Search Page

The Supreme Court of Pakistan last week ordered the removal of a number of university vice-chancellors because they were appointed in violation of the merit-based system. In stern remarks on 22 April over the appointment of vice-chancellors in Punjab province, Pakistan’s Chief Justice said “The Supreme Court cannot tolerate any appointment without transparency as the state of education in the province is in complete disarray,” and that the appointments were not the most senior professors but had close links with government circles.

Elite universities in the United States and the United Kingdom have been investing endowment funds offshore in order to pay little or no tax, according to details revealed in the so-called Paradise Papers. According to the student run Fossil Free Pitt Coalition “We are concerned about the lack of transparency, as two-thirds of the endowment is just a mystery to us. We are suspicious about where that huge segment of the endowment is going.” An emeritus professor in accounting at the University of Essex, told the newspaper that UK universities should be more transparent about their investment decisions, since they are public institutions that receive public money, including from the European Union.

A scandal over former high-level government officials being given jobs at universities after lobbying on their behalf by the education ministry has cause a public furore in Japan over recent weeks. The administrative vice-minister of education has already been forced to resign and seven other officials from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology face disciplinary action. A government investigation has been launched to investigate dozens of officials in the ministry, which is expected to report back at the end of this month.

Following 2013 Cabinet’s approval for the funding framework to ensure equity and transparency in the allocation of financial resources to public higher education institutions, the National Council for higher Education (NCHE) says budgetary submissions are being finalised for the 2017/18 financial year. The funding framework was for the first time implemented this current financial year for the country’s only two public higher education institutions.

Universities across the country may now have to resort to cashless means like bank transfers, cheques and credit/debit cards while making use of periodic funds from University Grants Commission (UGC). The commission said the move was in order to bring in accountability, transparency and seamlessness in the process of transfer of grants. The commission said it has virtually made payments cashless and decreased the interface between stakeholders and employees of the organisation.

Experts from many African and European countries have blamed lack of transparency and unethical practices as some of the reasons preventing Nigerian universities from making the list of best global institutions. Transparency in admissions, teachings and university administration were some of the criteria used for judging the best universities worldwide. They further said that Nigerian universities must train students on character and integrity for them to compete globally.

Universities will be forced to come clean to prospective students about the real ATAR cut-offs for their courses, following recommendations from the nation's top higher education panel. The review was commissioned after revelations that up to 60 per cent of students at some universities were being admitted below the advertised minimum ATAR requirements.