Universities

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UK universities issue health warnings over travel to China

Sally Weale

By: Sally Weale.

 

UK universities with links to China have issued warnings to staff and students travelling to and from areas affected by the coronavirus, urging anyone with symptoms to seek medical advice.

With concern growing about the spread of the virus, universities in the UK are keeping a check on staff who have recently returned from Wuhan, the city at the centre of the outbreak, as well as Chinese students who come from affected areas, many of whom will be concerned about loved ones at home.

China has become an increasingly important partner in UK higher education in recent years, with 120,000 Chinese students enrolled in UK universities last year and numerous partnerships and collaborations between universities in the UK and China.

Nine UK institutions have partnerships with Wuhan University in Hubei Province in central China, among them Dundee University which runs an architecture course in collaboration with Wuhan.

In an email to students, the university urged anyone who had travelled to affected areas and was suffering symptoms to contact their GP by phone, avoid crowded places and alert the people they live with.

Dr Jim McGeorge, university secretary and chief operating officer at Dundee, also warned students to take care if receiving packages from areas where the virus is present, especially if a package contains food items. Experts believe the virus has come from animals, possibly seafood.

In the case of the Dundee-Wuhan university partnership, Chinese students complete their first four years of study in Wuhan, and come to Dundee for their fifth and final year, often choosing to remain in the Scottish city to complete their master’s degree.

A statement from the university said: “There are currently 34 students from the programme in Dundee, having arrived in September 2019. There have been no health concerns raised among that group but we will continue to monitor the situation closely.”

The Chinese architecture students are among 900 students from China currently on the Dundee campus, of which 104 matriculated in January with a further 48 due to arrive later this month or next. The university confirmed that five members of staff returned from a visit to Wuhan last week, but there were no current health concerns.

The University of Glasgow, meanwhile, has a partnership with the Zhongnan University of Economics and Law in Wuhan. A total of 23 Chinese students are in the final two years of their degree in the school of mathematics and statistics. “We can confirm that all our Chinese students on this programme are currently studying at the university and in good health,” a spokesperson said.

Aberdeen also has a partnership with Wuhan University. “The university is aware of five members of staff who have visited Wuhan during the outbreak, four of whom returned to the university three or more weeks ago,” a spokesperson said. “The remaining member of staff has a non-teaching role and is working from home as a precautionary measure.”

Newcastle University hosts around 300 students who have links with Hubei province. “We are writing to them all to remind them to follow the health protection advice and to offer support to any student concerned about themselves or loved ones,” a spokesperson said. The university has also arranged a special health advice event for students arriving from China in the last month, to ensure they register with a doctor.

“In line with Foreign and Commonwealth Office advice, the university is advising that staff and students don’t travel to this area,” a spokesperson said.

Since the cap was lifted on the number of students able to study at UK universities in 2015, the sector has worked hard to increase recruitment from China. According to the most recent data, published by the Higher Education Statistics Agency, the number of Chinese students studying in UK higher education institutions exceeded 120,000 for the first time last year, a 13% increase on the previous year and up from fewer than 90,000 in 2014/15.

Liverpool University has one of the biggest Chinese student populations. It too has issued guidance to any student currently in or planning to travel to China in the immediate future. A statement on the university website said: “We would advise our students to avoid travelling to Wuhan if possible and follow basic hygiene rules including regular hand washing; maintain good personal hygiene; avoid visiting animal and bird markets, avoid people who are ill with respiratory symptoms [and] seek medical attention if you develop respiratory symptoms within 14 days of visiting Wuhan, either in China, or on return to the UK.”

Birmingham University also confirmed that students from a range of partner universities in Wuhan City are currently studying in the city. A spokesperson said those students would have travelled to the university months ago and the risk of infection was low.

Source of the article: https://www.theguardian.com/education/2020/jan/23/uk-universities-issue-health-warnings-over-travel-to-china-coronavirus

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Kenya: West Pokot County Govt launch Ksh 400 Million bursary fund.

