A petition from more than 17,000 international students asking for exemptions to the border closure was presented to the Australian parliament last week. The latest available figures show about 20% of Australia’s enrolled international students are stranded offshore. Of the 92,191 in this position, 70% were Chinese.

We worked with Chinese international students to collect 28 written accounts of what their life has been like over the past year. Those that responded were male and female at varying stages of their studies.

The stories we collected in our ongoing research paint a picture of anxiety, embarrassment and shame. Many feel the burden of placing financial pressure on their parents. Some female students are under pressure to give up their study plans and focus on traditional gendered expectations to earn money and get married before their late 20s. Read More

United Kingdom universities are turning a blind eye to Nigerian political elites laundering dirty money through their fees, according to a paper published by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace from West Africa expert and non-resident scholar, Matthew Page.

Commissioned by the British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Catriona Laing, West African Elites’ Spending on UK Schools and Universities: A closer look, flags up the “unexplained wealth” used by Nigerian politicians and public officials to pay British university and boarding school fees.

The amounts spent are way above the salary levels of these prominent Nigerians, categorised as ‘politically exposed persons’ or ‘PEPs’ in anti-money laundering system jargon.

Such people are supposed to be exposed to special checks by banks and other financial institutions, although anti-money laundering legislation usually does not insist that such assessments are undertaken by educational bodies. Read More

 

Consultations with stakeholders and international partners are far advanced as the Jamaica Education Transformation Commission carries out its task of conducting a comprehensive review of all levels of the public education system.

This was disclosed by Governor-General, His Excellency the Most Hon. Sir Patrick Allen, as he delivered the Throne Speech at the ceremonial opening of Parliament on Thursday (February 18).

The Commission, which was launched in July last year by Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, is mandated to comprehensively review and assess Jamaica’s education system, including its structure, operation, and processes, and to recommend an action plan for change.

“The Commission’s findings and proposed recommendations will be presented for review in the first quarter of the coming financial year,” the Governor-General said.

The last major comprehensive review of the national public education system was undertaken in 2004 by the Task Force on Educational Reform.

In the meantime, the Governor-General informed that the digital birth certificate solution, which is approximately 90 per cent complete, will be launched in the upcoming financial year. Read More