Education observatory

Jobless academic Imad Al Ghanimi died after dousing himself with petrol and setting himself alight in response to having the goods he intended to sell as an informal trader confiscated by Tunisian police. Read more>

Higher education in Comoros continues to struggle under growing student demand, high graduate unemployment, poor infrastructure, brain drain and inadequate levels of teaching, learning and research, according to experts. But support is on the way, with plans for branch campuses of two foreign universities. Read more>

Egypt’s universities have failed to provide graduates with high-level, job market-related skills to fill more than 600,000 vacancies in the private sector, contributing to high levels of educated youth unemployment – and in some cases ‘wilful’ joblessness – according to the African Development Bank. Read more>

The northwest African nation of Mauritania is to set up a council for scientific research and innovation to strengthen the capacity of universities and research institutions in science, technology and innovation-based development. Read more>

Africa and Turkey have unveiled a higher education cooperation plan that includes setting up a joint university, networking among Turkish and African universities and enhancing student and academic mobility. Read more>

Africa has been late to join the ‘green’ universities movement – only five institutions on the continent are among more than 400 participating in a global ranking of universities that practise environmentally friendly policies to help combat climate change. But now national and regional ‘green’ university networks are being developed …

Morocco’s first university-based career centres have opened. Aimed at enhancing the employability of graduates and their transition to the workforce, the centres will provide orientation services to students and graduates, work readiness training, information on high growth sectors and exposure to employers, internships and other forms of workplace learning. Read …

Poor investment, weak capacity and security, as well as political instability and onerous bureaucracy in war-torn Libya have produced a higher education system characterised by inadequate infrastructure and graduates poorly prepared for jobs, according to a new report. Read more>

Egypt plans to designate 2017 as a year of African cooperation in higher education, research and innovation with a view to enhancing the capacity of universities, increasing academic staff and student exchange, and promoting joint research and projects. Read more>

The Agence Universitaire de la Francophonie or AUF has launched a virtual repository of educational resources called ‘meta-portal IDNEUF’ to provide free access to Francophone university resources. The global launch was held in Mali – Africa is the continent with the largest number of French speakers, 96.2 million. Read more>