAS, Spanish University to Cooperate

The Organization of American States (OAS) and Spain's National Distance Learning University have joined forces to open the Institute for the Advanced Studies of the Americas. The Miami institute will be a center for professional training and continuing education.

The school will offer courses in social development, tourism and sustainable development, access to markets, scientific development, the exchange and transfer of technology and trade liberalization.

— The News
Sept. 29, 2002

MIT Launches 2 Groundbreaking Internet Resources

The pilot site of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's (MIT) OpenCourseWare (OCW) was launched Sept. 30, 2002. The ground-breaking initiative makes most MIT course materials available on the Web, free of charge, to anyone, anywhere in the world.

Almost 40 MIT courses in 16 academic departments and the Sloan School of Management are now available online. The hope is that OCW will advance technology-enhanced education at MIT, and will serve as a model for university dissemination of knowledge in the Internet age.

Following swiftly on the heels of the OCW initiative, MIT launched a "super-archive" Nov. 4 that makes research from all its academics freely available. Dspace, as the digital repository is known, allows all MIT academics to pool their findings and share everything, from their articles, technical reports, conference papers, data sets and databases to media clips, visual aids and simulations used in class.

The university hopes the initiative will spark a more free and international exchange of academic ideas. MIT and Hewlett Packard, which co-designed the program, will offer and encourage the adoption of Dspace at other research-intensive institutions.

— MIT news
Sept. 30, 2002
Nov. 4, 2002

Falsified Transcripts Concern UCLA

University of California-Los Angeles (UCLA) officials said recently they will be scrutinizing transcripts from foreign applicants much more closely after the recent discovery of falsified records submitted by a prospective student from China.

Campus administrators said the investigation will apply to 11 programs in the biomedical and life-sciences field. In the past, UCLA and many other U.S. universities did not verify transcripts, so the recent announcement makes UCLA one of the first universities in the nation to acknowledge it is taking such steps. Penn State University recently announced that it has undertaken similar reviews of foreign credentials from students wishing to apply to its graduate school.

David Meyer, director of UCLA Access, an umbrella organization for doctoral students applying to its graduate programs, said the tougher scrutiny will apply to all foreign students in the 11 departments, but that applicants from China are raising most concern. He said there seems to be widespread practice there of students putting together transcripts and mailing the documents themselves, rather than having the universities send the paperwork.

UCLA Access will try to establish closer ties with the four universities where most of its Chinese graduate students come from: Fudan, Qinghua, Beijing and the University of Science and Technology of China. UCLA plans to send some of its faculty to meet with officials at the four schools in an attempt to establish verification procedures.

Meyer said other graduate programs at UCLA have not adopted similar measures, but all have been advised to take extra caution.

The UCLA controversy comes amid rising concerns about possible cheating by foreign students on entrance exams. The Educational Testing Service recently alerted U.S. campuses that scores on the GRE from China, South Korea and Taiwan may have been affected by cheating.

— Los Angeles Times
Sept. 13, 2002

Fraudulent Applicants Look for 'Easy Mark' Universities

According to Edward Devlin, director of special projects for the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (AACRAO), institutions of higher education need to be vigilant in examining suspicious documents from overseas students.

In an article entitled, "Why Verification of Suspicious Records is Important," Devlin wrote: "The reputation of an institution as an 'easy mark' for questionable application documents is a hard one to repair. Once this reputation is public, good students will stay away. Weak ones will apply, fraudulently or not."

In countries with high numbers of fraudulent applicants, there are a number of institutions in North America that are considered easy marks, according to Devlin. Many of these institutions are working with unscrupulous agents, who will do whatever necessary to secure an admission for their student clients. Visa officers in embassies and high commissions in those countries are more and more aware of which institutions are admitting students with bogus credentials. Institutions that are finding that many of their students are being rejected for visas should be asking if they have become easy marks, Devlin said.

— American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers
Spring 2002

January Doubts Confirmed, INS Extends SEVIS Database Entry Deadline to August

The U.S. Department of Justice introduced its new electronic international student-tracking system in mid-May and put it into operation July 1. Until Dec. 11, all U.S. colleges and universities had been expected to report information about all visiting students to the Immigration and Naturalization Service's (INS) Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS), by Jan. 30, 2003. The deadline for institutions to enter the names of all of their international students into the system has since been moved to Aug.1, 2003.

Jan. 30, 2003, is only the deadline by which institutions that enroll foreign students must sign up for the system. Institutions that fail to comply will lose authorization from the INS to accept international students. As of Sept. 11, 2002, no F, M or J visas may be issued by the State Department without electronic evidence of admission from the institution sponsoring the international student. Institutions must enter basic biographic information about the international student into the State Department's new Interim Student and Exchange Authentication System (ISEAS). The ISEAS system will remain in place until SEVIS is fully implemented.

Under the new regulations, colleges must now report if their international students acquire practical training related to their fields of study. The institutions must record any work experience that international students undertake while they are studying, and for up to 12 months after they graduate. The INS regulations cover students carrying F visas, for academic students, and M visas, for vocational students.

The State Department also issues J visas, mostly for professors, scholars, and students visiting on exchange programs. The State Department has not yet released regulations for J-visa holders.

— College Bound
June-July 2002

University of Phoenix Doctoral Programs Approved

The University of Phoenix received approval from the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association to offer three new doctoral programs in business administration, education and health-care administration.

The new programs will be offered through the university's online campus, and to support these offerings, the university has established the School of Advanced Studies.

— The Business Journal Phoenix
September 24, 2002

Bill Would Allow Border Students to Study in the U.S. Part Time

Students living in Mexico and Canada would be allowed to legally attend college in the United States part time under federal legislation that has passed Congress and awaits action by the White House.

The legislation would create two new visa classifications for part-time, daily commuter students from border towns in Mexico and Canada. The legislation passed the House Oct. 15, 2002 and the Senate a day later.

After the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the Immigration and Naturalization Service initially vowed to outlaw foreign part-time commuter students from attending school in the United States, but then issued a ruling in August allowing commuter study on an interim basis.

Currently, Mexican and Canadian college students are allowed to attend school in the United States with only F-1 or M-1 visas. The new bill would create an F-3 category for part-time students and an M-3 category for vocational coursework. Such students would be subject to the INS online student-tracking system.

Asia/Pacific

Degree Mills Update For an extensive guide to active, emerging and recent degree mills and officially unaccredited universities, compiled from original research by the Higher Education Supplement of The Australian Newspaper, visit the Bogus Institutions Web site.

AFGHANISTAN

Police Reaction to Student Unrest Leaves 4 Dead

Protests broke out Nov. 11 at Kabul University after students began complaining about the ongoing lack of electricity, poor living conditions and lack of food. The protests evolved into a march and eventually into chaos as police fired live rounds into the crowd, which, according to Human Rights Watch, left four students dead and 20 injured.