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Africa/Kenya/16-02-2020/Author(a): West Pokot/Source: www.kbc.co.ke

West Pokot County Government has launched a four hundred million shilling bursary kitty for needy students.

The bursary is set to benefit students from secondary, colleges and universities.

Speaking when he launched the disbursement exercise of the bursary at Ortum Boys high school, West Pokot Governor Prof John Lonyangapuo said that school enrollment in the County had increased sharply.

He stated that school retention and transition rates had also improved significantly.

Ortum Boys Secondary School which has the highest number of students from West Pokot received a total of Ksh 13 million.

“We have a vision on education, economy and equity to shun vices. Education is not devolved but we have invested heavily in education. There is no cattle rustling in the North Rift region and we are giving out bursaries without discrimination or based on political parties or tribe,” he said.

The County boss pointed out that students from households affected by recent landslides will be considered for an additional amount.

He also noted that his administration had put emphasis on matters concerning education to help reduce illiteracy levels and empower the people of West Pokot.

Governor Lonyangapuo also called on the Teachers ServiceCcommission (TSC) CEO Nancy Macharia to post more teachers saying the region is understaffed.

He said that the County will start a scholarship program which will enhance specialist’s technical courses for self-sufficiency in terms of expertise.

Source and Image: https://www.kbc.co.ke/west-pokot-county-govt-launch-ksh-400-million-bursary-fund/

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Egypt: High court rules Cairo University can restrict use of full veils

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Africa/ Egypt/ 11.02.2020/ By: Salwa Samir/ Source: www.al-monitor.com.

After five years of public debate, Egypt’s top court has settled the issue: Cairo University, one of Egypt’s oldest higher education institutions, can ban its professors from wearing full-face veils, or niqabs, inside lecture halls. The ban does not apply to the rest of the campus.

The High Administrative Court ruled Jan. 27 that, while a person’s choice of attire is among the personal freedoms guaranteed by the constitution, this freedom is not limitless and should not contradict public morals. The court noted that the Regulation of Universities Law doesn’t require staff members to don uniforms, but does demand that they abide by university traditions. With its ruling, the court rejected the appeal by some 80 of the schools’ teachers who challenged the ban.

The next day, Cairo University media adviser Mahmoud Alam Eddin told CBC News that the niqab ban in lecture halls would be implemented by Feb. 8, the start of the second semester. Professors who don’t comply won’t be allowed to teach, he added.

Ain Shams University quickly followed suit, with President Mahmoud al-Metiny announcing Feb. 4 that his school would implement a ban immediately.

The controversy arose five years ago when Gaber Nassar, former president of Cairo University, called for the prohibition. Nassar said back then that the veil hinders clear communication with students, especially during academic lectures.

Egyptian parliament members have attempted numerous times to prohibit niqabs.

In 2018, legislator Ghada Ajami proposed a draft law that called for banning all women from wearing the niqab in public places such as restaurants, universities and parks and called for violators to be fined 1,000 Egyptian pounds ($63) or more.

Ajami described the niqab as a source of sedition in society, as it reflects the extremist ideology of ultraconservative movements. She said the ban would help combat terrorism. But after backlash over the proposal, Ajami gave up the effort, acknowledging a ban might cause divisions in the country.

That same year, Mohamed Abu Hamed, another lawmaker, called on the prime minister to ban the full-face veil in state and educational institutions, similar to action taken in Algeria. But many parliamentarians rejected his call, saying it would restrict personal freedom.

Cairo University is not the first institution to succeed in barring its staff from wearing the niqab. Al-Azhar, Egypt’s top religious authority, made the call in 2009.

The former grand imam of Al-Azhar, Sheikh Mohammed Sayyid Tantawi, issued a decision to ban female staff and students from donning the niqab at the university, even in dormitories. Tantawi said the full-face veil is a sign of radicalism and has nothing to do with Islam.

