Cypriot University Receives License to Open Campus
Recently approved for full university status in Cyprus, Intercollege (now University of Nicosia – see Cyprus item in Europe section) has reportedly secured a license to open a campus in Ethiopia. Current plans would see the university enrolling a capacity of 15,000 students.
- The Reporter
October 6, 2007
Ghana
UK University Places up for Grabs in New Reality Show
The British Council in partnership with the University of Westminster and CharterHouse Ghana, is launching a reality show that will reward three winners with graduate scholarships at three universities in the United Kingdom.
'The Challenge' will put 25 applicants through a series of academic challenges to determine the three winners. The grand-prize winner will be awarded a full-ride graduate scholarship from the University of Westminster valued at £40,000 (US$80,000), fully paid accommodation in an international students' hostel, a monthly living allowance, a return air ticket to the UK valid for one year and a brand new laptop computer. On completion of the program, the winner will return to Ghana to begin a pre-arranged job placement and enjoy a brand new car. The two runner ups will receive one-year graduate scholarships and accommodation from London Metropolitan and Thames Valley Universities. In addition, they will receive return air-tickets and a living allowance.
A similar show was aired in India earlier this year and the winner won a scholarship to study at Warwick University.
- Ghanaian Chronicle
October 3, 2007
Namibia
Open Institute Becomes Open University
The private Institute for Open Learning (IOL) was officially inaugurated as the University of Open Learning in October. The IOL has grown enrollments dramatically in the last two years from 2,500 in 2005 to its current body of 14,000 students.
- New Era
October 15, 2007
Nigeria
Regulatory Body States that 300 University Programs in Nigeria are 'Illegal'
Of the 2,000 university programs on offer in Nigeria, more than 300 are operating illegally, according to the head of Nigeria’s university regulatory body. Executive secretary of the National Universities Commission, Julius Okojie, made the statement in a senate education committee meeting in early October, adding that a majority of the “illegal” programs were being offered at private, for-profit universities.
- Leadership
October 1, 2007
Rwanda
Becoming an IT Hub
Within the next two years nearly every school in Rwanda will have a high-speed broadband internet connection, carried by fiber-optic cables. The fact that Rwanda is closing in on this goal without the help of significant mineral wealth is an achievement that Rwandan officials hope will one day elevate the country to a position were it serves as the information technology center of Africa.
"In 2000, we decided to transform the country from agricultural subsistence to a knowledge-based economy," Albert Butare, Rwanda's minister of state for energy and communications, told the Christian Science Monitor. With two fiber-optic rings around Kigali, and cable being laid across the country, Rwanda is well on its way to being wired. "Once we've reached the towns of each sector, it's like you've covered the whole country. In another two years, we should be there."
By spending US$65 million on broadband, part of a 20-year strategy to turn the country from an agricultural economy into a high-tech service economy, Rwanda hopes to tap into its single most valuable resource: its people. Rwanda's high-tech plans are not universally applauded, however. One independent newspaper, Newsline, called the plan a misuse of public funds, while several aid groups have criticized it as an investment in the rich at the expense of the poor.
- The Christian Science Monitor
October 17, 2007
Uganda
Top University to Revoke 200 Degrees
Makerere University, one of the continent’s top universities, has said that it will revoke more than 200 degrees awarded in the past four years after an internal investigation found that students had enrolled despite failing to meet admission criteria. According to The New Vision newspaper, the university senate will make the final decision on whether the degrees should be revoked.
Those under suspicion are what the university describes as "mature" students -- those over 25 who do not have high school diplomas. Such applicants are required to pass a proficiency test to enter the university, and the committee found evidence that the results of those tests had been altered to allow test takers with failing scores to be admitted. Most of the affected students reportedly earned degrees in law, pharmacy, medicine, or business administration. Some of the students have already graduated and have been issued certificates and transcripts.
- The New Vision
September 27, 2007
|