A demonstration took place the next day protesting the police violence. Demonstrations again turned violent after police used water canons to disperse the crowd and then fired directly into the crowd, wounding three more students. Students say six people died in the two days of unrest.

The demonstrations came exactly a year after Kabul was liberated from the hard-line Taliban regime.

Another protest Nov. 13 was more muted, with many students apparently mollified by government pledges to improve conditions and investigate the police handling of the situation.

— Human Rights Watch
Nov. 14, 2002

AUSTRALIA

Revisions Relax Student Visa Regulations

New revisions to student visa legislation went into effect Nov. 1, 2002, with revised assessment levels for a number of countries. Australia has five assessment levels (AL) categories that prospective students fall into according to their nationality. The higher the AL, the more stringent the requirements that applicants have to meet. Under the new revisions, AL4 has been downgraded to AL3 for some countries and education sectors. Schools in Australia had been concerned that the high International English Language Testing System (IELTS) score needed by potential English language students from AL 4-rated countries was a deterrent to study.

Students from Bangladesh, Fiji, India, Iran, Nepal, the Philippines and Sri Lanka are all now AL3, although students from Vietnam, China, Laos, Lebanon, Jordan and Pakistan remain AL4. Other countries, including South Korea, Mexico and South Africa, have been downgraded from AL3 to AL2. This means there are fewer restrictions on the acceptable sources of funds that students need to demonstrate and no requirements to have the funds for at least three months prior to application.

All AL3 students can now enter the country to study English. Once they are in the country and can demonstrate sufficient funds for 12 months of study, these students can apply for a further study visa.

— Language Travel
November 2002

Australian, Irish Institutions to Collaborate

Australia and Ireland signed a three-year academic collaboration agreement in Melbourne recently. The agreement between the Australian Vice Chancellors Committee and the Conference of Heads of Irish Universities involves information sharing, staff and student exchanges, mutual recognition of qualifications, staff development, researcher exchange programs and university management.

— Australian Vice Chancellors Committee
Nov. 4, 2002

CHINA

Diploma Forgery Becoming an Epidemic

Since the 1990s, when it reformed its educational system, the Chinese government has been trying to persuade college students that degrees are worth paying for. That effort seems to be working, but as a result, the trend has spawned an unwanted market in fake diplomas.

In the back streets of big East Coast cities, diploma dealers are offering high-quality fake diplomas for as little as US$25. Diplomas are not the only things being faked. With the increase in competition in this new market-based society, transcripts and reference letters are routinely being forged, and outright cheating is rampant on international standardized tests, such as the Graduate Record Examinations (GRE).

In August, the Educational Testing Service announced it was canceling its GRE computer science subject test in China (and also India) because of widespread cheating. This came after a suspension of the service in Asia after investigators found that students were sharing test questions on the Internet.

Such fraud has a huge impact inside China. State media reported in September on a nationwide campaign to hunt down thousands of party and government officials who had been promoted on the basis of fake diplomas or other falsehoods in their resumes.

The crackdown is going to be far from easy. According to the latest national census, the number of people in China claiming to hold degrees is more than 500,000 higher than the number of diplomas that have been legally awarded.

The response is a two-pronged one. Police are hitting the streets to go after vendors, and education officials are establishing "authentication centers" so that academic admissions officers and prospective employers can check any resumes that look dodgy.

Education officials say Chinese institutions are only beginning to get familiar with the idea of checking credentials. They say building a trustworthy accreditation system is costly and difficult in any environment, but even more so in China, where fake receipts and counterfeit products are commonplace.

— The International Herald Tribune
Oct.15, 2002

Reforms Result in Many University Mergers

Reforms in the Chinese higher education system have brought tremendous changes to educational institutes. Qinghua University announced its merger with the Chinese Central Academy of Arts and Design in 1999, and a few months later, Beijing Medical University became the Health Science Center of Beijing University.

According to official statistics there were 387 colleges and universities in China in 1996; however, by 2000, mergers had reduced that number to 212. Faculty:student ratios have also dropped to 1:14.

— Xinhua News Agency
July 2002

London, Shanghai Schools Launch Executive Program

An international executive master's in business administration was launched Oct. 24 at the Bank of China's Institute of International Finance in Shanghai. The program, jointly sponsored by the Bank of China, Central University of Finance and Economics and London-based City University, is enrolling 40 to 50 students in its first year.

The program was launched in response to China's entry into the World Trade Organization and because the country needs to nurture top management personnel with knowledge of international economic and banking environments.

London officials involved in the project say the program will not only help establish close ties between London and Shanghai, but also greatly promote economic exchanges between China and Great Britain.

— People's Daily
Oct. 25, 2002

Agreement OKs Academic Exchange

Guizhou University of Technology and Dakota State University (DSU) have agreed on a reciprocal exchange of two to four members of each school's faculty for research and learning. The two schools will also cooperate in creating distance education links using the campus network and Internet to benefit on-campus U.S. and Chinese students.

DSU was one of five universities chosen to be a host of the pilot project by the American Association of State Colleges and Universities. The Chinese university wants its administrators to study how other universities around the world are run.

— Xinhua News Agency
Oct. 28, 2002

Software College Opens in Shandong Province

Qilu Software College was unveiled recently in Jinan, capital of Shandong province. The college, designed to accommodate 10,000 students, is part of the country's drive to increase the number of home-grown technology experts.

Through an affiliation with Shandong University, the college will offer computer software courses.

— Xinhua News Agency
Nov. 15, 2002

INDIA

UGC Declares 18 Institutions Illegal

The University Grants Commission of India has declared these institutions illegal:

Maithili University, Darbanhga (Bihar province); Mahila Gram Vidyapeeth, Prayag, Allahabad (UP); Varanasi Sanskrit College, Varanasi (UP); JagatPuri, Delhi; Commercial University Limited, Daryaganj, Delhi; Indian Education Council of UP, Lucknow (UP); Gandhi Hindi Vidyapeeth, Prayag, Allahabad (UP); Natejaji Subash Chandra Bose University (Open University), Achaltall, Aligarh (UP); DDB Sanskrit University, Putoor Trichi (Tamilnadu); St. John's University, Kisanatyam, Kerala; United National University, Delhi; Uttar Pradesh University, Kosikala, Mathura (UP); Mahrana Pratap Shiksha Niketan University, Pratapgarh (UP); Rja Arbik University, Nagpur; Keshravani Vidyapeeth, Jabalpur (MP); Delhi Vishav Vidyapeeth, Tagore Park, Model Town, Delhi; Badarganavi Sarkar World Open University Education Society, Gokak, Beilgaon (Karnataka); Bhartiya Shiksha Parisad UP, Lucknow; National University of Electro Complex Homeopathy, Kanpur; and Vocational University, Delhi.

