Regional
News
Asia/Pacific
AFGHANISTAN
Education
Struggles to Rebuild
After almost 25 years of warfare, Afghanistan is now battling to restore
a shattered educational infrastructure. The central challenge is coping
with the so-called “lost generation” of students who have
had their education put on hold by conflict. Education was the largest
item in the Afghan government’s development budget last year and
is slated to double this year. However, its status remains shaky: It seems
the necessity of the reconstruction of education in a country that boasts
90 percent illiteracy is not fully appreciated.
Inevitably,
the budget — which is mainly in the form of donor pledges —
falls short of what the Ministry of Education needs. Education Minister
Yunus Qanooni warned in 2002 that shortfalls might force closures in the
provinces, and indeed an answer to these closures was to cram students
into the remaining open schools. Unfortunately, there are areas where
all local schools have closed, leaving no alternative. Conflicting statements
from the ministry and the provinces leave the reality of the situation
unclear.
The number
of enrollments in 2002 — 2.9 million students — far exceeded
original projections of 1.7 million. Enrollment rates for 2003 were expected
to reach 4 million, close to the estimated 4.5 million school-age children.
However, a large percentage of those who enrolled are from the so-called
“lost generation.” Qanooni sees three main challenges to the
future of Afghan education: resources for construction of schools, furnishing
schools and the shortage of teachers. Organizations such as UNICEF
are working to address these issues, but more must be done, as even in
Kabul children do not have adequate learning environments. In addition,
statistics suggest the system is facing an educational bottleneck, with
up to 50 percent of all students enrolled in 2002 being in first grade.
—
Eurasianet
Sept. 12, 2003
Winter
Classes Fast-Track Education 
Children who were deprived an education by years of war are being given
a chance to catch up this winter through an accelerated learning program.
With the help of UNICEF, the Afghan Ministry of Education has initiated
a series of courses in five provinces during the three-month school holidays.
Approximately 46,000 students are said to be attending the free classes.
The learning program was introduced to girls in December 2002; 92 percent
of them were subsequently able to enroll for school at least one grade
higher.
December
also saw the final phase of a national teacher-training program. Key teachers
were trained in the principles of learning, methodology and core curriculum
subjects. These teachers then passed their skills to provincial trainers,
who in turn are currently training small groups of teachers. This cascade
method has proved highly effective. In December, 25,000 primary-school
teachers underwent training, and the final winter round hopes to reach
a further 25,000.
—
The
Guardian
Dec. 9, 2003
AUSTRALIA
New Higher-Education
Law Passed
Parliament approved in December sweeping changes to Australia’s
system of higher education, focusing on university tuition fees and how
students will pay for them. The historic legislation allows universities
to increase their fees up to 25 percent, and will require more than one-third
of all students to pay all of their university costs.
The highly
contentious piece of legislation, in a country that promotes the widest-possible
access to its institutions of higher education, also makes new provisions
for the availability of government scholarships and
low-interest loans. It is expected that most universities will introduce
the new fee package as soon as possible.
—
The
Australian
Dec. 5, 2003
CHINA
Merger
Creates New University
Xihua University was established
in Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province, in December through the merger
of Sichuan Institute of Industries and Chengdu Normal College. The school
currently has 20,000 students and teachers.
In recent
years, the Ministry of Education has been reorganizing and streamlining
higher education institutions across the country in an attempt to streamline
the effectiveness and competitiveness of Chinese universities.
—
People’s
Daily
Dec. 8, 2003
Scottish
Degree Program Established
The Scottish Qualifications Authority
has agreed to a deal with the Chinese
Service Center for Scholarly Exchange. The initiative will see students
at Chinese universities study for Higher National Diplomas in business,
computing, hospitality, tourism and finance. These qualifications will
be recognized in Scotland and give students the opportunity to study at
Scottish higher education institutions.
The Scottish
Executive recently launched its Fresh Talent initiative, which aims to
address Scotland’s population decline and increase its skilled work
force.
—
BBC
Feb. 15, 2004
Beijing
to Boost Foreign-Student Enrollment
According to a recent report in the Beijing Morning Post, universities
in Beijing are planning to enroll an additional 10,000 foreign students
in 2004, a 30.3 percent increase over 2003. The 33,000 foreign students
currently in Beijing account for 40 percent of the national total. Official
surveys show that foreign students are increasingly enrolling in subjects
other than Chinese language and traditional medicine.