There are supporters and opponents of the ban at Cairo University and in the general public. The Revolutionary Socialists, a movement established in 2011 after the January 25 Revolution, rejected the court’s decision.

It said in a statement on Facebook, «We must defend women’s right to choose their clothing.» The university should pay attention to «factors that actually affect the educational process and the ability of a faculty member to deliver knowledge, not her appearance.»

Lawmaker Dalia Youssef hailed the recent ruling and called for extending the ban to include students as well, to help shape Egyptian society’s way of thinking.

“I asked the minister of higher education [and the Ministry of Health] to issue a decision that applies to all universities,» she said by phone on an al-Haya TV talk show Jan. 28. «The matter doesn’t require a draft law, as there is already a court ruling.”

Shaimaa Mousa, an assistant lecturer in Greek and Latin studies at Cairo University’s School of Arts, told Al-Monitor she totally agrees with the ban.

“Actually, I am against the niqab, whether in or outside the university. How can I communicate with a person who is fully veiled except for her eyes?” Mousa said. “The face and body language are among the most important tools of communication.»

However, Mousa noted that niqab wearers may find ways to circumvent the ban, as one ultraconservative Muslim recently suggested. Sameh Abdel Hamid, former leader of the Salafist Nour party, said Jan. 28 on Facebook that niqab-wearing staff at Cairo University should instead wear medical masks in lecture halls. He claimed the masks have many benefits, like avoiding the coronavirus. “The law will not prevent the use of masks,” Abdel Hamid said.

Source of notice: https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2020/02/egypt-cairo-university-ban-niqab-religion-freedom.html

 

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Two-thirds of Australia’s Chinese students ‘stuck at home’

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Asia/ China/ 04.02.2020/ Source: www.timeshighereducation.com.

Almost two-thirds of Australian universities’ Chinese students are currently abroad, new government data show, in an indication of the scale of the financial hit confronting the sector if the coronavirus crisis persists.

Education minister Dan Tehan released statistics showing that of the almost 190,000 Chinese residents with valid Australian student visas on 1 February – when the government banned foreign nationals entering from China, in a bid to curb the outbreak’s spread – about 157,000 were higher education students.

Of these, 62 per cent were overseas and faced a wait of at least two weeks – and possibly much longer – before being allowed into Australia.

The figures suggest that Australian universities may be about to experience the worst fears of those who have warned against their financial reliance on Chinese students’ fees.

A paper released last year by University of Sydney sociologist Salvatore Babones, who focused his research on seven Australian universities, found that they had derived between 13 per cent and 23 per cent of their income from Chinese students in 2017. Since then, the number of visas granted to Chinese higher education students has increased by about 6 per cent.

Institutional and auditor-general’s reports released since Dr Babones conducted his analysis suggest that the two universities most financially exposed to Chinese students – the University of Sydney and UNSW Sydney – respectively obtained 26 per cent and 27 per cent of their revenue from this source in 2018.

UNSW’s main campus is unusually quiet for this time of year, devoid of the groups of orienting Chinese students that normally circulate in February – a scene replicated at universities across the country.

UNSW vice-chancellor Ian Jacobs last year said that his university had set up a contingency fund to “buy…an extra few months” in the event of a sudden loss of Chinese students, but said he would have to rapidly decrease spending on staff and infrastructure if the crisis lasted longer.

In a 4 February press conference, Mr Tehan said the government and universities had committed to “maximum flexibility” to help Chinese students stranded overseas.

He brushed off questions over whether Chinese students would be entitled to refunds if they could not study in Australia, and whether the government would consider helping universities meet the consequent “shortfall”.

“Let’s wait and see what the impact is of the coronavirus over the next fortnight, the next month, the next quarter, before we start looking at things like that,” he said.

“Let’s deal with getting in place the online learning, the remote learning. Let’s make sure we’re dealing with all those students who are already here in Australia and making sure their welfare is being looked after.”

