Institut De Eurnesia

Malaspina University-College, British Columbia

The government has reversed tertiary education fee increases effected by state universities and colleges in Zimbabwe at the beginning of this academic year to cushion parents from the current economic hardships, reports The Herald. Addressing journalists in Harare, the Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education Stan Mudenge said tertiary institutions had increased fees without government approval.

As their numbers decline in the United States, women’s colleges are booming in much of the developing world – places such as Africa, Asia and the Middle East, reports Associated Press. They have become a trendy tool for jump-starting economic growth and political development, and for helping break down barriers in the same way their US counterparts have been doing since the 19th century.

The development of education in Sri Lanka has led to the rapid expansion of secondary schools and more and more young people seeking tertiary education, according to Higher Education Minister, Professor Wiswa Warnapapa, reports the Daily News. Growth of higher education has not kept up with demand, and this year universities could only provide places for 20,204 students out of nearly 100,000 qualified to enter higher education. Lack of access is a fundamental problem for higher education, along with quality issues – the reasons why Sri Lanka is now pushing for a major expansion of its neglected technical education sector.

Kenya’s government has set aside a billion Shilling (US$16 million) for the expansion of public universities, Assistant Minister of Higher Education Dr Kilemi Mwiria has said, reports The Nation. He added that the money, which has already been factored into this year's budget, will be used to expand the institutions of higher learning countrywide.

Iraqi officials have proposed a five-year, US$1 billion higher education plan to increase the science and technology workforce and promote science-based sustainable development, reports SciDev.Net. Under the plan, which will be financed by revenue generated by Iraq’s oil reserves, university infrastructure will be rebuilt, including new laboratories and establishing internet connections, and 10,000 students will be sent abroad each year to study in Australia, Canada, the UK and US.

Indian scientists are split down the middle over their belief in the existence of God, the first nationwide investigation into their deepest personal thoughts has revealed, reports The Telegraph. A fourth of scientists took an atheist or agnostic position and another fourth were firm believers, according to the findings of a survey by the US-based Institute for the Study of Secularism in Society and Culture. The rest said they were unsure, or didn’t respond to the question on God, which was included in a web-based survey that covered 1,100 scientists from 130 research or educational institutions and universities scattered across India.

A decade ago, then-President Jiang Zemin said he wanted to transform China's top universities into world class institutions fit for the 21st century, reports Forbes. But attracting the world's best faculty, funding top-notch research and expanding campuses does not come cheap. So the elite ones are now focused on developing the kind of powerful private fund-raising machines that have made top US universities so rich

Toronto police have closed the file on a fraud that cost the Council of Ontario Universities at least $600,000, said Paul Genest, the Council’s executive director. The Globe and Mail reports that police were called and a forensic auditor retained in March, when the organisation found evidence that its former chief information officer Janet Donio – who has since committed suicide – was siphoning off COU funds.

With a $1.6 million grant from the Australian Research Council, Western Australian academics are developing artificial dingo urine to use as a deterrent for marsupial pests and potentially as a means of preventing kangaroo deaths on the road. The researchers announced last week they hoped to have a gel manufactured within two years that could be safely distributed in the bush and along roads to reduce mortality among kangaroos.