The TopUniversities.com guide to the latest university news from around the world, on 9 August 2013.
Australia: New report proposes less power to higher education regulation agency
Australia’s education minister Kim Carr has released a report that proposes handing power from the country’s two-year-old higher education regulator to other existing bodies, reports Inside Higher Education. It has been argued that the quality assurance and regulatory function of the Tertiary Education Standards and Quality Agency (TEQSA) is unnecessary because earlier predictions of a rise in numbers of private colleges have not materialized, and established universities don’t need a TEQSA. However, a policy analyst at RMIT University, Gavin Moodie, said that previous failures by universities have not been dealt with, merely “stopped by reducing education’s pathway to migration, not by any improvement in higher education regulation”.
India: Medical students protest against rural posting requirement
A crowd of medical students gathered at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi, India to protest against a mandatory one-year rural internship for admission to postgraduate courses, reports New Delhi Television. Police had to use water cannons to disperse the students. Doctors have opposed the move because of a perception that rural areas do not have the necessary infrastructure. One of the students, Vishesh Guglani, said: “We need basic facilities and adequate security to work. Doctors often become the target of the anger of families."
Japan: Jobless graduate rate falls, but 20% remain without a secure job
Japan’s Ministry of Education has released a report that shows a 2.2% decline in jobless graduates from the previous year, reports Japan Daily Press. However, 1 in 5 will be without secure employment this spring. Secure employment is a category that was introduced last year, and does not include part-time jobs or fixed-period employment. A spokesperson for the ministry said: “the situation remains that some students enter the workforce in the way they don’t really desire.”
Pakistan: Proposal to share faculty between universities
The vice chancellor of Beaconhouse National University (BNU) in Lahore, Pakistan, Mr Shahid Hafeez Kardar, has proposed that faculty be shared to make up for a shortage of qualified teachers, reports The Express Tribune. Kardar said: “Universities should collaborate, each offering resources in areas of their expertise.” He spoke of a previous focus on schooling instead of higher education, and said that more money is needed, calling for more donors to help Pakistan's higher education institutions instead of individuals.