—
Beijing
Morning Post
Feb. 4, 2004
Exploding
Enrollments Leading to ‘Professor Crunch’
China expects 2.8 million college graduates in 2004, an increase of 680,000,
or 22 percent, from 2003. This comes on top of a 46 percent increase in
the number of graduates who left higher education institutions in 2003.
Student numbers have been exploding since 1999, when the government launched
an initiative to increase university enrollment and improve the quality
of the work force. However, there has not been a proportionate increase
in faculty numbers to meet student needs, which, according to the Xinhua
News Agency, is leading to a “professor crunch.”
Education
experts now warn the teaching shortage may lead to a regional brain drain
as the nationwide competition for quality professors heats up. The booming
provinces in the east are attracting the most talented professors, leaving
a deficiency in less-developed regions of the interior, where an increase
in the knowledge base is vital for development and poverty reduction.
—
Xinhua
News Agency
Feb. 4, 2004
INDIA
Institutes
of Management Seek Higher Visibility
In October, The Economist magazine ranked the Indian
Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIM-A) as the world’s 45th
best business school. Not content with being the first Asian business
school to appear in the list’s top 50, IIM-A has set its sights
on a top-20 placement in the near future by improving its international
components and attracting foreign applicants through not only exchange
but also to full-time programs.
To attract
the kind of student it is looking for, the institution is attempting to
increase its visibility. One step it has taken is to collaborate with
such foreign universities as Canada’s
McGill and the United States’ Stanford
and Columbia in areas such as telecom,
power and energy. It is also asking professors to not only conduct research
and publish but to present papers at international conferences so the
visibility of the institution increases.
Meanwhile,
the Bangalore branch (IIM-B) recently announced plans to take its brand
appeal to foreign destinations, beginning with Sri Lanka. At IIM-B, the
approach is of a more populist nature: The school plans to offer condensed
programs in management studies. Officials have stated that in addition
to Sri Lanka, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have also shown
keen interest in IIM-B. Singapore and Malaysia are also said to be on
the radar screen. As the institution increases its faculty, the number
of foreign initiatives is expected to expand.
—
Ahmedabad
Newsline
Nov. 19, 2003
Common
Entrance Exam for Professional Courses in 2005
The University Grants Commission recently
announced plans directing universities to admit students in professional
programs through a common entrance exam. Management students will soon
have to appear for only one national-level or state-level exam.
Admission
to national quota seats will be made through an all-India common entrance
exam, while states will hold their own state-level entrance exams for
the state quota seats. Common entrance to engineering, architecture and
pharmacy programs will be through the All-India Engineering Entrance Exam
(AIEEE). Despite objections from institutions and politicians, the commission
maintains that the new exam will not encroach on university autonomy.
After introducing a three-tier entrance examination system for engineering
courses in 2001, the Ministry of Education — armed with a Supreme
Court order — decided to make AIEEE mandatory for all educational
institutions admitting students on an all-India basis in October 2003.
Beginning
in 2005-06, a similar common entrance test will become mandatory for all
management courses where admissions are made on an all-India basis, eliminating
the multiplicity of entrance examinations.
—
The
Hindu
Jan. 14, 2004
New Top-Tier
Science Schools to Be Established
In an effort to boost the number of top science graduates, the University
Grants Commission announced in December the establishment of four
National Institutes of Science and 1,000 annual scholarships to postgraduate
students attending the institutions. The institutes will be in Chennai,
Pune, Allahabad and Bhubaneshwar.
—
Expressindia
Dec. 28, 2003
Distance
Education to Be Regulated
The Distance Education Council (DEC) is planning to regulate all university
open-learning courses. The move is regarded as the first step toward bringing
accountability to distance education, with only DEC-approved correspondence
courses being recognized, starting in 2005. All universities offering
courses through correspondence will have to have their programs accredited
by the DEC. The regulatory body instituted by Indira
Gandhi National Open University has already begun the assessment process.
After sending
institutions a questionnaire on benchmarks and norms, a DEC team will
begin the process of verification. The council also plans to start a “resource
pool,” from which an institution can select and initiate an academic
program after paying a specified amount to the university that constructed
the program.