— National Network of Education

Bangalore-Ohio Master's Program to Begin in June

The Bangalore-based Asian Business School has teamed up with the College of Health and Human Services at Ohio University to introduce a postgraduate degree in master of health administration.

The two educational institutions signed a "memorandum of understanding" on Nov. 8, 2002. Forty students will enroll in the first program, which will begin classes in June 2003. The program is to be a full-time, 18-month course and includes an internship. Students will have an option to complete two quarters at Ohio University.

— Indiaedunews
Nov. 8, 2002

Joint Venture Global MBA Launched

The Institute of Management Technology (IMT) in Ghaziabad recently launched a global MBA program in association with Fairleigh Dickinson University (FDU).

Indian students will undertake the first five months of the course in India at IMT and the second half at FDU. Of the 27 credits taken in the United States, six will be covered by a six-month paid internship.

Students who successfully complete the course will graduate with an FDU MBA and an IMT postgraduate diploma. The program commences in August 2003.

— The Times of India
Nov. 11, 2002

'Education India' to Host Student Recruitment Events

Two three-day exhibitions in Mumbai and New Delhi will give home-based and international educational suppliers a chance to showcase their institutions and products to the huge Indian market of prospective postsecondary students.

The Mumbai event, which will include a one-day conference on "Borderless Education," will be March 29-31, 2003 at the Nehru Center.

The New Delhi event will take place April 3-5, 2003 at the Pragati Maiden and includes a conference on "Education in the Emerging Knowledge Society."

For more information, visit http://www.educationindia-online.com, or contact colin.hulmes@educationindia-online.com.

— Correspondence, International Aid and Trade

JAPAN

Panel Seeks to Add Patriotic Terms to 'Education Constitution'

The concepts of patriotism and cultural awareness, not contained in the 1947 Fundamental Law of Education, are likely to be added to the de facto "Education Constitution."

The Central Council for Education, a government advisory panel, in a draft report is recommending amendments to the law that will allow children to bolster their Japanese identity and acquire "love for the nation and respect for tradition and culture of our country." The draft also states the current law's emphasis on self-esteem and peace should be maintained.

The draft will be hammered into a final report to be submitted to the Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Ministry before the end of the year.

Those in favor of the revisions point out that the current law lacks indispensable principles such as patriotism and respect for tradition. The concept of patriotism was not included in the 1947 law due to strong pressure from U.S. Occupation powers, which also ordered that "tradition" be omitted.

The draft is regarded skeptically by some, who fear the term "patriotism" could lead to accusations of ethnocentrism. Concerns raised in subcommittee meetings have noted that nationalism under the guise of patriotism once led Japan to war.

The ministry has said it hopes to submit a bill to the Diet in 2003.

— The Japan Times
Oct. 31, 2002

MALAYSIA

Controversy Erupts Over English-Immersion Plan

Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has proposed an education revolution that would see all elementary school-level mathematics and science instruction in English. The proposal comes as part of his package to improve standards of English, mathematics and science to make Malaysia more competitive globally.

This proposal is proving to be a hot political potato, causing rifts within Mohamad's multi-ethnic National Front coalition and bringing unity to opposition parties.

The idea was first aired a few months ago, but real controversy erupted in August, when the prime minister announced that he wanted to introduce his proposal in 2003. He hopes to propel Malaysian university students to the cutting edge of international education as quickly as possible.

Arguments against Mohamad's policy come from many quarters, with probably the loudest critics being the Chinese community, who argue the plan will dilute the cultural identity of the Chinese education community and at the same time lower education standards.

Another common criticism is that the proposal is elitist, because the majority of Malaysians will not be able to handle the change, as English-language proficiency is inadequate. Many see it as discriminatory against rural communities and do not understand why, if English is the problem, mathematics and science have to be dragged into it.

Among the alternative solutions that have been voiced, the most popular is the call for a one-year delay in the plan. Another alternative is to have the plan implemented at the secondary-school level -- not the primary level.

— The Guardian
Sept. 26, 2002

Prominent Colleges Ordered Shut

Malaysia is struggling with the competitive education marketplace that it has created, and quality seems to be suffering as a consequence. Recently, two prominent colleges, Brickfields College and Nirwana Institute, were ordered shut for running courses that had not been approved by the Private Education Department, thereby breaching regulations under the Private Higher Educational Institutions Act of 1996.

The government has closed 26 private colleges, including Institut Mestika Kulim (formerly known as Institute Teknologi Midas) in Kedah; Institut Makanan, Kelana Jaya branch in Petaling Jaya and Institut Teknologi in Butterworth.

— Overseas, Overwhelmed
Nov. 20, 2002

NEW ZEALAND

Former Prime Minister to Build Education Exports

One-time schoolteacher and former Prime Minister Jenny Shipley is back working in education. Rather than returning to the classroom, Shipley will be instrumental in developing the exports of New Zealand's educational services, particularly to China.

The former politician has accepted a position with The Cambridge Group, an executive search and business development consultancy with offices in New Zealand, Australia, the United Kingdom, India and Asia. Shipley's role with the group will include brokering deals to get local educational institutions established in Asia. The connections she developed as prime minister make her the ideal candidate for such a position.

Her appointment comes at a time of an increasing Chinese thirst to import Western education, as the government has put great weight on English-language learning over the last 10 years. Demand far exceeds supply at almost every point, which provides New Zealand with a great opportunity to build its already booming education market. New Zealand earns about NZ$1.5 billion (US$ 750 million) a year from educational services, and Shipley says she considers Prime Minister Helen Clark's prediction that the sector could double to NZ$3 billion (US$ 1.5 billion)"quite conservative."

— The New Zealand Herald
Nov. 1, 2002

PAKISTAN

Denmark, UK Schools Plan Virtual IT University

Denmark's Selandia College and the University of Central Lancashire are collaborating in a European-funded project to create a virtual university in Pakistan, specializing in information technology. The project is scheduled for completion in March 2004.

— Times Higher Education Supplement
Sept. 27, 2002

REPUBLIC of KOREA

3 UK Universities Join Forces to Market Programs

The universities of Manchester, Nottingham and Warwick have opened an office in Seoul to jointly market their courses to Korean students.

The move comes in an attempt to lure Korean students away from U.S. institutions, traditionally the first choice for students wishing to study abroad.

— Hothouse media
August 2002

SINGAPORE

Shanghai University Opens Graduate School

Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU), one of China's top schools, officially inaugurated its graduate school at Singapore's Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in October 2002.

The SJTU Graduate School at NTU's Nanyang Business School will conduct SJTU's MBA program, which will be taught in both Chinese and English by professors from both institutions.

This is the first overseas endeavor of its kind to be approved by the Chinese Ministry of Education. SJTU is the first Asian institution and the ninth international university to house a school in Singapore.