Some Chinese students have scoffed at online learning as a viable solution, citing internet restrictions at home.

Mr Tehan also declined to estimate the dollar cost of the crisis while acknowledging international education as a “key” export for Australia. “We have to wait and see the extent of the virus…before we can examine this data and get a true understanding.

“What we’ve seen from Sars [severe acute respiratory syndrome] was that the bounce back in the international education sector was quick and immediate. Things have changed since Sars, but that is the information that we can go on historically.”

Source of the notice: https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/two-thirds-australias-chinese-students-stuck-home

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United Kingdom: ‘I have a tiny violin somewhere’: Private schools roasted online after complaining about plans to get more poor students into uni

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Europe/United Kingdom/02-02-2020/ Author and Source: www.rt.com

Leading private schools in England have criticized plans to improve access to top universities for poorer students, saying it could lead to discrimination of rich kids based on “class,” provoking ridicule on social media.

The Headmasters’ & Headmistresses’ Conference (HMC), an association that represents some of the UK’s most expensive private schools, voiced concerns about proposals published on Wednesday by the Office for Students, the higher education regulator for England.

Mike Buchanan, the HMC’s executive director, claimed universities should expand to accommodate as many “truly suitable students” as needed, rather than “rob some students of a future to award it to others.” He argued that institutions must look at their international students intake rather than restrict places to UK students “based on their class.”Plans being put forward by the regulator include a promise to halve the access gap at England’s most selective institutions in the next five years, increasing the amount of disadvantaged students by 6,500 a year from 2024-25.

The seemingly hostile reaction from elite private schools has, perhaps unsurprisingly, prompted much mockery online, with many people expressing little sympathy with their “predicament,” with one person tweeting: “I have a tiny violin. Somewhere.”

Guardian columnist Frances Ryan sarcastically remarked that being discriminated based on class sounded like a “terrible education system,” adding: “We should totally do something to fix that.” Others online mercilessly attacked the premise that the “kids of the rich and greedy” deserve sympathy because they’re being attacked based on their “accident-of-birth privilege.”

Helen the Zen@helenmallam

All those poor, expensively educated, emotionally deprived, kids of the rich and the greedy, being discriminated against on the basis of their accident-of-birth privilege. You’ve got to laugh. https://www.theguardian.com/education/2020/jan/29/private-schools-criticise-plans-to-get-more-poor-students-into-university?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other …

Private schools criticise plans to get more poor students into university

Regulator’s pledge to boost university access in England ‘may discriminate based on class’

theguardian.com

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Some accused the private schools of being “actual Marvel villains,” while another Twitter user claimed the “lack of self-awareness is astounding.”

Kalwant Bhopal, a professor of education and justice at Birmingham University, said that it was clear that young people going to independent fee-paying schools were “more likely to be middle-class,” adding that “these schools continue to perpetuate privilege.”

Fuente e Imagen: https://www.rt.com/uk/479471-private-schools-poor-students-universities/

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Kenya: Labour court restrains Prof Kiama from interfering with UON affairs

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Africa/Kenya/26-01-2020/Author and Source: www.kbc.co.ke

The Employment and Labour Relations Court has restrained Prof Stephen Kiama from interfering with the University of Nairobi’s affairs pending the hearing and determination the case. 

Lady Justice Maureen Onyango further directed the parties in the case to file and serve and appear for the hearing of the case on from interfering from activities of UON pending hearing and determination of the case on 30th this month.

A day after Justice Weldon Korir declined to set aside orders against the decision by Prof Magoha to dissolve the University of Nairobi Council, the leadership dispute surrounding the position of Vice-Chancellor at the University of Nairobi continue to deepen with  Prof Stephen Kiama now restrained from interfering with the affairs of the institution.

The orders by the Employment and Labour Relations Court will be in effect until the case set for 30th this month is heard and determined.