—
The
Times of India
Jan. 8, 2004
UGC
Rethinks Recruitment Strategy to Combat Enrollment Trend
A recent study by the University of Delhi
reveals a negative trend in the number of foreign students at Indian institutions
of higher education. According to the results of the study, 8,145 foreign
students studied in India in 2003, compared to 11,888 in 1995. Foreign-student
adviser at Delhi University A.S. Nang, who conducted the study, believes
a lack of initiative by Indian universities to promote and market their
programs abroad is to blame for the diminishing numbers.
In an apparent
attempt to counter the trend, the University
Grants Commission (UGC) has suggested that special economic zones
be used to promote higher education. The “special education zones”
at selected locations around the country would house both Indian and foreign
higher education institutions in close proximity to scientific and research
and development centers. The UGC committee in charge of the project, which
has already short-listed 25 universities to participate in a series of
global education fairs, feels there is a tremendous market to attract
more foreign students to the country.
Elsewhere
on the continent, the trend seems to be the opposite: in China, enrollments
from overseas students have risen from 22,755 in 1995 to more than 40,000
in 2003, and in Japan, the numbers have risen from 53,511 to 100,000 over
the same period.
—
New
Kerala
Feb. 9, 2004
—
The Times of India
Jan. 28, 2004
Students
Protest Cut in IIM Fees
Students at India’s six elite business schools are protesting a
reduction in tuition fees. The Supreme Court has upheld a government decision
to increase access to the prestigious Indian
Institutes of Management (IIM) by cutting tuition fees 80 percent.
The Ministry of Human Resources Development, in what some deem a political
maneuver with elections pending, intends to slash annual fees from 150,000
rupees (US$3,317) a year to 30,000 (US$663) through government subsidies,
maintaining an IIM education cannot be the monopoly of the elite.
Detractors
of the plan say it amounts to renationalization, which could result in
a loss of autonomy over curricular content to the Human Resources Development
Ministry. The ministry is headed by Murli Manohar Josh, a self-proclaimed
religious revivalist who has been accused of attempting to give education
a more “Hindu” flavor. For his part, the minister says the
plans are in line with the government policy of widening access to higher
education.
The Economist
magazine rated the IIM-Ahmedabad
as the “toughest business school in the world to get into”
– not in terms of cost, but of competition. There were 127,000 applicants
this year for 260 places. Student protests have received support from
top Indian industrialists who argue the government should be concentrating
its resources on primary education or expanding quality management education,
rather than subsidizing education at the IIMs.
—
The
Guardian
Feb. 26, 2004
Chhattisgarh
Begins Review of Private Institutions
The Chhattisgarh government has begun reviewing its private universities,
which have mushroomed in number since the passing of the Chhattisgarh
Private Universities Act two years ago and the subsequent “reckless
sanctioning” of new institutions.
The University
Grants Commission (UGC) passed the Establishment and Maintenance of
Standards in Private Universities Regulations late in 2003, which led
to the establishment of the Regulatory Commission in Chhattisgarh. The
commission has been charged with the quality assessment of an estimated
108 private universities, a large proportion of which are said to be operating
out of hotel rooms and private residences as “e-universities.”
It is estimated only a handful of the new institutions have physical campuses.
The most important provision in the regulations is that “each private
university shall be established by a separate State Act and shall conform
to the relevant provisions of the UGC Act.”
Another important
provision of the act concerns the establishment of branch campuses, which
now are only eligible after the main campus has proved to have operated
successfully for five years. Currently, more than 20 of the unlicensed
institutions in Chhattisgarh are operating study centers in a number of
other states across the country.
—
The
Hindu
Jan. 7, 2004
JAPAN
Visa
Rules to Tighten in April
The Japanese government will tighten visa requirements for foreign students
in April in light of a recent series of crimes allegedly committed by
students who overstayed their visas, Justice Ministry officials said in
December. The ministry will require foreign students to submit documents
on their parents’ income and bank account statements for the past
three years to ensure that they have sufficient funds to live in Japan
and that the primary purpose of their stay is for study, the officials
said.
The new measures
will be applied to universities and Japanese-language schools, where large
numbers of students have overstayed their visas, as well as to prospective
students from countries with a record of students that overstay their
welcome, according to the officials. Applicants from China, in particular,
will be targeted, because 80 percent of students who overstay their visas
are Chinese. The murder of a family of four in Fukuoka, allegedly by three
former Chinese students, was a factor in the decision.