— Xinhua News Agency
Oct. 30, 2002

SRI LANKA

Campus Shut Down as Hazing Advocates Kill Student

A student who was objecting to the practice of hazing at Sri Lankan universities died Nov. 8 after being attacked by a group of students who want to continue the fraternity-style abuse of freshmen. The Senate of the University of Sri Jayewardenepura, where the incident happened, met and decided to shut the university indefinitely.

The student was killed as he met with the director of student welfare to complain about the practice, known as "ragging." The hazing ritual typically involves starving and beating students, as well as having them perform embarrassing sexual acts.

Located on the outskirts of capital city Colombo, the university is one of Sri Lanka's major institutions of higher education. The school with 7,000 students has previously experienced clashes between groups that advocate ragging and those that oppose it.

— Sri Lanka Page
Nov. 11, 2002

IRAN

Pending Legislation to Allow Foreign Universities

Parliament has approved legislation that would allow foreign universities to open branch campuses in the country for the first time since the Islamic revolution, in 1979. The bill is currently under review by the Council of Guardians, which determines whether legislation violates Islamic principles. The council is expected to approve the measure.

The proposal seems to have broad support from conservatives and liberals alike. Conservatives see it as a way of keeping talented Iranians from leaving the country to attend universities abroad. Liberals view it as an increasing sign of openness toward the West.

According to government officials, inquiries have so far come from universities in Australia, Great Britain and Cyprus. The legislation would not exclude U.S. institutions.

— The Chronicle of Higher Education
Nov. 7, 2002

Research Institute Closed

The Ayandeh Research Institute has been closed and its head, Hussein Qazian, and director, Abbas Abdi, have been arrested. The arrests are connected with the September publication of a poll in which the majority of Tehran respondents favored a resumption of Iran-US relations.

— Radio Free Europe, Radio Liberty
Nov. 4, 2002

ISRAEL

University of Latvia Degrees Under Scrutiny

Israeli branch campuses of the University of Latvia and the American Burlington Academy have both come under fire recently after criminal investigations found that the two institutions frequently granted fraudulent degrees.

Now a third university, no longer operational, has also been accused of handing out fake degrees. The Israeli branch of the University of Humberside and Lincolnshire operated in Israel for about five years and ceased teaching around three years ago. The university is now suspected of granting fake degrees in education. The police have begun an investigation.

— Ha'aretz Daily
Oct. 2, 2002
Oct. 30, 2002

PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY

Roadblocks Promote Distance learning

Birzeit University near Ramallah on the West Bank has had a slow start to the new academic year. The previous academic year had barely ended, having been extended through the summer to give students, shut out of the university by roadblocks, extra classes, when the new academic year, scheduled to begin Sept. 16, had to be postponed due to roadblocks and, more recently, strikes over pay. Staff at the university have received only half their wages since January.

Despite good relations between staff and administrators, life on half wages has become tougher and tougher, according to the university's chief communications officer, Riham Barghouti.

Barghoutti said the strike situation has been resolved, with both sides understanding the school's financial situation and with both being aware that education is as important as ever in the current climate.

However, just as classes were set to resume, the Israeli army dug up the road from Ramallah to Birzeit, making it inaccessible to vehicles. The army also established a checkpoint that severed the last transport link to the university.

The university has come up with a number of solutions to the problem, such as faculties dividing the week in two, so two lecturers can share one apartment close to the university for half a week each; and faculty outposts being set up in lecturers' garages in Jerusalem and Ramallah. Exams have had to be staged two or three times a year to allow all students to take them, and the university has enthusiastically employed the Internet to establish distance learning.

Birzeit students come from all over the West Bank, so distance learning has become a major part of the university's mission - of the 4,400 students who registered last month, 3,300 registered online. The university is trying to raise funds to set up video conferencing between the university and points in Jerusalem and Ramallah.

— Education Guardian
Oct. 16, 2002

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

Ajman University Wins Accreditation

The Academic Accrediting Authority of the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research has accredited 14 educational programs and specializations at the Fujairah campus of Ajman University of Science and Technology.

The accredited programs are: information systems, computer science, computer engineering, business administration, accounting, administration, education methods and techniques, Arabic language and Islamic studies pedagogy, methods and techniques of teaching mathematics and science, teaching English as a foreign language, English language and translation, communication and translation, pharmacology, media and information and dentistry.

— Gulf News
Oct. 14, 2002

Japan, UAE to Exchange Faculty, Students

Fukui University in Japan and Al Ittihad University of the United Arab Emirates recently signed an agreement allowing for faculty and student exchange.

Student exchange will be at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. Faculty exchange will include collaboration on scientific research projects.

— Gulf News Online
Nov. 15, 2002

QATAR

Medical School Opens

The Weill Cornell Medical College-Qatar, a component of the ambitious Education City planned by the Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development, formally opened Oct. 6, 2002. The celebration marked the beginning of classes for 27 students enrolled in the first semester of the two-year pre-medical program.

The pre-medical students are taking the same science courses as pre-medical students at Cornell University. After completing the Qatar program, the students will be required to take the Medical College Admissions test (MCAT) and apply to the school's four-year medical program. The graduates of that program will receive the same medical degree received by graduating Cornell students in New York. The four-year program will start in 2004 and will graduate its first students with the MD degree in 2008.

The Education City campus already houses Qatar Academy, The Learning Center, Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts in Qatar, the Academic Bridge Program and other facilities. In addition to the existing facilities, plans are afoot for a museum, several sports facilities, a mosque, a conference and exhibition hall, a central library, a student center, a new building to house the Qatar Foundation headquarters, a research institute and a science park, in addition to residential and recreational facilities for staff and students.

John Georgopoulos, manager of the project, envisions a campus that will house branch campuses of some of the world's leading universities in different areas of higher education. He said the Education City site will cover more than 3 million square feet.

— The Peninsular
Oct. 6, 2002

KAZAKHSTAN

First Lady Pushes Controversial Reform

A controversial experiment, based on the teachings of a Russian ascetic who advocated walking barefoot in the snow, is about to be implemented at selected schools throughout the country.

A college of higher education, secondary school and kindergarten in each region of the country will take part in the "self-knowledge" program initiated by the wife of the Kazakh head of state, Nursultan Nazarbaev.

A follower of the philosophy of Porfiry Ivanov, a mystic who called himself the brother of Jesus, the first lady has long been interested in child development. She created the charitable foundation Bobek ("Baby") 10 years ago, and, through the international movement SOS-Kinderhof, has helped establish family-type children's villages and rehabilitation centers for orphans all over Kazakhstan.

Her latest venture, however, has upset many Kazakhs, but few are prepared to speak out publicly against her for fear of retribution. The authorities are determined to forge ahead with the plan, and, after results of the experiment are analyzed, it may be extended across the entire school system.

For Nazarbaev, the program is just the beginning of a long-term project. "I have taken on a difficult task, and the results will perhaps only be seen in 100 years. But we need to return to the 'pure sources' of human wisdom and moral values. Otherwise, society will never get better," she said.

