28 April 2010

Indonesia: Supreme Court Annuls University Autonomy Law

David Jardine
A controversial university autonomy law sponsored by the ministry of national education has been annulled by Indonesia's Supreme Court. Opponents of the legislation claimed it gave unfair assistance to the offspring of wealthy families.
A lobby bringing together students' and parents' groups has defeated the ministry on a sensitive issue. A number of student protests had been violent, notably in Makassar, the provincial capital of South Sulawesi.
The autonomy visualised by the ministry would have enabled universities to generate up to one-third of their operational funds in the form of tuition fees and 'donations'. In a country with notorious systemic corruption, it was the latter that alarmed opponents most.
The law envisaged the government providing half the funding for higher education institutions. But the court rejected this argument, judging it was based on the invalid assumption that all higher education institutions were equally able to comply.
The panel of judges ruled that there were "obvious disparities" which, they said, hampered the educational process.
The government's response to the ruling came from as high up as Vice-President Boediono who claimed it would have a "massive impact on the national education system".
Nonetheless, the government is prepared to abide by the judgement.
The government is thus faced with drawing up another plan covering university finances. This may be bad news at a time when the ministry has tripled the allocation for university science and maths research programmes. That is a moot point given that the University of Indonesia (UI) has stated its ambition to become the regional centre for climate change studies.
Meanwhile UI has said it is happy to get on with "facts on the ground" where the court ruling is concerned. Its fees vary widely, from $11 to $824 a semester.
Source: University World News, Issue No: 0121, 25 April 2010

25 April 2010

Unesco Director-General Appoints Senior Staff

UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova last week informed the members of UNESCO's Executive Board of her choice of senior management team. Bokova, whose mandate began on 15 November last year, said that she had chosen a "strong, competent, coherent and motivated team" to lead the organisation. The Education Sector will be headed by Qian Tang of China, who is currently its interim Assistant Director-General.
A specialist in secondary and technical education, Tang has been an educator and a diplomat as well as a technical and professional education manager in China's Ministry for Education. He played a central role in establishing UNEVOC, UNESCO's International Centre for Technical and Vocational Education and Training in Bonn, Germany, has been instrumental in mobilising donor resources for Education for All and has promoted South-South cooperation in education.
The new Deputy Director-General will be Getachew Engida, an Ethiopian who is currently UNESCO's Comptroller and has had a distinguished international career in auditing and financial management. The new Assistant Director-General in charge of the Natural Sciences Sector will be Gretchen Kalonji of the US, who is currently direction of international system-wide research development at the University of California's Office of the President.
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Source: University World News, Issue No: 0120, 18 April 2010

Academics Identify Ideal Research-teaching Nexus

Research and teaching are supposed to be closely related in universities. Among academics the belief in a symbiotic relationship is strong. However, it is unclear what form this relationship can take. In an article in the latest edition of Higher Education Research & Development , several authors present categories and dimensions to clarify this relationship. The aim of the project was to understand what academics' ideal research-teaching nexus would look like.
The ideal images of 30 academics were investigated using a mental visualisation assignment. Respondents were encouraged to describe in detail what for them the linkage between research and teaching would look like in the ideal situation.
Five profiles of the research-teaching nexus could be distinguished: teach research results; make research known; show what it means to be a researcher; help to conduct research; and provide research experience. These profiles are related to dimensions proposed earlier in the literature on the research-teaching nexus.
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Source: University World News, Issue No: 0119, 11 April 2010

Private Education and Development

In the past decade, private education has had an increasingly significant impact in the developing world, with many countries promoting private sector growth to expand educational capacity and access at all levels, an international education conference was told last week.
The conference heard that more entrepreneurs were investing in the private sector in developing countries and "bringing fresh approaches and perspectives".
It was the fifth global conference to be held in Washington by the International Finance Corporation and attracted representatives of private education organisations and institutions from around the world.
The IFC provides investments and advisory services to expand the private sector in developing countries.
The corporation - an arm of the World Bank - has committed US$469 million in financing 62 education projects in 30 countries at a total value of $1.54 billion. Of these, 21 or 35% were in the world's poorest countries. IFC-supported projects help educate about 1.2 million students annually.
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Source: University World News, Issue No: 0118, 04 April 2010