—
Japan
Today
Dec. 12, 2003
Reforms
to Push Research and Mergers
Japan’s public universities, modeled on late 19th-century Western
academic institutions, are undergoing profound change. Taking effect in
April, reforms will influence the future of research in Japan.
The law enabling
the structural reform of the universities was approved by Parliament in
July and allows Japan to stimulate the creativity of its researchers and
to invest heavily in such sectors as medical research and biotechnology,
where it lags other countries.
Japanese
research and development spending is already high by global standards,
enabling Japan to become a world leader in such fields as robotics and
nanotechnology. The restructured universities, which in the future will
be more private-sector, partnership-oriented, are expected to play a key
role in the research domain.
The reforms
aim to bring about mergers of universities in order to strengthen their
position in global rankings based on assessments by third parties. Twelve
of the 99 major public universities have already merged since October
2003, and the trend is expected to extend to the 525 private institutions
and 76 run by regional or local authorities. Under the reforms, the national
universities will acquire the status of a corporation, which will bring
greater “freedom in allocating funds [and] increased accountability
on the part of their management,” as well allowing them to recruit
staff from outside academic circles or the bureaucracy.
—
Agence
France Presse
Dec. 12, 2003
New Law
Schools Pass Final Test
A panel from the Education Ministry recently approved the opening of graduate
law programs at 66 universities, beginning in April (see WENR
July/August 2003) — the start of the Japanese academic year. The
new schools will be central to the overhaul of the Japanese legal system,
which will introduce a partial jury system, emphasize practical rather
than theoretical training in legal education and give more rights to individuals.
—
Japan
Today
Jan. 15, 2004
SOUTH KOREA
Number
of Students Abroad Continues to Grow
The number of South Korean students studying abroad has soared to record
levels of nearly 160,000. Government statistics released in December,
however, contrast the boom in students studying abroad with a relatively
anemic presence of foreign students studying in Korea. At last count,
there were 12,000 foreign students in the country — just 7.7 percent
of the number of Koreans studying abroad.
By region,
45.5 percent are based in the Asia-Pacific region, 39.5 percent in North
America and 14.8 percent in Europe. While South Korean students’
preference for the North American market has diminished somewhat, the
United States is still the unrivaled destination for Korean students.
The number of Korean students studying in the U.S. has dropped from 58,500,
in 2001 to 49,047 in 2003.
—
Korea
Herald
Dec. 16, 2003
MALAYSIA
8-Nation
Tour Highlights Malaysian Education
As part of the drive to establish itself as an educational hub, 30 delegates
representing 10 universities embark on an eight-country road show to promote
Malaysian tertiary education. The government hopes to raise the number
of foreign students from the current 36,000 to 50,000 by 2005. The tour
kicks off in Mali and the Maldives this month before moving to Sri Lanka
and South Africa in March, Bangladesh in July, Iran and Yemen in August,
Mauritius in September and Indonesia in October.
—
The
Star
Jan. 18, 2004
Technology
University Gets Boost From Japan
Japan and Malaysia have agreed to open a technical university in a suburb
of Kuala Lumpur in June as a center for human resources development in
Southeast Asia. According to Japanese Foreign Ministry officials, approximately
half of the 30-member faculty will be comprised of reassigned Japanese
faculty. In the first academic year, Malaysia-Japan International University
of Technology will admit 250 students from Malaysia and other Southeast
Asian countries to its electronics, mechanical engineering and business
administration departments.
—
Daily Yomiuri
Jan. 7, 2004
Regulations
Tightened for Foreign Distance-Learning Degrees
All courses, including master’s and doctoral programs, offered by
foreign institutions via distance or e-learning will not be recognized
by the government until they are accredited by the National
Accreditation Board (LAN). Education Minister Tan Sri Musa Mohamad
said companies or institutions that continue to offer these e-degrees
in the absence of accreditation will be operating illegally.
In the past,
companies were allowed to enroll students for part-time studies via distance
and e-learning without LAN accreditation. Musa, at a post-Cabinet meeting
news conference in December, said the new regulations are necessary in
light of the increased number of substandard degrees available in the
market. He added that some foreign universities even claim their part-time
distance and e-learning programs are officially recognized, when it is
the full-time ones that are recognized.