— Institute for War and Peace
Oct. 16, 2002

KYRGYZSTAN

Construction of New Bishkek Campus Begins

The foundations for a new campus of the Kyrgyz-Turkish University Manas in Bishkek were laid this summer. The construction of the largest student campus in Kyrgyzstan, situated on the capital's former airport, will cost an estimated US$140 million. It is due for completion in 2010.

— Pravda
June 28, 2002

RUSSIA

U.S. Recognizes Russian Med School Credentials

Ulyanoysk State University Medical Department and 58 other medical schools in Russia are to be included in the International Medical Education Directory, overseen by the U.S. Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates.

In May 2002 graduates from the recognized colleges were given the right to take the commission's qualification exams.

— Pravda
June 14, 2002

Caucasian Studies Reappears at St. Petersburg University

After a 50-year break, the Caucasian Studies Department was reopened Nov. 18 at St. Petersburg State University. The program includes the study of Chechen, among other Caucasian languages, as well as the history, geography and ethnology of the Caucasian region.

— Pravda
Nov. 18, 2002

UZBEKISTAN

University of Westminster Moves into Central Asia

The University of Westminster, in collaboration with the Uzbekistan government, has opened a branch university in Tashkent.

Westminster International University in Tashkent opened in October 2002 and is initially providing places for 200 students. Courses are taught in English and are modeled closely on those offered in the United Kingdom. The majority of the staff are Uzbek nationals, who have undergone intensive training at Westminster.

The university is currently based in Tashkent's Banking and Finance Academy, but will move to a historic building in the capital's diplomatic quarter in the spring of 2003. It offers courses in business, computer science and law, and features a multimedia center, an extensive library, a computing center, a 120-seat auditorium and lecture rooms.

— University of Westminster
Oct. 2, 2002

Education In Taiwan

by Nick Clark
Assistant editor, WENR

Taiwan has been a disputed territory since the 17th century, when colonial rule of the country briefly flip-flopped between the occupying forces of Holland, Spain and France, before becoming part of China in 1662. In 1895, Taiwan was annexed by Japan following the Sino-Japanese War and remained under occupation until the island was returned to China after Japan's defeat in World War II.

Soon after, in 1949, Communist forces gained control of mainland China. The ruling Nationalist Party, the Guomintang, led by Chiang Kai-Shek, retreated to Taiwan and imposed martial law on the island. Backed by the United States, the Nationalist government enjoyed international recognition as the legitimate seat of power for the whole of China. It was not until 1979 that the United States formally recognized Beijing and withdrew formal diplomatic recognition of Taiwan. In 1991, Taiwan ended its formal state of war with the mainland, although relations between the two remain strained over rights to government of the island.

Before Japanese occupation, there was no modern education system in Taiwan. A Western-style system of education was established for the first time under Japanese occupation, with the colonial tongue as the official language of instruction. The Japanese legacy left a skeletal education infrastructure that consisted of one university, one higher school and a few colleges (equivalent to today's junior colleges). Research and vocational education were emphasized in an effort to provide research material and manpower for Japan's colonial policy; enrollment was for a very select few.

Liberation from Japanese rule saw a return to the Chinese system of education, in use on the mainland since 1922 and mainly following the American template (6-3-3). The 1947 Constitution of the Republic of China decreed that elementary education should be mandatory for all children aged 6 to 12, and that all citizens should have an equal opportunity to education. In 1968, the period of free and compulsory education was extended from six years to nine years, and in 1990, a further act of Parliament guaranteed free secondary schooling for 12 years.

Strong central planning of the education system has ensured that the government has maintained strong control of the educational direction of the nation. In the 1970s, increasing emphasis was placed on vocational education to meet the demands of a rapidly industrializing economy. Political reforms of 1986 ended 38 years of martial law in Taiwan and culminated in the peaceful transfer of power from the Nationalist to the Democratic Progressive Party in 2000. Along with political reforms, many professors and students have been urging more academic freedom and institutional autonomy in recent years. In response, the government revised the University Act, allowing for greater academic self-determination and university independence in terms of both student enrollment and faculty appointments, previously tightly controlled by the Ministry of Education.

Mandarin Chinese is the language of instruction in Taiwan's primary and secondary schools, although many tertiary institutions offer instruction in English. The school year runs two semesters, from September to January and from February to June.

PRIMARY EDUCATION

Children can attend kindergarten from age 3 to 5; it is not compulsory, and only about a quarter of all children attend. Private kindergartens outnumber public ones by more than 3 to 1. Curriculum is flexible, and kindergartners receive a certificate at year-end. Elementary education is compulsory, and enrollment is almost 100 percent.

Duration: Six years (ages 6-11)

Curriculum: civics and ethics, health education, Chinese, mathematics, social studies, natural science, singing and playing, physical education, music, fine arts, craft work and industrial arts or home economics.

Leaving Certificate: Diploma of graduation

SECONDARY EDUCATION

Secondary education covers six years: three years junior high school and three years senior high school or senior vocational high school. Successful junior school graduates obtain a certificate and may proceed to senior secondary schools, senior vocational schools or five-year junior colleges.

Junior High School

Duration: three years (ages 12 to 14)

Curriculum: civics and ethics, health education, Chinese, English, mathematics, history, geography, natural science, physical education, music, fine arts and industrial arts or home economics, plus elective subjects such as drawing or commerce.

Leaving Certificate: Diploma

Senior High School

Entrance Exam: Until 2001, all students took the Joint Public Senior High School Entrance Examinations, which has now been replaced by the Basic Achievement Test for Junior High School Students (please see sidebar).

I. Academic Schools: Concentrate on the humanities and sciences, and are primarily intended to prepare students for admission to higher education institutions through the competitive Universities and Colleges Joint Entrance Examination.

Duration: three years (ages 15 to 17)

Curriculum: Chinese, English, civics, the Three Principles of the People (philosophy of Dr. Sun Yat-sen), history, geography, mathematics, basic science, physics, chemistry, biology, earth science, physical education, music, fine arts, industrial arts, home economics and military training.

Awarding Certificate: Senior high school diploma

II. Vocational Schools: Offer programs representing a combination of general education subjects plus a vocational component chosen from one of seven main areas (see below).

Duration: three years (ages 15 to 18)

Curriculum: industry or technology, commerce, marine products, agriculture, nursing and midwifery, home economics and opera and the arts.

Awarding Certificate: Senior vocational school diploma

• Note: Students also have the option of attending five-year junior college programs upon graduation from junior high school. These programs, primarily technical and vocational in content, combine a student's three remaining years of high school with two years of higher education. Successful students are awarded a Certificate/Diploma of Graduation (see technical education below).

HIGHER EDUCATION

According to 2000 Ministry of Education (MOE) statistics, Taiwan has 150 recognized institutions of higher education, both public and private, divided into four categories: four-year universities and colleges, institutes of technology/polytechnics (many now upgraded to universities) and junior colleges. To qualify as a university, an institute must consist of at least three faculties. Both universities and independent colleges offer four-year programs leading to a bachelor's degree.

