|
|
|
| March/April 2005 | Volume
18, Issue 2 |
|
PRACTICAL
INFORMATION REGIONAL
NEWS FEATURE
|
Regional
News
Africa
Ivory Coast University to Reopen After 3-Year Closure
Soon after rebels took control of the city — the country’s second-largest — and the northern region of the country, the university was looted and closed down. A provisional campus in the de facto capital Abdijan later opened for the nearly 12,000 students who fled the rebel-held north. Those left in rebel territory were deprived access to higher education. After a UNESCO-sponsored feasibility study and an assessment mission to Bouake earlier this year, Minister of Higher Education Zemogo Fofana gave the green light to open the original campus, guaranteeing that degrees would be recognized by the ministry. An estimated 4,000 students who stayed in the north after the failed coup attempt are expected to re-enroll, in addition to approximately 700 new students. Approximately 200 lecturers are expected to return in the law, education, science and arts faculties. The University of Bouake was founded in 1996. — UN Integrated Regional Information Networks March 23, 2005 Namibia Education Overhaul Enacted In the report, a number of key problems with Namibia’s education system are identified. These include: More than half of all primary school and 30 percent of secondary school teachers are underqualified, there is a shortage of schoolbooks, curriculums are overloaded and schools have high dropout rates. Namibia has invested roughly 8 percent of GDP in education annually since 1990, but the return on investment has been low. The government will now provide US$3.8 billion of the US$4 billion plan. The remainder is expected to come from donors, development partners and the private sector. In March, Germany, Holland, Sweden, the United States, the World Bank and several agencies of the United Nations pledged to assist in the implementation of the program. — UN Integrated Regional Information Networks Nigeria Top Research Universities Named
The study assessed the quality and quantity of the research conducted at Nigeria’s 65 universities, based largely on faculty research outputs in international scholarly journals. The top 10 ranked universities are: Obafemi Awolowo University, Federal University of Technology, University of Ibadan, University of Lagos, University of Agriculture Abeokuta, University of Ilorin, University of Benin, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Rivers State University of Science and Technology and University of Calabar. — This Day Commission Ranks Academic Programs
In management studies, a private university licensed in 2002 ranks first. Pan African University in Lagos, formerly Lagos State Business School, offers master’s programs in business administration that reportedly are in Africa’s top tier. The University of Lagos and Ahmadu Bello University are ranked second and third. In agriculture, the University of Maiduguri, Obafemi Awolowo University at Ile-Ife and Federal University of Technology Akure are ranked as the top three. In the arts and humanities, the University of Ilorin ranks first. In education, the top school is Ahmadu Bello University, which replaced the longstanding rankings-topper in education, the University of Benin. The universities of Calabar, Ibadan and Ilorin are third, fourth and fifth, respectively. — This Day Lagos University Reopens After Riots, 10-Week Closure
— Daily Champion South Africa Warning Issued Over Unauthorized Nursing Schools
Council Chief Operating Officer Hasina Subedar explained that in terms of the Nursing Act of 1978, any institution that provides nursing education and training without SANC approval is operating illegally. Furthermore, any qualifications received from such institutions are not SANC-recognized. The nursing council recommends that any students considering to train as nurses should first verify with the council the status of the nursing school in which they wish to enroll before paying tuition fees. — BuaNews
|
The University of Bouake, in the rebel-held north of the country, is set to reopen this month, almost three years after the outbreak of war forced it to close, according to government and rebel officials. New students reportedly were lined up at the Bouake campus in late March to enroll for the first academic year since the start of the civil war in September 2002. 