Graduates
with degrees obtained through unaccredited part-time distance and e-learning
programs are no longer eligible for government jobs, according to the
minister, who added that the move isn’t denying people the right
to education but is ensuring that qualifications obtained in Malaysia
are of the highest quality.
—
The Star
Dec. 4, 2003
NEW ZEALAND
New Laws
to Protect International Students
The government has announced new laws that will increase protection for
international students in New Zealand, according to Education Minister
Trevor Mallard. The move came in the wake of two controversial school
closures — the Carich Computer Training School in November and the
Modern Age Institute of Learning in September — that left thousands
of international students stranded. Most of the students are among the
30,000 mainland Chinese studying in New Zealand.
An amendment
to the Export Education Levy will allow the government to widen collection
funds from education providers in New Zealand so they can be used to reimburse
international students if providers go out of business.
—
Scoop
Dec. 3, 2003
Dramatic
Slump in Visa Applications Worries Export Industry
New Zealand’s education export industry is bracing for the worst
in early 2004 after a large drop in visa applications from Chinese students.
Trade Commissioner Grant Fuller says there has been a “significant
falloff” in visa applications.
About 20,000
new visa applications were made by Chinese students in 2002, but figures
for 2003 were likely to be closer to 12,000. Fuller says universities
are well-placed for next year, but the drop will affect private training
providers, language schools and some secondary schools. The high-profile
collapse of two private schools in 2003, followed by negative statements
from Chinese officials, is widely thought to be largely to blame for the
decline.
—
Fairfax
New Zealand Ltd
Dec. 22, 2003
PAKISTAN
3 Institutes
Earn Official Recognition
The following schools have been officially recognized by the Higher
Education Commission as private, degree-granting institutions: Dadabhoy
Institute of Higher Education in Karachi, on Aug. 23; Institute of
Business & Technology in Karachi, on Sept. 20; and the Institute of
South Asia in Lahore, on July 27.
For a full
list of recognized, higher-education institutions in Pakistan, please
visit: http://www.hec.gov.pk/collunilist.htm
SRI LANKA
Tertiary
Education Reform Program Under Way
Tertiary education reforms in Sri Lanka were officially launched in October.
The Improving Relevance and Quality of Undergraduate Education (IRQUE)
project aims to support Sri Lanka’s tertiary education system so
it can more effectively contribute to economic and social development.
The project is supported by US$40.3 million in credit approved by the
World Bank in June 2003.
The IRQUE
project provides grants to support the strengthening of public universities.
It is intended to transform Sri Lanka’s predominantly publicly run,
campus-based higher education system — which is inaccessible to
the majority of the population — into a more broad-based system
providing increased support of vocational and private institutions and
the use of online learning. The program also finances a program that provides
training and helps place unemployed graduates in companies for work experience.
The Jobs-Net Web site will be used
to facilitate access to the program for unemployed graduates and companies
from all parts of the country.
—
Daily
News
Oct. 29, 2003
THAILAND
Chinese
University to Open Branch in Bangkok
Officials from Guangzhou-based Jinan
University have indicated the university will open China’s first
foreign branch school in downtown Bangkok in 2005. The school is expecting
to welcome an initial enrollment of 600 to 800 undergraduate students,
and later will offer graduate-level courses. The school hopes to offer
five or six business management courses.
Jinan University
is one of two universities in China that specifically educates overseas
Chinese students from such areas as Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan. The other
is Overseas Chinese University in Quanzhou, Fujian province.
—
Xinhua
News agency
Nov. 17, 2003
VIETNAM
Plans
for International University Announced
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced in late December that funding
for construction of Vietnam’s first international university has
been approved. To be located in Ho Chi Minh City and Di An, Viet Nam International
University will include undergraduate and graduate training for both Vietnamese
and foreign students. The university hopes to attract up to half of its
faculty from abroad, the majority of whom will be lecturing in English.
The curriculums will be created in cooperation with foreign universities,
and programs will be offered in information technology, biotechnology,
telecommunications, business management and law. The university plans
to recruit approximately 200 students for the fall term.
The announcement
came on the heels of an announcement by Australian-owned RMIT Vietnam
that it will begin construction of a second campus in the Saigon area.
Although RMIT enrolled only 700 students in its first two years, the second
campus expects to accommodate up to 10,000 students.
—
Ministry
of Foreign Affairs
Dec. 29, 2003
E-mail
your comments to the editor
|