Reforms to the structure of higher education in 1994 and 1995 gave institutions greater economic, academic and recruiting freedoms than previously, when the MOE had sole authority over budgets, appointments and curriculum. Although still tightly controlled by the MOE, national universities now have the ability to raise funds and distribute resources. The introduction of alternative student-entry requirements, as discussed below, gives universities a number of criteria when looking at prospective students. The MOE no longer controls personnel appointments, allowing universities a greater say in their academic and administrative futures.

UNIVERSITY HIGHER EDUCATION

Access and Admission

Admission to institutions of higher education is based on results from the highly competitive liankao, translated as the Joint College Entrance Examination or the Universities and Colleges Joint Entrance Examination, administered by the MOE.

Traditionally, higher education institutions had to accept students whose examination results met their minimum entrance requirements. Institutions in Taiwan therefore had no say in selecting students, and the liankao exerted great pressure on high school seniors and created a much criticized culture of rote learning and exam-based teaching. As of the academic year 2002, students can adopt alternative methods when applying to a university or college. While logistics are still being worked out, some students are submitting applications that, along with their liankao scores, include their high-school grades, teacher recommendations and other evidence of scholastic ability (see sidebar).

Programs and Degrees

Stage 1: The Bachelor's Degree is generally awarded after four years of study. However, it is awarded after five years for veterinary science, architecture and fine arts (offered at the National Institute of Fine Arts); after six years for dentistry, including a one-year internship; and after seven years for medicine, including a one-year internship. The MOE requires that a minimum of 128 credit hours be completed during a four-year bachelor-degree program.

All students are required to take noncredit courses in military training and physical education.

Students who have completed a two-year, junior-college-level program in certain technological disciplines may complete a bachelor's degree in the same field at a public institute/university of technology. (See below for a classification of universities of technology.) This requires an additional two years of study.

Stage 2: The Master's Degree generally takes two years of study beyond a bachelor's degree but can take as long as four years. All applicants are required to take a master's-degree entrance examination. Junior college graduates are also eligible to take the examination after an appropriate period of employment experience, but this is relatively rare. Master's degrees are awarded after successful completion of required coursework, written examinations and a minor thesis. Proficiency in English and a second foreign language is required.

Stage 3: The Doctorate (Ph.D.) normally requires between two and seven years of study after a master's degree. Applicants must meet specific admission criteria, in addition to passing an entrance examination. Graduate students who achieve an outstanding performance during their master's-degree program may be recommended to pursue their doctoral degree without having to take an entrance examination. A doctoral degree is granted after successful completion of a coursework component, research and the submission and defense of a dissertation. Proficiency in English and another foreign language is required.

TECHNICAL AND VOCATIONAL HIGHER EDUCATION

Junior Colleges: These schools focus primarily on applied sciences and technology, and turn out a work force with mid-level technical or managerial skills. Junior colleges can be divided into two types. The first group, as noted above, admits junior high school graduates to five-year programs. The second group admits students to two-year courses, provided they have completed the full 12-year secondary school program. Students can enter the two-year program from both senior vocational high schools and from senior high schools. Junior colleges exist in both the private and the public sector, although of the 23 recognized by the MOE in 2000, only four were privately run. Junior colleges offer programs in industry, agriculture, commerce, home economics, marine studies, pharmacology, nursing, medical technology, physical education, arts, music, opera, languages and food service.

• Note: Many junior colleges have been upgraded to either universities or colleges in recent years as the MOE attempts to increase access to four-year programs. Until very recently, three-year courses were available at junior colleges. These courses have been phased out and replaced by four-year courses at newly upgraded colleges and universities.

Universities/Institutes of Technology: These institutions fall into three categories:

1) Some private institutions, classified as junior colleges, use this term in their title.

2) Some private four-year colleges are also called institutes of technology and offer bachelor and postgraduate degree programs.

3) The national universities of technology (formerly national institutes of technology) offer four-year bachelor degree programs for senior high school graduates and two-year bachelor degree programs for junior college graduates. Institutes/universities in this third category provide the highest levels of technical and vocational education in Taiwan. Undergraduate programs, master's programs and doctorates are offered in engineering, design, agriculture, management, home economics, medicine, nursing and health-care technology and commercial services.

Teacher Education

Teacher education is only offered at public institutions, and full-time students receive government grants covering room, board and tuition. Teacher-training programs are provided at normal or teaching universities and teacher colleges. The normal universities are set up to train teachers for the secondary level. Teacher colleges are designed to train teachers for kindergarten and primary school levels. Both institutions admit senior high graduates, who are obligated to receive four years of education and training.

Kindergarten and primary teachers are trained at four-year teacher colleges and then serve one-year internships. Admission is dependent on successful completion of senior high school and the Joint Colleges and Universities Entrance Examination. After the internship, prospective teachers must take a license test. Once all components are complete, the bachelor degree is awarded.

Secondary teachers are trained at one of the three four-year teacher universities in Taiwan, where they undertake an integrated course combining specialized study of teaching subjects with methodology. Alternatively, secondary school teachers can graduate from regular universities with 26 to 40 credits in teacher education in addition to the standard 128 credits. Students are required to complete a one-year practicum before graduating with a bachelor's degree.

Nontraditional Higher Education

Distance education is taught at national and municipal open universities. These programs provide adults with advanced and continued education by way of audio-visual communication media. Open university students can be either full time or part time. Full-time students are required to be at least 20 years old. They are admitted after passing an open entrance examination. There is no prerequisite education level for those who register part time; however, they must be 18 or older at the time of registration. Those who fulfill the program requirements receive a bachelor's degree.

INTERNATIONAL RECRUITMENT

The United States has long been a favorite destination of Taiwanese students studying abroad. In recent years, however, that market share has been dropping off in favor of institutions in Britain, Australia, Japan, Canada and, unofficially, China.

The academic year 1999-2000 witnessed a six percent drop-off in the number of Taiwanese students studying in the United States. In the peak year of 1994, 37,581 students from Taiwan were enrolled at American universities, compared with 29,234 in 1999-2000 and 28,930 in 2001* (*Institute of International Education, 'Open Doors' report). In the U.K. in 2000 there were 8,576 students enrolled at British universities compared with 6,553 in 1999, representing an increase of 33 percent.

Of the three other leading competitors for Taiwan's education market in 2000, Australia welcomed 5,996 students from Taiwan, Japan 5,232 and Canada an estimated 5,000 students.

Interestingly, educational exchange across the Taiwan Straits has been on the rise over the last few years. Despite the government's refusal to recognize diplomas issued in China, more than 200 students, three times more than last year, have applied to Beijing University. While there are no official statistics for students who study in China, there are reportedly tens of thousands of Taiwanese students currently studying there, with an estimated 1,000 Taiwanese holding Chinese degrees that have yet to be recognized by the Taiwanese government.