Education Cabinet Secretary Prof. George Magoha is challenging interim orders that reinstated Prof Stephen Kiama as the institution’s vice-chancellor.

Prof Kiama obtained temporary orders from the Employment and Labour Relations Court keeping him in office pending the hearing and determination of his case.

Meanwhile, blogger Cyprian Nyakundi and Emmanuel Nyamweya Ong’e have denied charges of extortion.

According to prosecution, the duo attempted to extort Ksh 17.5million from Victoria Commercial Bank Limited as a precondition for pulling down libellous posts appearing on a website owned by them.

They were released on a Ksh 300,000 cash bail after the prosecution failed to convince the court to deny them bail.

Elsewhere, Gatundu South Member of Parliament Moses Kuria has been arraigned in court and charged for assaulting Joyce Wanja on December 8, 2019.

The legislator denied the charge and was released on Ksh 20,000 cash bail.

Fuente e Imagen: https://www.kbc.co.ke/labour-court-restrains-prof-kiama-from-interfering-with-uon-affairs/

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Australian education bodies take action as bushfires still rage

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Oceania/ Australia/ 14.01.2020/ Source: www.timeshighereducation.com.

Australia’s international education representative body is vowing to curb its carbon emissions, as the bushfire emergency elevates climate consciousness across the scorched country.

The International Education Association of Australia is developing a carbon neutral policy to mitigate the climate impacts of globetrotting education leaders. Meanwhile the leading university body is joining education minister Dan Tehan’s crisis meeting on the bushfires.

Mr Tehan said Prime Minister Scott Morrison had asked him to call the meeting of the sector’s representatives “to hear first-hand how the bushfires have impacted education, and how our government can help”.

The summit, scheduled for 15 January, echoes similar forums of key players in other sectors. It will focus primarily on schools and childcare centres, where the summer break ends much earlier than at universities.

But Universities Australia chief executive Catriona Jackson said the meeting offered an opportunity to thrash out how her members could continue supporting affected communities.

“University expertise is being deployed to help the community make sense of the crisis, across almost every aspect,” she said.

Ms Jackson highlighted the need for clear communication with international students during the crisis. She said students heading for Australia should contact their prospective universities if they had queries or concerns, while those already in the country should “reach out to university support services if they feel distressed or anxious”.

The support has not all been one-way, with international students among those contributing to the relief effort. International media has carried a story about Mark Yeong, a Singaporean student at the University of Sydney who joined a volunteer firefighting brigade.

International education representatives from Australia’s eight states and territories are also putting together a joint statement on the bushfire emergency, in collaboration with the education and trade departments and IEAA.

Its primary focus is ensuring the safety of current and incoming foreign students, in line with provisions outlined in a “collaborative marketing framework” developed a year ago by the Council for International Education, which is convened by IEAA chief executive Phil Honeywood.

The provisions are designed to coordinate the sector’s responses to critical incidents, and to ensure that jurisdictions do not profit from each other’s misfortunes in situations like the bushfire crisis.

Mr Honeywood said the disaster had also presented an “appropriate time to have a comprehensive look at the carbon footprint situation and to lead by example”. He said that given their considerable domestic and overseas travel, international education representatives needed to find ways to alleviate the climate impact.

This included encouraging webinars and teleconferences as an alternative to international travel. When flying became unavoidable, education representatives should support measures offered by airlines to mitigate the carbon footprint, such as paying for trees to be planted.

He said the industry should also look at ways of reducing the far greater carbon footprint generated by the international travel of students themselves. An obvious measure was to put more resources into branch campuses rather than focusing on onshore recruitment.

“Australia has not been very good on transnational education,” he said. “Surely it’s part of our mission as a sector to be more accessible to the largest number of students possible…to provide world class education in countries where it’s not readily available.”

He said the policy was expected to be approved by the end of February.

Source of the notice: https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/australian-education-bodies-take-action-bushfires-still-rage

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