Extract of press news on higher education in Africa

1. University World News

US$5 million allocated for university technology hubs (Zimbabwe)

The Zimbabwe government has set aside more than US$5 million to put in place technology hubs at six state-run universities in a move that it hopes will spearhead the country’s industrialisation and modernisation. Zimbabwe’s Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education, Science and Technology Development Professor Amon Murwira said the first university hub is expected to be commissioned next month. He said the hubs will transform the education sector from a service sector to a production sector. “Our level of development is lower than our literacy rate and this is a shift. It is not necessarily a revolution to other countries, but it’s a revolution to us. We want to transform the education system from a service sector to a production sector.” The University of Zimbabwe, the National University of Science and Technology, the Harare Institute of Technology, the Midlands State University, Chinhoyi University of Technology and the Zimbabwe National Defence University will benefit from the initiative. “The universities are putting in place the structures. We have more than US$5 million for this. We will continue to make the hubs more complex. It’s a continuous process that we will continue to fund annually,” said Murwira. The innovation hubs will test good ideas and turn them into prototypes before patenting. Click this Link for more details.

2. Modern Diplomacy

Modernizing higher education for economic growth (Malawi)

Malawi has fewer affordable universities than it has students who want to go to them, leaving college out of reach for many. Enrollment in tertiary education is low, but more and more Malawians hunger for it. With IDA financing from the World Bank, Malawian citizens now have more options. The five-year, $51 million Skills Development Project is helping public universities to strengthen and increase public access to programs that cater to sectors critical to Malawi’s economic growth. These include engineering, natural resources extraction, agriculture, construction, health services, tourism, and hospitality. Beyond the establishment of the National Council for Higher Education, project funding supports a range of activities at institutions, including improving course offerings and staff skills, renovating infrastructure, and setting up satellite facilities. To expand the range of scientific skills and mid-level technicians needed to fuel Malawi’s economy, 39 new programs have been developed by universities, with the participation of the private sector ensuring their relevance to the economy. By 2017, these programs contributed 44 percent of the new student intake to public universities. Diploma programs at universities have also been bolstered to increase the training of mid-level career personnel needed by various trades. For example, the University of Malawi’s Polytechnic now offers 10 technician-level engineering diploma programs in subjects like mining, telecommunications, and health. By 2019, these programs are expected to have enrolled 750 diploma students. Click this Link for more details.

3. Ghana Web

The President of Ghana commends University of Professional Studies (UPSA) governing council for renaming university after founder (Ghana)

The President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has commended the Governing Council of the University of Professional Studies for its decision, in accordance with the Statutes of the University, to rename the University after founder and first director of the University, Nana J. K. Opoku-Ampomah. According to President Akufo-Addo, “It is a most excellent decision, which has received the approval of the President of the Republic, so that, once the parliamentary process has been completed, this University will be called thenceforth the Opoku Ampomah University of Professional Studies.” President Akufo-Addo made this known on Wednesday, 25th April, 2018, when he delivered the keynote address at events marking the 4th special Congregation ceremony of the University of Professional Studies (UPSA). Click this Link for more details

4. Business Ghana

TVET to transform Ghana’s economy (Ghana)

The Technical and Vocational Education Training (TVET), has the potential to lift Ghana out of its economic difficulties and setting it on the path to prosperity, Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh, Minister of Education, has stated. He said there was, therefore, the need to continue with the conversation on the best strategies needed to transform Ghana’s national vision on technical education into actionable reality. “Ghana welcomes investors who seek to pitch camp here and collaborate with local institutions in bolstering our technical capacity, and strengthening skills training in the country,” Dr Opoku Prempeh, remarked in a statement read on his behalf on Tuesday at a Youth Employment and Skills (YES) Stakeholder Engagement Platform Meeting in Accra. “We similarly welcome collaboration and partnership in the area of equipment manufacture and the building of laboratories to feed our fledgling technical institutions and universities,” he added. The YES programme was organised by the African Center for Economic Transformation (ACET) with a particular focus on TVET and secondary education. It focused on the levers through which youth unemployment could be reduced by enhancing skills development to help meet the future job needs of young people. Dr Opoku Prempeh said a nation’s competitiveness depended to a large measure on the productivity of its work force, which in turn rested on the knowledge and skills of its work force. Click this Link for more details.

Download the complete issue: Media Monitoring.Extract for Higher Education news in Africa. 009

Source: Ruforum