All figures from the Ministry of Education, unless otherwise stated.

For more information

For the WES Grading Scale, go HERE

For a list of higher education institutions in Taiwan, go HERE

Sources

Education in the Republic of China (Bureau of Statistics, Ministry of Education, Taiwan, 2000).

Education Statistical Indicators: Republic of China (Ministry of Education,
Taiwan, 2000).

The Republic of China Yearbook - Taiwan 2002 (Government Information Office, Taiwan, 2002).

Asian Higher Education: An International Handbook and Reference Guide. Edited by Gerard Postiglione and Grace Mak (Greenwood Press, USA, 1997).

International Guide to Qualifications in Education (British Council, Great Britain, 1996).

Country Education Profiles: Taiwan (National Office of Overseas Recognition, Australia, 1996).

Useful Web Sites

• Ministry of Education:
Includes a full listing of MOE recognized schools.

• Association of National Universities and Colleges:
Courtesy of National Taiwan University.

• Academia Sinica:
Conducts scientific research in its own institutes, and provides guidance, channels of communication and encouragement to raise academic standards in the country.

• Republic of China Yearbook 2002:
Includes an in-depth look at the educational situation in Taiwan.

• Taiwan Portal:
Includes links to education sites.

• Education in Taiwan (Fulbright):
Provides information for institutions accepting Taiwan citizens as overseas students.

Feature

Intensified Security Measures Leave Many International Students Stranded

by Robert Sedgwick
Editor, WENR

Despite concerns of a backlash from the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the number of international students coming to the United States for higher education last year grew 6.4 percent over the previous year, according to Open Doors 2002, an annual report on international educational exchanges.

During the 2001-2002 academic year, approximately 583,000 international students attended U.S. institutions of higher education, according to the report, which is published by the Institute of International Education (IIE).

An IIE survey conducted in August also showed that international student applications were up this year, with 70 percent of respondents reporting either an increase or no significant change for 2002-3.

It would appear then that the security clampdown coming in the wake of the attacks on New York and Washington have not seriously impeded the flow of foreign students to the United States as feared.

However, the IIE statistics may be misleading as they were compiled when most foreign students were already enrolled in classes on U.S. soil for the 2001-02 academic year. And while it is true that universities did accept a record number of international students this year, the August report said the schools were not certain exactly how many of those students would actually materialize on their campuses.

The downturn has only begun to show up this fall, when students from overseas attempted to enter or re-enter the country to enroll in the 2002-03 academic year. Independent surveys conducted over the past few months, along with anecdotal evidence, suggest the 6.4 percent growth rate recorded in the Open Doors report has declined by about half.

Many international students who went home for summer vacation or were accepted for the 2002-03 academic year found they were not able to get their visas and re-entry visas in time for the fall semester. Some students have reported delays of up to six months, and many stranded students have had to defer to 2003-04 because it is far too late in the semester to begin the current year. A large number of students were rejected outright even though they had been accepted at U.S. institutions of higher education.

According to a Pakistani newspaper, for instance, several hundred scholars from Pakistan who were selected by their government for university leadership positions, were all accepted at U.S. institutions for graduate studies. Visas were denied for 90 percent of these students.

The University of California-Berkeley reported a noticeable decline in the number of new, foreign graduate students -- from 626 in 2001 to 526 this year. Similarly, San Francisco State University said 24 of its international students missed the fall semester because they could not get their visas in time.

Officials at Purdue University said they lost between 40 and 70 students this fall, and in Cambridge, MA 100 new and returning MIT students had their travel plans delayed because of visa delays.

Crackdown on Students

Not surprisingly, there has been a significant drop in the number of Middle Eastern students coming to the United States for higher education. The University of Kansas, for example, has 21 stranded students this fall, the majority of them from Saudi Arabia.

Old Dominion University, which has one of the highest foreign student enrollments in Virginia, reported a 10 percent drop this year compared with fall 2001. Likewise, most of the absent students are from the Middle East and didn't receive their visas in time to start school in August.

At the University of Miami, four returning students -- two from Saudi Arabia, one from Iran and one from Lebanon -- were stranded due to visa problems.

A consortium of five universities --Texas A&M University, the University of Texas, the University of Kansas, the University of Tulsa, and Colorado School of Mines -- reported missing 70 Iranian students this fall. The students had been recruited to study in the United States in cooperation with an Iranian oil company.

Iran is on the State Department's watch list of countries considered to be state sponsors of terrorism. Iraq, Libya, Sudan and Syria are also on the list, but students from other Middle Eastern countries, as well as those from Pakistan and Afghanistan, are also being closely scrutinized.

Shortly after the attacks, Congress passed the Patriot Act, which gives the federal government far-reaching powers to strictly enforce visa regulations and to arrest and deport those who overstay their welcome. In addition, all institutions of education in the United States are required to start using the government's Student Exchange Visitor Information System by Aug. 1, 2003. The deadline was originally Jan. 1, 2003 and was extended.

The tightened security measures aimed at international students, in particular Arab and Muslim students, stem from the fact that one of the Sept. 11 hijackers, Hani Hanjour (a Lebanese national), entered the country on a student visa. Hanjour was enrolled in an English-language program in California, but never actually showed up for classes.

However, Middle Easterners are not the only ones being blocked. Students from other regions of the world have been experiencing visa problems as well.

Kapiolani Community College (KCC) in Hawaii reports that two of its students, one from Bulgaria and the other from South Korea, were unable to enter the country. "They were refused visas because their interviews with the U.S. consular services did not go well," said Takashi Miyaki, KCC educational specialist.

"One student from Indonesia has been waiting for an interview with the U.S. visa officer for three to four months," Miyaki said. "This is too long to wait. I'm noticing that Indonesian students are having a particularly hard time getting visas to study in the U.S."

At Indiana University (IU) in Bloomington, between 30 and 40 students (mostly from Malaysia) were either denied visas or couldn't get them in time for the fall semester.

"Their experience has no doubt had a chilling effect on the students, their parents and sponsors and other interested parties in Malaysia," said Kenneth Rogers, associate dean and director of international services at IU.

"It is all the more regrettable because of the extensive and longstanding collegial relationships that link IU with important and influential agencies, organizations and institutions in Malaysia," he said.

Chinese students have also been experiencing visa problems. At the University of Connecticut, nine students from China were accepted into a graduate research program in physics this fall. All nine them were denied visas by the State Department.

Likewise, the University of Texas at Dallas is missing eight Chinese researchers.

At Michigan State University's Department of Statistics, three Chinese teaching assistants expected this fall were unable to get visas. Other institutions across the country report similar losses among their Chinese students.

