Category Archives: International

The Chronicle News Blog: Lebanon’s Universities Reopen

The American University of Beirut, along with most other Lebanese universities, resumed classes today after being closed for more than a week. AUB reopened with “cautious optimism,” its president, John Waterbury, wrote.

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The Chronicle: Militia Battles in Lebanon Rewrite Universities’ Lesson Plans

What they don’t prepare you for in graduate school is how to react when you find your neighborhood besieged by battling militiamen, your students too terrified to come to class, and your campus surrounded by fighting.

That’s what university staff in Beirut have been grappling with these last few days…

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The Chronicle News Blog: Universities in Lebanon Close Due to Fighting

All universities in Lebanon were ordered to cancel classes today by the Ministry of Higher Education, following an outbreak of fighting in Beirut on Thursday between Hezbollah, the Shiite militant group, and Sunni government forces.

Among the institutions that suspended classes are the American University of Beirut, Lebanese American University, Lebanese University, and Beirut Arab University.

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African Press International: Teachers in Zimbabwe have fled from their schools

Harare (Zimbabwe) – Hundreds of rural schools in Zimbabwe are battling to reopen for the new term this week because most teachers have fled local violence.

War veterans and militias have reportedly unleashed a reign of terror in the countryside, and although many victims are said to be opposition supporters, ordinary teachers have also borne the brunt.� Teachers unions say the major targets of the violence are members who were presiding officers during the elections. These are being accused of rigging the elections in favour of MDC (the opposition Movement for Democratic Change), said Raymond Majongwe, secretary-general of the Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe, PTUZ.

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The Press Association: Zimbabwe violence targets teachers

Teachers have become targets in Zimbabwe’s post-election violence, union officials have said.

Zimbabwe’s opposition and international and local human rights groups have accused the ruling party, its militant allies and the army of waging a campaign of terror since President Robert Mugabe came in second in presidential elections March 29.

Electoral officials said a second round of voting is necessary because neither Mr Mugabe nor his rival Morgan Tsvangirai won a simple majority, and there are fears of increased violence in the lead-up to the run-off.

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AP: Gaza Universities Closed After Fuel Cut

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — The Gaza Strip’s four main universities shut down Monday after officials said students couldn’t get to class because of critical fuel shortages.

University officials said attendance rates were down by at least 60 percent Monday, prompting the closure. It affects more than 45,000 students and will last until Thursday.

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The Chronicle: Israeli College in West Bank, Stripped of University Status, Cries Foul

Jerusalem — An Israeli college in the occupied West Bank that began upgrading to university status last year is being stripped of its university title, and the head of the fledgling institution is criticizing the move as mistaken and “politically motivated.”

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The Chronicle News Blog: Venezuelan Government Eliminates Universities’ Entrance Examinations

Bogotá, Colombia — Venezuelan public universities’ individual entrance examinations will be eliminated, the government’s National University Council decided on Thursday night against the wishes of many at the nation’s leading colleges.

University officials and student leaders have said that eliminating the tests will lower academic quality and admit far more students than the universities can handle. For their part, government officials argue that the universities’ entrance exams discriminate against lower-income students, who come from public high schools and generally receive poorer educations than wealthier students who attend private high schools.

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allAfrica.com: Nigeria: Universities Need 60,000 Lecturers for Effectiveness- ASUU

Vanguard (Lagos)

It has been observed that Nigerian universities require no fewer than 60,000 lecturers for effectiveness. Making the observation in Sokoto, National President of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, Dr Abdullahi Sule-Kano said the present number which is less than 16,000 was grossly inadequate and needs government consideration.

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The Guardian: Plans for 20 new university towns

Campuses are to be set up over the next six years at a cost of £150m, with many located in areas suffering high levels of unemployment

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The Guardian: Vote may end Cambridge’s self-rule

A vote today could end Cambridge University’s centuries-old tradition of academic self-rule, lecturers have warned.

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The New Anatolian: University presidents call on YOK boss to quit on headscarf issue

The Interuniversity Council has called on the President of the Higher Education Board (YOK) Prof. Yusuf Ziya Ozcan to quit because of his attitude on the lifting of the headscarf ban at universities.

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