According to a recent survey conducted by the American Physical Society, Chinese students are bearing the brunt of the security crackdown. The survey targeted 185 advanced degree-granting departments from universities around the country; 79 responded. Of the 1,115 students accepted at these departments, 595 were foreign. Of these, 123 were denied visas. The survey found the largest number of denials was for students from mainland China. For the 2002-03 academic year, 291 Chinese students accepted departmental offers and 100 of them (34 percent) were denied entry visas.

There are currently two types of security procedures for issuing nonimmigrant visas to the United States. The first, known as Visa Condor, was implemented after the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington last year and has been widely publicized. Those affected are predominantly Muslim men between the ages of 16 and 45 who hail from 26 (mostly Islamic) countries. Under this set of rules, consular officials overseas require written approval from Washington for each applicant before they can issue a visa.

The second set of visa regulations, called Visa Mantis, is aimed at preventing the theft of U.S. technology from foreign nationals who come to the United States to work and study. These procedures have been on the books for many years but were never strictly enforced. However, starting in July 2002, the federal government began to put these rules into affect.

Many education professionals see a link between the high percentage of Chinese visa denials and the explosive Wen Ho Lee case three years ago and the events leading up to it. Lee, a Taiwan-born U.S. national, was falsely accused of leaking information on the W88 Nuclear Warhead to Chinese scientists. He spent nine months in solitary confinement, and was finally released after pleading guilty to one of the 58 charges brought against him (mishandling classified information). All other charges were dropped with apologies from the presiding judge

"The Wen Ho Lee case has a great deal to do with this," said Irving Lerch, director of international affairs at the American Physical Society. "It was clear to many of us in the physics community that this was trumped way out of proportion to the danger."

In November, two Boston-area professors speaking at a panel discussion at Brown University argued that the accusations of espionage brought against Lee in 1999 were symptomatic of the burgeoning anti-China sentiments in the United States at the time. They contend that China was being built up during the 1990s to be the next big enemy.

"There remains an undercurrent of feeling that China is the only power with the potential to challenge the United States in the near future," said one of the speakers, Nelson Yuan-sheng Kiang, emeritus professor of physiology at Harvard Medical School. "This feeling may translate into many individual acts of harassment."

Kiang also suggested there were other possible reasons to explain the crackdown on Chinese students. "There may be a selective--perhaps unwritten--policy to refuse or delay visas to young single women from China, presumably because so few subsequently return to China."

In addition, he said there may indeed be legitimate concerns for national security requiring more complete checks that require time. "The INS has to respond to executive and congressional pressures to increase scrutiny of those entering the country and increased delays are only to be expected."

Repercussions

Although international students account for a mere 3.5 percent of total higher education enrollments in the United States, they comprise approximately half of all doctoral candidates in engineering and about 35 percent of doctoral students in the physical sciences. Many universities rely heavily on international students as teaching assistants, laboratory technicians and researchers, and the students fill university seats that some say would otherwise be empty.

Moreover, students are not the only ones affected by the recent crackdown. Foreign scientists and engineers are also being blocked, as are scholars invited to speak at conferences, and visiting professors. Critics of the new visa security laws complain that scientific research and international collaborations are suffering as a result, and that many international conferences have either been cancelled or negatively impacted.

"There's this feeling [in the U.S.] that we're exporting technology, but in reality, we're the ones who are gaining by importing intellectual talent," said Irving Lerch. "The government is ill-equipped to calculate the cost/benefit ratio of international scientific exchange and will probably end up doing far more damage than good unless they adopt more rational, informed policies."

Lerch and others are quick to point out that many foreign nationals who come to the United States as graduate students and scholars make valuable contributions to their fields thereby benefiting the country as a whole. Recent Nobel Prize winners from MIT, for instance, have included scholars and researchers who were born in India, Italy, Japan, and Mexico. Education professionals worry that curtailing the inflow of foreign brainpower could have dire consequences for academia and the economy.

"In the short term this will cause severe damage to universities, especially those relying heavily on foreign grad students in the physical sciences and engineering," said William Stwalley, head of the physics department at the University of Connecticut.

"In the long term I predict further damage to universities and to U.S. science as foreign students end up studying in other nations instead of here. There could also be severe damage to the economy, especially the computer and high-tech sectors," he said.

Others are concerned that openness of scientific research, internationalization and accessible education may all end up being sacrificed on the altar of national security.

Victor Johnson, associate executive director for public policy at the National Association of Foreign Students, NAFSA, says that the current policy of blocking students is not the way to go about combating terrorism.

"In my lifetime, there has always been a policy fostering educational exchanges to increase understanding between the U.S. and other countries, and to avoid and to mitigate conflicts. Although the idea initially came out of the Cold War, you can apply it to the age of terrorism," he said.

"When you have these negative, stereotyped views of the U.S., it makes sense to open up more exchanges rather than to close down," Johnson said.

A statement recently issued by the National Academies calls for a serious reevaluation of the current policy arguing that we need to strike a better balance between national security and educational and scientific exchanges.

"To make our nation safer, it is extremely important that our visa policy not only keep out foreigners who intend to do us harm, but also facilitate the acceptance of those who bring us considerable benefit," the statement said.

Under the current regulations, overseas consulates are required to send many visa applications to Washington for approval, and it is this long and arduous process that is causing all the backlogs and delays.

"I think that we need to do a much better job of screening [visa applicants]," said Bruce Alberts, president of the National Academy of Sciences and one of the signatories of the statement.

According to the State Department, overall visa demand since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks has dropped approximately 20 percent. As of August, nonimmigrant visa demand was down by around 33 percent. To offset the cost of all the extra red tape involved in the screening process, the government raised the nonimmigration visa fee in November from $65 to $100. It was the second fee hike this year. Many education professionals fear that the harsh security measures may end up steering international students away from the United States.

"If the process is too difficult or too expensive or too long or too invasive, it is almost a guarantee that at least some students will consider countries such as Australia or Germany as alternatives," said Kevin Marvel, deputy executive officer at the American Astronomical Society.

International students (most of them from Iran) who had planned to study at the University of Texas but couldn't get visas in time for the fall semester told the university they would study in Norway, France and England instead.

In fact, there is evidence that, while the United States is bogged down with security procedures, other countries are taking full advantage of the situation. In the United Kingdom there has been a staggering 128 percent increase in the number of Indian student visas this year. According to the British High Commission many of these students would probably have gone to the United States, the preferred study destination for most Indians.

Canada is considering making changes to its visa laws to attract more international students. New immigration rules would allow foreign students to work part time, and would also increase the length of time they can study in Canada without a visa from three to six months. Short-term programs, mostly at English language schools, currently do not require visas.

"In some fields, the U.S. is unquestionably the leader, and students will endure just about anything to study here because they might not end up as well off if they go elsewhere," Marvel said. "But in many other fields, where you have a one-month visa wait vs. a six-month wait, then yes, many students will go elsewhere."